Category: News

A dozen people were killed and at least 10 injured after a Polish bus overturned at night on a motorway in eastern Hungary, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday morning in a Facebook post.

The bus ran into a ditch and tipped over early on Sunday near the town of Mezokeresztes in eastern Hungary, police said, adding that the bus was heading towards the city of Nyíregyháza on the motorway when the accident happened.

State news agency MTI said there were 57 passengers and two drivers on the bus.

“A Polish-registered bus traveling on the M3 motorway towards Nyíregyháza… veered off the straight stretch of road into a ditch and overturned. Preliminary information suggests the driver likely fell asleep,” police said on their website.

Twelve people lost their lives, and several others were injured in the accident, police said, adding that they were taking the bus driver into custody.

The injured have been taken to hospital.

An IDF humanitarian delegation, the “Alliance of Brothers,” began operating in Colombia on Saturday after arriving in the country following a major earthquake in the region.

The 80-person delegation, led by the Home Front Command in cooperation with the Defense Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry, was sent after Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella requested assistance from Israel.

Currently, Colombia has requested rescue teams from only four countries: the US, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Israel.

They are working in coordination with local professionals and officials at multiple impacted sites, focusing on two major sites by assisting in locating and rescuing people trapped by rubble.

One such site is the city’s university hospital, which experienced considerable damage. Home Front Command engineers are conducting search and rescue operations while attempting to restore the damaged medical wing’s operation.

IDF Home Front Command forces operating at impact sites in Cali, Colombia, August 14, 2026. (credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Mapping efforts and building assessments have begun in order to establish plans and priorities for the ongoing response efforts.

The delegation is also assisting in establishing data management systems in order to manage situational assessments and decision-making to help navigate the complex process.

Colombian authorities confirmed Friday morning that around 400 people remain missing nearly four days after the quake, whose epicenter was in the vulnerable Chocó department on the country’s Pacific coast.

Hundreds have been killed in the earthquake and its resulting damage, and over 4,000 people have so far been documented to have injuries.

Ariella Roitman contributed to this report.

Alex Witkoff, son of US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, marked the 15th anniversary of his brother Andrew’s death on Saturday by sharing that his newborn nephew was born on the same date and named in Andrew’s memory, a coincidence he described as “bashert,” or “meant to be.”

"Exactly 15 years ago, we unexpectedly lost my beloved brother Andrew," Witkoff wrote, reflecting on his brother's death. On the anniversary of Andrew's death, the family welcomed a new life when his brother Zach Witkoff and Zach's wife, Sophie, had a son named Theodore Andrew in memory of his late uncle.

The timing carried particular significance because that day was the only one on which the couple’s doctor was available to deliver the baby. “In Judaism, we call this ‘bashert,’ meant to be,” Witkoff wrote.

For the Witkoff family, a day long associated with tragedy has now taken on new meaning. "A day forever marked by unimaginable loss now carries with it new life, joy, and hope. Theodore will carry forward Andrew's name, memory, and spirit," Witkoff wrote.

Andrew Witkoff died of an opioid overdose in 2011 at age 22. Steve Witkoff previously spoke about the loss at a conference on the opioid epidemic organized by First Lady Melania Trump.

"After my son died, I found myself clinging to his memory, even his possessions. His student ID is in my pocket now, I have worn his ring since he died, I came here today wearing his watch, I kept his guitar, and I thought I would keep it forever, but I gave it to a dear friend of mine, a dear friend of Andrew's, and a music fan like him, Donald Trump," he said.

Theodore is Steve Witkoff's second grandchild; the first is nearly-two-year-old Don James Witkoff, born to Zach Witkoff in December 2024. He is named after Donald Trump, a fact that both Trump and Witkoff publicized online shortly after Don's birth.

"Congratulations to Zach and Sophi Witkoff on the birth of their son, Don James Witkoff (DJW), named after me (Thank you!). I wish them the best today, the day of DJW’s Bris," Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. "Don will have a great, beautiful, and successful life. This will be, because of him, a very important date as the years go by!"

"Thank you Mr. President," Zach Witkoff wrote in a response on Twitter/X. "It is an honor to name our son after the greatest President of all time and all that you stand for."

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

Moroccan police arrested at least 111 people on Saturday as they tried to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides of the border after social media posts called for another mass migrant crossing.

The attempted crossing came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta, sparking tensions within the European Union and fueling anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died in the attempt to reach European soil.

