Crowds greet militant leader Zakaria Zubeidi among prisoners released in Ramallah

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Israel freed 110 Palestinians in exchange for three Israelis and five Thai nationals held in Gaza

As the line of white buses drew closer to the West Bank city of Ramallah at dusk, their most notorious passenger stood at the window of one of the buses and waved. Skinny in his grey Israeli prison tracksuit, his head shaved, Zakaria Zubeidi lifted two fingers to make a peace sign and gestured at jubilant crowds.

The 49-year-old, a former leader of a Palestinian militant group jailed for attacks that killed several Israelis, was among 110 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for three Israelis and five Thai nationals held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. The prisoners’ release was delayed by Israeli officials, who expressed dismay at the chaotic scenes in Gaza that accompanied the Israelis’ transfer to the custody of the Red Cross.

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Couple jailed over ‘sexual and sadistic’ murder of Sarah Mayhew in London

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Steve Samson given whole-life order and Gemma Watts at least 30 years after killing and dismembering 38-year-old

A couple who killed a woman and dumped her dismembered body in different parts of south London have been jailed for murder.

Steve Samson was out of prison on a life licence for the murder of a taxi driver in 1998 when he and his partner, Gemma Watts, killed Sarah Mayhew, 38, at his flat in Sutton last spring.

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Gaza internal checkpoint to be staffed by US private armed contractors

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Deployment of special forces veterans is unprecedented and poses risk that Americans could be drawn into fighting

A US security firm is hiring nearly 100 US special forces veterans to help run a checkpoint in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas truce, introducing armed American contractors into the heart of one of the world’s most violent conflict zones.

UG Solutions, a low-profile company founded in 2023 and based in Davidson, North Carolina, is offering a daily rate starting at $1,100 with a $10,000 advance to veterans it hires, according to a recruitment email.

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‘Disrupt or be disrupted’, mainstream parties warned as voters turn to populists

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Research shows voters losing faith in traditional centre-left and centre-right to deliver meaningful change

Voters in western democracies are turning away from mainstream political parties and towards populists because they are losing faith in their ability to implement meaningful change, a major report based on surveys of 12,000 voters has found.

The popularity of traditional centre-left and centre-right parties across major democratic countries has plummeted from 73% in 2000 to 51% today, according to research by the Tony Blair Institute.

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Dominique Pelicot questioned over murder and attempted rape during 1990s – BBC.com

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  1. Dominique Pelicot questioned over murder and attempted rape during 1990s  BBC.com
  2. Gisèle Pelicot's ex-husband, imprisoned for raping and drugging her, now caught up in other cases  ABC News
  3. Gisele Pelicot’s ex-husband now questioned over string of cold cases  The Independent
  4. French convicted rapist Dominique Pelicot questioned over 1990s cases  Le Monde
  5. France's 'Husband from Hell' Questioned in Unsolved Killings  Newsweek
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Serbia’s striking students set off on 2-day march north as their protest movement widens – The Associated Press

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  1. Serbia’s striking students set off on 2-day march north as their protest movement widens  The Associated Press
  2. Serbian protesters march ahead of their Danube bridge blockade as driver rams Belgrade demonstration  The Associated Press
  3. Why Mass Protests Are Testing Serbia’s Longtime Ruler  Bloomberg
  4. Protesting Serbian Students Set 24-Hour Belgrade Blockade, Joined By Farmers, Others  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  5. ‘We are done with corruption’: how the students of Serbia rose up against the system  The Guardian
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Authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis launch investigation after 19 people found dead in drifting vessel – CBS News

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  1. Authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis launch investigation after 19 people found dead in drifting vessel  CBS News
  2. St Kitts and Nevis finds 13 decomposing bodies in boat adrift in Caribbean  The Guardian
  3. