World News Roundup: Death toll rises to 42 in ArcelorMittal Kazakh mine fire; Israel's Netanyahu swipes at intel chiefs over Hamas, then apologizes and more

"This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement. Israel's Netanyahu swipes at intel chiefs over Hamas, then apologizes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday took a jab at his intelligence chiefs on the X platform, saying they never warned him Hamas was planning its wide-scale attack on Oct. 7, but later retracted his comments and issued an apology.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Death toll rises to 42 in ArcelorMittal Kazakh mine fire

The death toll from a fire at a mine owned by ArcelorMittal in Kazakhstan rose to 42 people on Sunday as a search for four miners continued, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said. "The search operation is hampered by the presence of destroyed mining equipment, as well as rubble in some places", the ministry said in a statement.

G7 calls for immediate repeal of bans on Japanese food, pressing China

The Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers called on Sunday for the "immediate repeal" of import curbs on Japanese food products, a reference to China's restrictions after Japan began releasing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The G7 trade ministers, in a statement after a weekend meeting on Osaka, did not mention China but they also denounced what they consider its rising economic coercion through trade.

Israel expanding ground operation in Gaza, comms blackout eases

Israeli forces are expanding ground operations in Gaza while their fighter jets have struck hundreds more Hamas targets, the Israeli military said on Sunday, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the second phase of a three-week-old war. Telephone and internet communications were partially restored in Gaza on Sunday after a more than day-long blackout that had badly impacted rescue operations as Israel pounded targets of the militant Hamas group that controls the territory.

Gazans break into aid centres taking flour, supplies, UN says

Thousands of Gaza residents broke into warehouses and distribution centres of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) grabbing flour and "basic survival items", the organisation said on Sunday. "This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after three weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement.

Israel's Netanyahu swipes at intel chiefs over Hamas, then apologizes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday took a jab at his intelligence chiefs on the X platform, saying they never warned him Hamas was planning its wide-scale attack on Oct. 7, but later retracted his comments and issued an apology. The remarks, posted on X at 1 a.m. on Sunday (around 2300 GMT on Saturday), caused a political uproar and a rift within the war cabinet of Netanyahu, who has drawn public ire for not taking responsibility over intelligence and operational failures relating to Hamas' rampage through southern Israel.

US State Department says Sudan ceasefire talks reconvene

The United States, Saudi Arabia and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, together with the African Union, have relaunched humanitarian and ceasefire talks between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday. "There is no acceptable military solution to this conflict. We call upon the SAF and RSF to approach the talks constructively, with the imperative to save lives, reduce the fighting, and create a path to a negotiated exit from the conflict," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Maldives will return Indian military as soon as possible, says incoming president

Maldives will work to return Indian military personnel from its shores "as soon as possible," President-elect Mohamed Muizzu told Reuters on Sunday, insisting it was the top foreign policy priority for the tiny Indian Ocean island chain. Muizzu won Maldives' presidential election last month, beating incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in a second-round runoff.

India police probe bomb that killed one in Kerala, injured dozens

Indian police are questioning a man who surrendered after at least one homemade bomb exploded at a convention centre in Kerala state on Sunday where a Christian group was holding a prayer meeting, killing a woman and wounding dozens of others. After initial questioning, the native of the city of Kochi, who surrendered in the southern state's Thrissur district, will be interrogated in detail by a senior police official, Asianet News reported, citing sources.

Bombarded Gazans look for loved ones as blackout eases

Gazans searched for loved ones and heard news of family members killed as communications gradually returned to the enclave on Sunday after a near total blackout as Israel's troops and armour pushed into the Hamas-ruled enclave. The United Nations also warned that Palestinians were desperate for food and that civil order was breaking down after three weeks of war with Hamas militants and a siege on the densely populated coastal strip.

Pope calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, hostage release

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas and renewed an appeal for the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza. "Let no-one abandon the possibility of stopping the weapons," he said at his weekly blessing in St. Peter's Square.