A source in Morocco’s Interior Ministry told Reuters those detained included 109 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and two Moroccan citizens arrested in or around Fnideq, the Moroccan city opposite Ceuta.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups of migrants gathered on hills about 3 km (1.9 miles) from the border. Reuters later saw hundreds of police officers, some in riot gear and others in plain clothes, returning from the hills outside Fnideq.

EFE and Spanish state broadcaster TVE said Morocco's Interior Ministry ordered their journalists to leave Fnideq immediately, without providing an explanation.

In Ceuta, Spanish soldiers guarded supermarkets while police heavily patrolled the enclave's main streets. The city was calmer than in the days after the deadly crossing attempt on July 30.

Madrid has since installed a maritime barrier and deployed more than 500 additional police from mainland Spain, raising the total in Ceuta to more than 1,600. The Interior Ministry said the reinforcements would remain for as long as needed.

"We'll continue to deploy whatever personnel are necessary to restore normality as soon as possible and prevent events like those of July 30 from happening again," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Thursday.

About 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta, the minister said. Reuters saw hundreds sheltering from scorching heat under makeshift bamboo shelters on the urban beach of El Trampolin.

Grande-Marlaska said migrants who entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, except in rare cases involving extreme vulnerability. Those without a right to remain would be returned to Morocco, he said.

Earlier this week, Rabat said it was monitoring "the circulation of social media posts and messages of unknown origin" calling for a mass crossing on August 15, warning it would prosecute organizers and participants.

A Reuters witness saw reinforced security near the border, including police vans with wire shields and road checkpoints. Local media reported similar measures near Spain’s other North African enclave, Melilla.

Authorities prevented several groups from boarding trains and buses to northern Morocco in cities such as Casablanca, Fez and Kenitra. However, witnesses told Reuters that some migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were bypassing security checkpoints by taking mountain routes towards Fnideq.

One witness said the schools in Fnideq had been turned into accommodation for security forces deployed near the border.

Many of the young people who entered Ceuta on July 30 were fishing, swimming or washing at Tarajal beach on Friday.

Driss Sadik, a 22-year-old from Fez who said he swam for five hours to reach Ceuta, urged others not to follow his example.

“The important thing I would advise people trying to cross: Don’t cross now, my brothers. You’re only going to suffer,” he told Reuters.

The warning was echoed by Adil Jamil, 17.

"Those who enter aren't going to benefit from anything. There will just be more and more of us, and they won't find a solution for all," he said.

Jamil said that the mass border crossings were "planned by the people" who pick a date, gather in Fnideq, and cross together to find strength in numbers.

"If I had stayed with my parents, I would've died slowly. But if I risk my life, arrive and build my future … it will be better," he said.

Five people were shot outside residence halls at Virginia State University early Saturday, leaving one person critically wounded and prompting a campus lockdown, Chesterfield County Police said.

Police responded to reports of a shooting at approximately 1:28 a.m. local time and found five people suffering from gunshot wounds outside the university’s residence halls.

All five victims were transported to area hospitals. One person was in critical condition, while the other four sustained injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to police.

Authorities were investigating multiple suspects in connection with the shooting, according to reports. The identities of the victims and their connections to the university were not immediately clear.

The university initially ordered a lockdown as law enforcement responded to the shooting. The lockdown was later lifted, although a significant police presence remained on campus as the investigation continued.

The shooting occurred near the university's Quad Annexes in the area of Boisseau Street. Chesterfield County Police were leading the investigation, with university police and other law enforcement agencies assisting.

Virginia State University is a historically Black university founded in 1882 and located in Ettrick, Virginia, less than 25 miles south of Richmond. The shooting occurred shortly before the beginning of the new academic year.

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth downplayed concerns regarding the well-being of sailors deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on Friday after reports claimed that distressed service members had tried to jump overboard due to poor conditions.

Trump asserted that the over-260-day deployment was “not nearly long enough” when asked by reporters if he believed the deployment had gone on too long.

“That ship is moving right now or very shortly, and it's being replaced with another very similar ship,” he continued, speaking to the media before boarding Air Force One on Friday.

Hegseth took to social media to criticize the allegations of low morale and poor conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln, labelling outlets that have reported on the matter as “fake, America-hating news.”

“The reckless and shameless ‘American’ media completely and intentionally misrepresent the USS Abraham Lincoln,” Hegseth claimed in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.

He asserted that sailors aboard the ship are proud of their deployment and “embody resilience and excellence.”

US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), a veteran who served in the US Marine Corps Reserve, on Thursday demanded that the Trump administration explain what measures are being taken to support the sailors and why the USS Abraham Lincoln’s deployment was extended beyond the originally scheduled seven months.

