Soyuz mission docks with ISS, Hamas signals ceasefire, and the Pope lauds Singapore. This is what happened overnight

The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, with two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut on board, reached the International Space Station late Wednesday evening, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos. Soyuz launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and, after about three hours of flight, docked with the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Wagner, and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit flew to the ISS. During their mission, the Russian cosmonauts and the American astronauts are scheduled to conduct 42 scientific experiments, three of which will be conducted for the first time. Additionally, in December, Ovchinin and Wagner will perform a spacewalk during which they will install a spectrometer on the outer shell of one of the station's modules.

• The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas declared on Wednesday that it is ready to accept a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip on terms previously presented by the USA. Negotiations for a truce have been ineffective for months, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of making new demands. Hamas' chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya met with Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday. Qatar and Egypt, along with the United States, are mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas. In a statement issued after the talks, Hamas expressed the "readiness for the immediate implementation of the ceasefire agreement based on President Biden's declaration." It was emphasized that the group is not making new demands and rejects any new conditions for this agreement proposed by either side.

• Pope Francis, while in Singapore, in his first speech on Thursday, spoke of the human genius, the dynamism of society, and the brilliant spirit of entrepreneurship that characterizes the country. He added that it is an excellent example of what humanity can achieve by working together in a spirit of fraternity. In his speech at the National University of Singapore, in the presence of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Pope expressed gratitude for the warm reception in the city-state, which he described as a crossroads of trade routes of prime importance and a place where various nations meet.

• At the age of 86, after a long battle with cancer, controversial former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori passed away. His daughter, Keiko Fujimori, shared the news of his death on social media.

• A fire has already consumed over 47,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest in California. It is one of three major fires currently burning in the southern part of the state. The fires broke out during a heatwave in the region. The picture shows a burned car in the town of Wrightwood.

• A picture of a ship purported to be delivering ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia was published by Sky News, citing Ukrainian sources. Iran denies the deliveries.