- Hamas releases six hostages as part of Gaza ceasefire deal Axios
- Family of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas says new returned body is hers BBC.com
- Pentagon Upheaval, Hamas Releases More Hostages, NY State Prisons NPR
- Human remains returned by Hamas to Israel confirmed as those of former hostage Shiri Bibas CNN
- Live Updates: Hamas Is Set to Release More Hostages From Gaza The New York Times
NHS doctor who ‘glorified terrorist violence’ wins deportation challenge
Home Office moved to cancel Menatalla Elwan’s leave to remain over posts on Hamas’s 7 October attack
An Egyptian NHS doctor who “glorified terrorist violence” by mocking Israeli civilians fleeing the Hamas attacks in October 2023 has won a legal challenge against deportation.
In one of three social media posts hours after the attacks began, Dr Menatalla Elwan, 34, who worked at an NHS trust in Liverpool, reposted footage of music festivalgoers running from Hamas terrorists and wrote “if it was your home, you would stay and fight”, accompanied by a smiling face emoji.
Continue reading...Watch: Six Israeli hostages released in Gaza
Four of the men were kidnapped on 7 October 2023, while the two have been held for a decade.
Alarm as bird flu now ‘endemic in cows’ while Trump cuts staff and funding
Experts say current US outbreak is unlikely to end without intervention with further mutation of virus likely
A newer variant of H5N1 bird flu has spilled over into dairy cows separately in Nevada and Arizona, prompting new theories about how the virus is spread and leading to questions about containing the ongoing outbreaks.
The news comes amid a purge of experts at federal agencies, including employees who were responding to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture.
Continue reading...US congresswoman ‘rooting’ for Canada and Mexico against Trump’s threats
Democrat Jasmine Crockett calls it ‘really wild’ that it is foreign leaders who are speaking truth to power
The congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has revealed she is “rooting” for Canada and Mexico over Donald Trump in their attempts to stand up to him, saying it is “really wild” to find herself in that position given he is the president of the US.
“They are really the ones that are speaking truth to power right now,” the Democratic representative from Texas said on Friday on the popular Breakfast Club podcast, alluding to the political feuds Trump has engaged in with the US’s two North American neighbors during the first month of his second presidency. “They can see what it is and they were like, ‘We are not messing with this crazy regime.’”
Continue reading...Germany: Will the far right beat the ‘firewall’?
Germany’s far-right AfD surges in the polls after meddling from Elon Musk and US Vice President JD Vance.
Hostage’s grandson: ‘That’s not the way anyone should die’
The grandson of Oded Lifschitz, whose body was returned to Israel this week, speaks to the BBC.
Final push for votes as German frontrunner vows to lead in Europe
Germany's rival political leaders take their fight for votes right to the last minute before a pivotal election.
As Conflict Rages in Congo, President Offers U.S. Minerals Deal – The New York Times
- As Conflict Rages in Congo, President Offers U.S. Minerals Deal The New York Times
- Security Council urges Rwanda to stop supporting M23 in eastern DR Congo UN News
- UN Security Council demands rebels withdraw from captured Congolese cities Voice of America
- Institute for the Study of War Institute for the Study of War
- War in eastern Congo: Thousands seek refuge in Burundi DW (English)
UK-wide parking app may be out of road after government funding withdrawn
Five-year-old platform intended to make drivers’ lives easier will only be supported until the end of March
- ‘Those without smartphones unfairly penalised, say campaigners
- How to navigate apps: from checking safety to recalling passwords
- UK-wide parking app may be out of road after funding withdrawn
It was hailed as “the future of UK parking”, intended to remove one of the bugbears of modern life: the need to sign up to a plethora of different apps in order to park your car.
But a big question mark now hangs over the future of the National Parking Platform (NPP), a government-funded scheme designed to make drivers’ lives easier by letting them use one app of their choice to pay for all their parking.
Continue reading...Ukrainian hearts sink in Philly as Trump pivots toward Russia – The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Ukrainian hearts sink in Philly as Trump pivots toward Russia The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Opinion | Who Will Stand Up to Trump on Ukraine? The New York Times
- Donald Trump’s Putinization of America The New Yorker
- A Terrible Milestone in the American Presidency The Atlantic
- What the potential outcomes of ending the Ukraine-Russia war might look like ABC News
Germany’s front-runner Merz: Risk-taker who flirted with far right
A look at the conservative leader who broke a German taboo by accepting support from the AfD.
Hamas releases six Israeli captives in Gaza as part of ceasefire deal
Sixth captive to be handed over by Hamas to Israeli authorities in Gaza City without a ceremony.
Russia and US could meet again within weeks to discuss Ukraine, Moscow says – Europe live
Moscow and Washington held their first talks on ending the nearly three-year war in Ukraine on Tuesday
Some 62% of Britons believe Ukraine should be allowed into Nato, according to new polling.
The research by YouGov also suggested 68% think the UK should maintain its commitment to defend allies in the military bloc, but when asked specifically about defending the US this figure fell to 42%.
Continue reading...Cardinal Parolin: ‘Unfounded speculation’ on Pope’s resignation – Vatican News – English
- Cardinal Parolin: 'Unfounded speculation' on Pope’s resignation Vatican News - English
- Pope Francis isn’t out of danger but his condition isn’t life-threatening, medical team says The Associated Press
- The Pope’s health is improving but still needs more treatment, doctors say CBS Chicago
- Pope’s health: Francis to remain hospitalized ‘at least all next week’ La Croix International
- Pope Francis will not lead Sunday prayers for a second week, Vatican says Reuters
NHS facing ‘crisis of public trust’ as most people fear being failed by A&E services
Public concern about NHS is worrying and frightening, says leading emergency doctor after poll revealed
Three in four people in the UK fear getting stuck on a trolley in a hospital corridor or an ambulance not arriving after dialling 999, prompting claims that the NHS is facing “a crisis of public trust”.
Huge numbers also worry about their local A&E not having enough beds (77%) and not being able to get care at their GP surgery (70%), research also found.
Continue reading...China conducts second live-fire drill near New Zealand
Report from New Zealand navy personnel comes a day after similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand
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China’s navy has reportedly conducted a second live-fire exercise in international waters, a day after a similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand navy personnel advised live rounds were fired from a Chinese warship in international waters near the island nation on Saturday.
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Continue reading...Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder
Matar was found guilty of attempted murder in the second degree for his attack on the famed novelist.
Americans sharply divided over Trump’s embrace of Putin
While US allies are alarmed at changing loyalties, new poll finds starkly partisan reaction to president’s Ukraine policy
Donald Trump’s shocking and mendacious attack this week on the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a “dictator” while cozying up to the Russian president and indicating that traditional US security support for Europe is waning may have alarmed US allies abroad but has prompted a more starkly divided response among Americans at home.
Reflecting the country’s deeply partisan attitude to the new president and his “America first” foreign policy doctrine, polling suggests that Republicans are much more likely to oppose additional help for war-torn Ukraine. A Pew Research Center survey earlier this month found that 47% of Republicans but just 14% of Democrats thought the US was providing too much support to Ukraine – views that have changed dramatically since the war began three years ago, when just 7% of all American adults (9% of Republicans and 5% of Democrats) said the US was providing too much support to Ukraine.
Continue reading...Far-right links and Putin praise: fears over £600m UK history theme park plan
French family behind project visited Kremlin in 2014 to discuss building ‘Tsarland’ in annexed Crimea
With its spectacular shows featuring Viking longboats, Roman charioteers and sword-wielding knights who perform death-defying stunts, Puy du Fou in France is consistently ranked among the world’s best theme parks. Each performance of its centrepiece Cinéscénie show, which depicts 700 years of French history, features more than 1,000 actors, hundreds of horses and about 800 fireworks.
Now the company has set its sights on bringing its brand of immersive history to the UK via a £600m investment to build its mock medieval castles, hotels and restaurants on farmland just off the M40 in Oxfordshire. It has asked the upmarket property firm Savills to help with its planning applications and is expected to look for British co-investors for a project that it says will create thousands of jobs.
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