In a letter to Hegseth and Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Blumenthal cited reports of water contamination, plumbing issues, and shortages of basic supplies, among other concerns raised by sailors aboard the aircraft carrier, as reasons for a formal inquiry into the matter. 

“The men and women aboard the Lincoln have answered the call to serve their country. The Department owes them… adequate supplies, maintenance, and support during this deployment,” he asserted.

Blumenthal asked that the US Navy provide answers to his inquiry before August 27.

Cao, in a statement released on Friday, also denied the reports of poor conditions and asserted that the USS Abraham Lincoln and sailors aboard will return home shortly as part of a planned rotation.

He acknowledged how difficult deployment can be for sailors, vowing that “the safety and security of Sailors and Marines always comes first” for the Navy.

Cao continued to claim that the allegations are dishonest and “take away the focus on the enemy and the threat it poses against our nation, people, and way of life.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) similarly denied the reports regarding sailors’ concerns, labelling them as “rampant misreporting” and a disservice to US service members.

Miriam Sela-Eitam and Esther David contributed to this report.

The Taliban marked five years in power on Saturday, seeking to portray their government as in control even as aid and rights groups warned of escalating crises.

Outside the former US embassy in Kabul, armored Taliban vehicles took part in a parade, displaying flags and banners, and celebrating what the government described as "victory day" from Western domination.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, said in a video address that their return to power was the result of "morale, courage" and "divine assistance."

But he also made a rare acknowledgement of "issues and problems that may still exist."

International organizations and the UN say the Taliban have struggled to address the natural and humanitarian crises Afghanistan has faced over the past five years, in part because Afghan women are under severe restrictions.

The Taliban have also faced a string of assassinations of key regional officials in the country's northeast in recent weeks.

In late July, the Taliban's information director in Badakhshan province was killed in an attack later claimed by Islamic State. The mayor of the province's capital also died in an attack on Thursday, local media reported.

Taliban officials did not immediately confirm the reports.

When the Taliban returned to power in 2021 amid the withdrawal of the US and its allies, they promised to govern more liberally than they had in the late 1990s and early 2000s — a period marked by public executions, the sheltering of Osama bin Laden and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas.

But those assurances quickly faltered, human rights groups say. The Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls since 2021, barring 2.5 million of them from secondary schools and universities, according to UNESCO, and limiting their freedom of movement.

Half of Afghan women now ‌leave their homes only once or twice a month, according to data released by UN Women on Wednesday.

The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with Islamic sharia law.

Five years on, their government remains internationally unrecognized, with Russia the only country to have formally recognized it.

Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan — initially their most important partner — are tense, as Islamabad accuses Kabul of supporting Pakistani insurgents.

Many former embassies in Kabul have remained empty since the Taliban's return to power, including the US embassy that was the backdrop of Taliban celebrations on Saturday.

But the Taliban have made quiet diplomatic inroads, analysts say, as some countries weigh the limits of their influence in Afghanistan and the need to engage with the government.

The Taliban are increasingly pushing for arrangements with European nations that have been seeking ways to deport more Afghans. The government in Kabul is also using its geographical location at the crossroads of South and Central Asia and the Middle East to strike economic deals.

Zia Ahmad Takal, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban's foreign ministry, told Reuters that ceremonies marking the government's fifth anniversary were expected to be held in the capitals of Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey and Malaysia.

"My hope for the future of Afghanistan is that we will move toward development, God willing," Najibullah Ghorzang, a 28-year-old shop owner who attended Saturday's ceremonies in Kabul, said.

"We defeated a great empire, and we will defeat them again," he said of the US and its allies.

The International Rescue Committee warned on Friday that Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs had reached a record level, driven by droughts, the fallout from deadly earthquakes and the deportation of Afghans from neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

While foreign aid budgets have shrunk, the number of Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance has risen by 3.5 million people since 2021, it said.

"Sustainable peace and prosperity require more than just an absence of conflict," Georgette Gagnon, a senior UN representative on Afghanistan, said in a statement.

"Afghanistan's future depends on building a society in which the rights and potential of all Afghans are realized."

Fatima, 28, has struggled to survive with her child. After the Taliban's return to power, she fled to Iran, where she could continue working as a make-up artist even as the Taliban banned women from such work in Afghanistan.

Last year, she was expelled from Iran and deported to Afghanistan.

"Every morning, I wake up wondering how I will cover my basic living expenses, and every night I close my eyes with worries about my child's future," she said.

