An end to the hostilities in the Gaza Strip have been announced. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the cease-fire that will take effect at 9 pm Middle East time.
For France, the combat mission in Afghanistan has ended. France pulled the last of its combat troops from the region.
Egyptian President Mahammed Morsi, who with the assistance of Qatar and Turkey has been trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, announced that a cease-fire will be agreed to sometime later today.
BANGKOK — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expressing concern about the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has conducted yet another day of airstrikes aimed at militants who have been firing rockets into southern Israel.