Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a Gaza, officials say

CAIRO (AP) — Officials say Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages. Mediators the United States and Qatar said Tuesday that Israel and the Palestinian militant group are at the “closest point” yet to sealing a deal that would bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made but details are being finalized. The three-phase plan would need Israeli Cabinet approval.

Dozens of survivors and dead pulled from abandoned South African mine

STILFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) — Rescuers have sent a cagelike structure into one of South Africa’s deepest gold mines to bring out survivors among hundreds of miners working illegally in an abandoned shaft who have been trapped for months. More than 100 are believed to have died of starvation or dehydration. Police say at least 60 bodies and 92 survivors have been brought out of the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine since Monday. The mine has been the scene of a tense standoff between police, miners and members of the local community since authorities launched an operation in November to force the miners out by cutting off food and water from the surface for a period of time.

France’s new PM says he’ll renegotiate a contested plan to raise the retirement age

PARIS (AP) — France’s new prime minister, François Bayrou, has announced the renegotiation of a contested plan raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. In his first address to lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Bayrou vowed to seek “a new path of reform, without any totems or taboos, not even the retirement age,” as long as the financing for the changes is provided. Bayrou’s government has no parliamentary majority amid unprecedented political instability. He urgently needs to pass a budget bill for 2025, in order to help reduce France’s deficit and allow key expenses such as defense measures needed amid the war in Ukraine and aid promised to angry farmers.

Zelenskyy, Macron discuss Western troop deployment in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has held further discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of Western troops deploying in Ukraine to safeguard any peace deal ending the nearly three-year war with Russia. Zelenskyy’s disclosure came before an official visit to Kyiv on Tuesday by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. He arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit following a meeting in Warsaw on Monday with his counterparts from France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland. Germany and the four other countries are Europe’s five top military spenders.