Spain has beefed up police and military presence in its North African enclave of Ceuta amid social media messages encouraging migrants to attempt another mass border breach on Saturday, two weeks after tens of thousands rushed into the city.

Soldiers in combat fatigues stood watch outside supermarkets and official buildings on Friday evening, while police cars heavily patrolled the enclave's main avenues. Still, outdoor cafes were packed with diners, and the downtown area was calmer the in the days after the deadly rush on July 30.

On the other side of the border, dozens of black-clad Moroccan security personnel surveilled the beach in Fnideq from which many migrants who swam around Ceuta’s Tarajal breakwater departed. At least 96 people died in the attempt and over 72,000 managed to enter Ceuta, according to Spanish government estimates.

While the vast majority of them voluntarily returned to Morocco shortly thereafter, the crisis sparked a rift within the European Union and fueled anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide.

Spain has since installed a maritime barrier and sent over 500 additional police officers from the mainland. The Interior Ministry said they would remain as long as the situation required.

"We'll continue to deploy whatever personnel are necessary to restore normality as soon as possible and prevent events like those of July 30 from happening again," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters in Ceuta on Thursday.

About 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta, the minister said. Officials have started screening adults and decided more than 500 asylum cases, most of them rejected.

Grande-Marlaska added that people who entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, except in rare cases of extreme vulnerability. Spain would return those without a right to remain to Morocco, he said.

Earlier this week, Rabat said it was monitoring "the circulation of social media posts and messages of unknown origin" calling for a mass crossing on August 15, warning it would prosecute organizers and participants.

Local media showed a reinforced security apparatus near the border with Ceuta and Spain's other African enclave, Melilla, including the installation of new razor wire on the fences separating the territories.

Authorities prevented several groups from boarding trains and buses to the north in cities such as Casablanca, Fez and Kenitra. However, witnesses told Reuters that some groups from sub-Saharan Africa were sidestepping security checks on the road to Fnideq, taking mountainous routes instead.

One witness said the schools in Fnideq had been turned into dormitories for security forces deployed near the border.

Many of the youths who entered Ceuta on July 30 were fishing, swimming or showering at Ceuta's Tarajal beach on Friday.

Fez native Driss Sadik, 22, swam for five hours to reach Ceuta. He warned against others emulating him.

"The important thing I would advise people trying to cross: Don't cross now, my brothers. You're only going to suffer," he told Reuters.

Adil Jamil, 17, echoed the sentiment.

"Those who enter aren't going to benefit from anything. There will just be more and more of us, and they won't find a solution for all," he said.

Jamil added that the mass border rushes were "planned by the people": they chose a day, gathered in Fnideq, and crossed together to find strength in numbers.

"If I had stayed with my parents, I would've died slowly. But if I risk my life, arrive and build my future… it will be better," he said.

A man suspected of shooting and killing five people in northern Michigan on Friday was found dead after a manhunt, Michigan State Police said in a statement on social media.

One victim remained hospitalized in critical condition, the police said.

Troopers were dispatched around 11:40 a.m. local time (6:40 p.m. Israel time) to a home in Missaukee County, Michigan, after a report of a shooting. Officers found three people dead and a fourth person wounded, the state police said.

The suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Chad Hickman, fled the scene before troopers arrived, prompting a manhunt. During the search for the suspect, investigators discovered another deceased victim at a second residence.

Troopers later located Hickman's vehicle near a wooded area close to Whitlock Lake, where they found Hickman and another person dead, police said.

"This situation is heartbreaking for the community and challenging for the investigators involved," said Lieutenant Ashley Miller, cited in the police statement.

Police did not release the names, ages, or genders of the victims, saying next-of-kin notifications were underway.

A tsunami warning was issued after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores region on Saturday, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).

The independent scientific organization initially classified the earthquake as magnitude 7.5, then downgraded it to 6.9, before reclassifying it as 7.5 and then upgrading it to 7.7.

Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology, and geophysics agency (BMKG) issued the tsunami warning, while also warning of possible aftershocks in the region.

According to the EMSC, the earthquake occured at a depth of 35 km at 4:58 a.m. local time (12:58 a.m. Israel time), with a tsunami evaluation conducted before the warning was issued.

An additional earthquake was detected at a depth of 10 km in the same region soon after, at 5:13 a.m. local time (1:13 a.m. Israel time), with the EMSC noting its classification as magnitude 5.5 following an earlier classification of 6.3.

Australia’s tsunami warning center said the undersea earthquake will have “no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories.”

Reuters contributed to this report.