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  Led by superstar forward Erling Haaland, Norway impressed in qualifying to reach their first World Cup since 1998. Norway have not played at a World Cup since 1998, as a generation of fans has had to endure a series of near misses and damp squibs. This Norway side, however, powered by the superstar  Erling Haaland  alongside a bunch of other huge talents, stormed their qualifying group with eight wins out of eight, including giving Italy home and away drubbings. Not only are the Scandinavian nation finally back at the World Cup, this time they aim to go far – if not all the way. The squad was announced on Thursday in a video by the country’s King Harald V, who said the country has “waited a long time” to return to the World Cup. “The hope has lived on – on gravel, on grass and artificial turf … Across long distances, ferries and mountain passes,” he said. Haaland to emulate father The Man City striker ran rampant in qualifying, scoring five goals and grabbing two a...

  At least five Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on a refugee camp in central Gaza, officials said. Israeli air attacks have killed at least seven people in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities said, as Israel continues to violate the “ceasefire” during the Muslim holiday of  Eid al-Adha . At least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone attack on Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday, the civil defence and hospital officials said. “Five martyrs and several wounded were transferred (to hospital) after an Israeli air strike targeted a group of citizens in eastern Maghazi,” the civil defence agency said. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed the death toll. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which launched a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023. Local media reports suggest the attack targeted Palestinians who confronted an alleged Israeli-backed armed group operating in the eastern part of the camp. Reporting from Gaza City, A...

  The attacks hit the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late Monday as Israeli intensified its assault across Lebanon. Israeli air attacks have killed at least 11 people and wounded 15 others in eastern Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said, as a fragile ceasefire comes under growing strain. The air attacks hit the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late on Monday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Tuesday. The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites and “terrorists” in the Bekaa Valley and across southern Lebanon in the wave of attacks. The attacks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorised more intensive strikes against Hezbollah across Lebanon, putting further pressure on a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect last month. Reporting from Mashghara, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said there were at least 10 attacks in the span of half an hour on an area with r...

  Israel’s president condemns settler violence as international outrage mounts over treatment of Gaza aid activists and reports of sexual abuse in Israeli detention. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has a track record of taunting blindfolded detainees. In the past, he has been accompanied by camera crews as he   toured   Israeli prisons holding Palestinian detainees. This week, Ben-Gvir was seen on camera gloating over a group of largely foreign activists who were forced to kneel on the floor with their arms bound after Israeli forces detained their flotilla in international waters. This was part of an attempt by activists from across the world to break the siege of Gaza and deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid. The  footage  – combined with reports that at least 15 activists had been  subjected to sexual assault  during detention – triggered the most significant  international diplomatic backlash  against Israel in rece...

  Before the US strikes on targets in southern Iran, Tehran said a deal with Washington was not imminent. The US military has  launched a series of strikes  near the Strait of Hormuz as an Iranian delegation led by top officials travelled to Qatar to hold negotiations to end the US-Israel war on Iran. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed it carried out the  “self-defence strikes ” to protect US troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. However, it did not provide details about the strikes and their locations. Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, some 70km (42 miles) from the Strait of Hormuz, in southern Iran. The latest attacks come despite a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire in place since April 8, and amid optimism of a deal to end the war that has triggered an energy crisis across the world. On Monday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said a “large portion” of issues with the US have been resolved, but that a ...

  Recovery efforts begin after building collapse in city of Angeles, near Manila, kills at least four people. Emergency officials in the northern Philippines have ended a two-day rescue operation for 16 people missing after a nine-storey building under construction collapsed, killing at least four people. The focus shifted on Tuesday to recovering the remains of the victims after the bodies of four people, including a Malaysian man and two trapped construction workers, were pulled from the debris of the condominium project that collapsed onto a nearby hotel in the city of Angeles, north of Manila, early on Sunday. “We know how hard this is for you,” Maria Leah Sajili, information officer at the regional Bureau of Fire Protection, told a news briefing on Tuesday. “We sympathise with what you are going through. Rest assured, we did everything we could to save lives, and now we have to move forward,” she said. Alfredo Albis, 55, told the AFP news agency he believed two of his cousins ...