Eyder Peralta

Some semblance of normal life returned to Gaza on Wednesday.

The day after Hamas and Israel accepted an open-ended cease-fire, Palestinians returned to their homes, markets opened and bulldozers began clearing the rubble, while in Israel, the sirens warning of rockets fell silent.

Naturally, Palestinians, Israelis and the world ...

American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was back home in Cambridge, Mass., today, after he was released by a militant group in Syria.

Speaking to reporters, Curtis said he was "overwhelmed by emotion." Curtis, if you remember, disappeared in 2012 and was freed over the weekend by Jabhat al-Nusra, the ...

A report presented by the United Nations today paints a pretty grim picture of Syria.

It tells the story of a country mired in a ruthless civil war in which all sides are indiscriminately killing and torturing civilians. It presents a laundry list of human rights violations and war ...

The clothing retail giant Zara is apologizing and has pulled a kids' shirt from its stores after hearing complaints that it resembled the uniform worn by prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.

In a tweet, Zara said the shirt was "inspired by the sheriff's stars from the Classic Western films."

Reporting ...

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, says French prosecutors have put her under formal investigation.

The New York Times reports:

"Ms. Lagarde said in a statement through her lawyer that she was being investigated for 'simple negligence,' by the Court of Justice of ...

The Afghan election process was thrown further into disarray on Wednesday, when both candidates pulled their observers from a U.N.-led audit of the country's ballots.

The Associated Press reports that Abdullah Abdullah was the first to withdraw his observer, saying the process was full of fraud. The news service adds:

Flying is already a pain. But a story from the Associated Press Tuesday really brings home the point: The wire service reports that an entire plane was diverted on Sunday after a fight broke out over a passenger's right to recline her seat.

The AP explains:

"The spat ...

(This post was last updated at 12:47 p.m. ET.)

After seven weeks of intense fighting that's killed more than 2,000 people, Hamas and Israel have announced a long-term cease-fire deal.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made the announcement in Ramallah on Tuesday, saying both sides will return to the negotiating ...

In a deal that would create the third-largest fast-food chain, Burger King announced on Tuesday that it intended to buy Canada's Tim Hortons for about $11 billion.

The deal, reports Bloomberg, also moves the company's headquarters to Canada. Bloomberg explains:

"The purchase gives Burger King access to ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko were meeting Tuesday for talks many hope will lead to peace between Kiev and separatists in the eastern part of the country.

Reuters reports the two presidents shared a handshake at the start of the talks in Belarus.

Reporting from Donetsk, ...

President Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria, The Associated Press and The New York Times are reporting this morning, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

The flights are intended to collect intelligence on Islamic State militants and could be a precursor to military strikes inside of Syria.

The Times ...

Ukraine says Russian military vehicles crossed the border in southeastern Ukraine on Monday.

Correspondent Karoun Demirjian tells our Newscast unit that the accusations from the Ukrainian military come just as Russia announced it was sending another aid convoy into Ukraine.

Reporting from Moscow, Karoun filed this report:

"A Ukrainian ...

So much for water under the bridge: The British Embassy in the United States is apologizing for a tweet on Sunday in which it jokingly referred to the burning of the White House 200 years ago by the British.

Here's the original tweet:

Marie Harf, a deputy spokesperson for the ...

Luckily, a historic magnitude-6.0 earthquake in California over the weekend has not resulted in the loss of any human life.

The wine country, however, was deeply affected. While it's still too early to tell just how much the quake will cost Napa Valley, what's clear is that some wineries ...

After two weeks of sometimes violent protests, the family of Michael Brown finally took some time to mourn on Monday.

The funeral service for the unarmed 18-year-old killed by officer Darren Wilson was held in a St. Louis megachurch.

Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, and his father, Michael Brown Sr., entered ...

A group of 29 state attorneys general is asking the Food and Drug Administration to tighten their regulation of electronic cigarettes.

In a letter (PDF), the attorneys ask the FDA to prohibit flavored e-cigarettes and to restrict advertising and marketing in the same manner it does for traditional cigarettes.

The White House went on lockdown Thursday night and it was all for a pint-sized breach.

A toddler apparently got loose from his parents and made a run through the White House fence. If you've ever been to the White House, you know the Secret Service takes any breach very ...

Following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Afghanistan's two dueling presidential candidates have come to an agreement that aims to resolve a long-running election dispute.

Reuters says that:

"A joint declaration that both of the candidates signed, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, did ...

(This post was last updated at 8:44 p.m. ET.)

The U.S. military conducted several strikes against Sunni extremist militants near Irbil in Iraq Friday, in what the White House calls a limited engagement.

"Military officials say unmanned aircraft struck a terrorist mortar position," NPR's Tamara Keith reports, "and then when ...

Just as the latest cease-fire expired, rockets flew into Israel from Gaza and Israel responded by ordering airstrikes in Gaza.

And just like that, a three-day negotiated peace came to an end. But NPR's Jackie Northam, who is reporting from Jerusalem, tells us it's still unclear if this renewed fighting ...