World

Hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been welcomed with tears and screams of joy as they were released by Israel to be reunited with their families in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The release involved about 250 prisoners who had been convicted of crimes including murder and deadly attacks against Israelis – and about 1,700 detainees from …

Hamas is reasserting control of parts of Gaza not occupied by Israeli forces as the ceasefire takes hold – amid continuing uncertainty about security in the territory if the group is disarmed. Hamas’ internal security forces were pictured on the streets of Gaza City on Saturday, and there have been multiple reports of clashes between the group and clans opposing it in recent days. …

The last 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are now back in Israel after more than two years in captivity The hostages were kidnapped by Hamas during the 7 October attacks in 2023 – watch the moments several were reunited with their families The IDF says Hamas has handed over the coffins of two dead hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza, with two …

US President Donald Trump has told cheering Israeli lawmakers that “the long and painful nightmare is finally over”, after helping to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. During the first such address by a US president since 2008, Trump said the day would mark “the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the …

Israel expect a final exchange of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners and detainees to start to take place early Monday, according to a spokesperson from Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. Meanwhile, many Palestinians are returning to devastating scenes inside Gaza City as seen in this Reuters video below. Early-morning release: The 20 living hostages who have been held in Gaza will be released early …

Beijing has vowed countermeasures against Washington if US President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to impose new 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. Trump’s latest threat came after China unleashed a raft of export restrictions on rare earth minerals last week. The escalating tensions threaten to derail months of progress in trade talks. Ships are berthed at the container terminal of the port …

Hamas recalls 7,000 fighters to reassert control over Gaza amid fears of renewed internal violence after Israeli forces pulled back from parts of the territory The mobilisation has been widely anticipated as uncertainty grows about who will govern Gaza once the war ends – this is a key sticking point for later phases of Trump’s plan Elsewhere, Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency says …

Hamas is pressing Israel to include prominent Palestinians in a prisoner-release list – part of a ceasefire deal that will also see hostages returned from Gaza. Hamas’s insistence comes after the Israeli justice ministry published the names of 250 prisoners to be freed, but excluded seven high-profile prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat. Marwan Barghouti was convicted of deadly …

Speaking with democracy activists recently from Hungary and Poland, former President Barack Obama warned about the “rising wave of authoritarianism sweeping the globe,” even in countries once believed unsusceptible to an erosion of liberties. “We’re seeing politicians target civil society, undermine freedom of the press, weaponize the justice system,” Obama went on. “And no one is being spared. Even countries …

While the total number of affected workers has not yet been confirmed, insiders said hundreds of thousands of civil servants are expected to lose their jobs in the coming weeks. The United States President Donald Trump on Friday sacked thousands of government employees, blaming opposition Democrats for forcing his hand amid the continuing government shutdown.  According to White House officials, …