The European Union will continue to examine possible further suspensions of sanctions against Syria while closely monitoring the situation in the country, EU leaders said on Thursday.The EU leaders condemned the recent violence in Syria and urged Syrian leaders "to ensure the protection of all civilians."

EU leaders on Thursday said on Thursday that they deplore the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza and Hamas' refusal to hand over remaining hostages."The European Council deplores the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza, which has caused a large number of civilian casualties in recent air strikes. It deplores the refusal of Hamas to hand over the remaining hostages," it said in a statement.

The Taliban on Thursday freed an American citizen who had been detained in Afghanistan for more than two years, following talks between U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Taliban officials in Kabul, a source briefed on the release told Reuters.George Glezmann, who was detained in 2022 while visiting Kabul as a tourist, left Afghanistan on a Qatari aircraft on Thursday evening bound for Qatar, the source said.Glezmann and Boehler are expected to travel on to the United States, the source added.

The University of California has imposed a system-wide hiring freeze and made additional cuts, its president said on Wednesday, as part of efforts to try to mitigate the impact of sharp cuts in federal funding.In a letter to staff and students, the school's president, Michael Drake, said he has also directed all University of California locations to implement cost-saving measures, such as delaying maintenance and reducing business travel, to help conserve its funds.The University of California operates one of the largest higher-education systems in the country, with 10 main campuses, six academic research centers and three national laboratories.The 10 campuses have a total of nearly 300,000 students enrolled, more than 25,000 faculty members and 173,000 staff members.Some of the proposed policy changes and executive orders issued by US President Donald Trump since he returned to office in January threaten funding for lifesaving research, patient care, and education support.

US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday that aims to shut down the Department of Education, fulfilling a key campaign pledge, the White House said in a fact sheet on the measure.The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely."It also mandates that any programs or activities receiving remaining Department of Education funds should not "advance DEI or gender ideology."

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he spoke with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and that the two leaders condemned the resumption of Israeli strikes on Gaza.Macron said they will co-chair a conference on a two-state solution, aimed at "helping revive a political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians."Macron also said he welcomed the crown prince's Jeddah initiative, which enabled the start of peace negotiations in Ukraine.

The next round of US-Russia talks will take place on March 24 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and at an expert level, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday.The Russian delegation will be led by Grigory Karasin, the head of the international affairs committee in Russia's upper house of parliament, and Sergei Beseda, an adviser to the head of Russia's FSB security service, Ushakov said in a statement.