Comment on Syria peace talks resume, but Assad is in the driver's seat

LONDON — The UK’s ambassador to Mexico has left his post after a video was posted on social media that purportedly shows him pointing an assault rifle near a colleague. The Financial Times reported Friday that Jon Benjamin was traveling in Sinaloa and Durango, two states in northern Mexico where drug cartels have a significant presence, when the incident occurred.

JOHANNESBURG — The African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in a historic election result Saturday that puts South Africa on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago. With more than 99% of votes counted, the once-dominant ANC had received just over 40% in Wednesday’s election, well short of the majority it had held since the famed all-race vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought it to power under Nelson Mandela.

Days after the AI-generated image calling for “all eyes on Rafah” went viral on Instagram, dozens more posts that seem to have been created using artificial intelligence have been shared across the social media platform. The images circulating online are a mix of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine posts, NBC News reported. Some of them imitate the original “all eyes on Rafah” image, while others are more graphic, such as one that depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covered in blood. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] One post is an image of a large crowd with the words “bring them home now,” referencing the Israeli hostages in Gaza. This wave of AI-generated images comes after the “all eyes on Rafah” post has been shared more than 47 million times by Instagram users, including celebrities like Bella Hadid and Nicola Coughlan.

Washington — Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86. Mrs. Robinson’s death was announced by Michelle Obama and other family members in a statement that said “there was and will be only one Marian Robinson.

Washington — President Joe Biden on Friday detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the grinding, nearly 8-month-old Mideast war. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Biden added that Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release the remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire. The Democratic president in remarks from the White House called the proposal “a road map to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages.” Biden said the first phase of the proposed deal would would last for six weeks and would include a “full and complete cease-fire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. American hostages would be released at this stage, and remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families.