It has been over a week since the massive wildfires broke out in Los Angeles, fueled by hurricane-strength Santa Ana winds, causing some of the most catastrophic fire scenes California has ever witnessed.

The fires, centered around the Palisades and nearby Eaton areas, remain largely uncontained. With the return of Santa Ana winds, the risk of further spread or new ignitions grows.

To date, these fierce wildfires have claimed at least 25 lives, destroyed over 12,300 structures, and scorched more than 40,600 acres (about 164 square km).

So, when will these fires end, and what do firefighters need to stop them?

UN relief agencies and humanitarians, led by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the Gaza ceasefire accord reached between Israel and Hamas, and called for a massive scaling up of humanitarian operations.

Guterres said the world body's priority must be to ease suffering caused by the conflict once the ceasefire takes effect, scheduled for Sunday, calling for rapid, unhindered, and safe humanitarian relief for all needy civilians, news agency reported.

"It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid across Gaza so that we can support a major increase in urgent lifesaving humanitarian support. The humanitarian situation is at catastrophic levels," he said.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, the UN relief chief, said in a statement that the ceasefire agreement offers much-needed hope to millions of people whose lives have been devastated by the conflict.

Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on his first official visit to Turkey.

The meeting between Erdogan and Al-Shaibani addressed the most recent situation in Syria and steps to be taken to preserve the country's territorial integrity, Turkey's Communications Directorate said in a statement on the social media platform X, news agency reported.

According to the directorate, Erdogan said that "Turkey will support meeting the urgent needs of the brotherly Syrian people and the efforts to rebuild the country," emphasising the importance of lifting international sanctions on Syria.

Erdogan also underscored that there is no room for terrorist organisations in Syria's future, the statement added.

In a joint press conference following the meeting with Al-Shaibani, Fidan said "the international community could support Syria to rebuild state institutions and build capacity," calling for the removal of sanctions "to facilitate the provision of basic public services and accelerate normalisation."

India on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the decision for the release of hostages between Israel and Hamas.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed hope that this development would pave the way for safe and sustained humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

"We welcome the announcement of the agreement for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. We hope this will lead to a safe and sustained supply of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza," the MEA stated.

India reiterated its consistent stance, advocating for the release of hostages, a ceasefire, and a return to dialogue and diplomacy.

"We have consistently called for release of all hostages, ceasefire, and return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy," the statement added.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that it received $1.5 million in funding from the Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN global fund for education in emergencies, to address the urgent educational and psychosocial needs of Sudanese refugee children in Libya.

"This contribution from the ECW allows us to tackle the critical education gaps for Sudanese refugee children in Libya, ensuring that no child is left behind," said Mohammad Fayyazi, UNICEF representative in Libya, in a statement.

According to the statement, the program, set to reach 19,000 children across Libya, provides both formal and non-formal educational opportunities, ensuring children facing barriers, such as lack of documentation, can still access learning, news agency reported.

The statement added that the program also integrates mental health and psychosocial support to address the trauma and challenges faced by children affected by displacement and violence.

Israel's Security Cabinet and government are scheduled to convene on Thursday to approve the Gaza ceasefire agreement after the deal was reached between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday.

The Security Cabinet will convene at 11:00 am local time with the government expected to be gathered afterward, an Israeli government official said.

The deal is expected to have a majority in both the Security Cabinet and the government, despite two key parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government have voiced opposition to the agreement, news agency reported.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday urged the government to approve the ceasefire deal.

"It is the right, important, and necessary move," Herzog said in a broadcast statement.

A total of 246 survivors and 78 bodies have been brought to the ground over three days of rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, the police said.

In a statement issued at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said that 246 illegal miners had been retrieved alive from underground and had been arrested since the rescue operation commenced on Monday at the Stilfontein mine in the North West Province. The number of bodies recovered stood at 78, the same as the previous update released at 4:00 pm, news agency reported.

"We cannot say for sure that the operation has been called off at this stage," SAPS national spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told.

The World Bank approved a 257.8-million-US. dollar financing to improve water supply services in Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

A statement released by the World Bank noted that the Second Greater Beirut Water Supply Project will finance the completion of bulk water infrastructure initiated and advanced under a previous project, and repair water infrastructure that may have been damaged by the conflict, news agency reported.

The project aims to increase water supply coverage for the 1.8 million people residing in the Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon area, significantly reducing reliance on private water tankers, which are up to 10 times more expensive, it said, adding that this infrastructure investment will boost surface water supply to meet on average 70 percent of the demand during the dry season, up from 24 per cent.

Israeli forces intensified their assault on Gaza, striking approximately 50 sites since early Wednesday, Israeli authorities said.

In a joint statement, the Israeli Shin Bet domestic security agency and the military reported that the airstrikes targeted militants, weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, anti-tank fire positions, and Hamas military structures.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence Authority in Gaza, reported that the authority had retrieved the bodies of seven people and rescued dozens of wounded individuals after Israeli aircraft targeted the Al-Farabi School with at least one missile. According to him, the school, located in the Yarmouk area west of Gaza City, was housing displaced people.

A total of 106 illegal miners and 51 bodies were brought to the surface on the second day of rescue operations at an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, according to police.

This brought the death toll to 60 as nine bodies were recovered on the first day of rescue operations at the old Buffelsfontein Gold Mine in Stilfontein, North West Province. On the same day, 26 illegal miners were rescued.

"On day two of operations, a total of 106 alive illegal miners were retrieved and arrested for illegal mining; 51 were certified dead," the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who visited the area on Tuesday, said the operations are estimated to continue for about 10 days.

In the statement, Athlenda Mathe, national spokesperson for the SAPS, confirmed that those rescued have since been arrested. Among those arrested on Tuesday are 67 from Mozambique, 26 from Lesotho, and 11 from Zimbabwe, in addition to two South African nationals.