Us Hostage Crisis

US President Joe Biden called on Hamas on Tuesday to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while the Palestinian oppressive group warned talks for a truce and hostage release cannot go on "indefinitely".

The United States has advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and is keeping Qatar - a broker with the Palestinian militants - apprised of those talks, sources said, as Washington tries to free more hostages

A suspect wanted in connection with a shooting was barricaded inside a supermarket in the US city of Los Angeles on Saturday, police said, in what US media reported was a possible hostage situation.

A suspect was taken into custody by police after taking hostages at the Alabama Credit Union in Tuscaloosa near the University of Alabama campus in the US on Tuesday and sparking a standoff.

The US has said it cannot yet confirm the ISIS's claim owning responsibility for the hostage crisis in a restaurant in Dhaka's high security diplomatic area.

Iran appointed a new UN ambassador on Wednesday following Washington's refusal to grant a US visa to a previous nominee over the 1979 embassy hostage crisis, state news agency IRNA said.

The United States has issued a global travel warning after recent terror attacks in France, Australia and Canada.

The United States issued a worldwide travel alert Friday, warning Americans to be vigilant during the holiday period, especially in the wake of a deadly siege in Australia.

Popular web-based taxi firm Uber went into damage control mode Monday, offering free rides to passengers fleeing an armed siege in Sydney after earlier hiking prices upwards of Aus$100 (US$82).

US President Barack Obama has been briefed about the situation at a cafe in Sydney where hostages were being held and an Islamic flag had been displayed, a White House official said Sunday.

At least four hostages held in Syria by Islamic State militants, including US journalist James Foley, were waterboarded during their captivity, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the treatment of Western hostages.

Authorities say a man who took hostages at a bank in rural Louisiana shot the two remaining hostages before being shot and killed by police.

A man armed with a handgun took two women and a man hostage at a bank where they work in Louisiana on Tuesday, and police were negotiating with the gunman to win the release of his captives, authorities said.

A New York college student being held by an armed home intruder was shot and killed by a police officer who had responded to a report of a home invasion at an off-campus home, police said on Saturday.

A tense weekend standoff in a South Trenton, New Jersey, neighborhood ended early on Sunday with a hostage taker dead and three children rescued, authorities said.

US President Joe Biden called on Hamas on Tuesday to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while the Palestinian oppressive group warned talks for a truce and hostage release cannot go on "indefinitely".

The United States has advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and is keeping Qatar - a broker with the Palestinian militants - apprised of those talks, sources said, as Washington tries to free more hostages

A suspect wanted in connection with a shooting was barricaded inside a supermarket in the US city of Los Angeles on Saturday, police said, in what US media reported was a possible hostage situation.

A suspect was taken into custody by police after taking hostages at the Alabama Credit Union in Tuscaloosa near the University of Alabama campus in the US on Tuesday and sparking a standoff.

The US has said it cannot yet confirm the ISIS's claim owning responsibility for the hostage crisis in a restaurant in Dhaka's high security diplomatic area.

Iran appointed a new UN ambassador on Wednesday following Washington's refusal to grant a US visa to a previous nominee over the 1979 embassy hostage crisis, state news agency IRNA said.

The United States has issued a global travel warning after recent terror attacks in France, Australia and Canada.

The United States issued a worldwide travel alert Friday, warning Americans to be vigilant during the holiday period, especially in the wake of a deadly siege in Australia.

Popular web-based taxi firm Uber went into damage control mode Monday, offering free rides to passengers fleeing an armed siege in Sydney after earlier hiking prices upwards of Aus$100 (US$82).

US President Barack Obama has been briefed about the situation at a cafe in Sydney where hostages were being held and an Islamic flag had been displayed, a White House official said Sunday.

At least four hostages held in Syria by Islamic State militants, including US journalist James Foley, were waterboarded during their captivity, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the treatment of Western hostages.

Authorities say a man who took hostages at a bank in rural Louisiana shot the two remaining hostages before being shot and killed by police.

A man armed with a handgun took two women and a man hostage at a bank where they work in Louisiana on Tuesday, and police were negotiating with the gunman to win the release of his captives, authorities said.

A New York college student being held by an armed home intruder was shot and killed by a police officer who had responded to a report of a home invasion at an off-campus home, police said on Saturday.

A tense weekend standoff in a South Trenton, New Jersey, neighborhood ended early on Sunday with a hostage taker dead and three children rescued, authorities said.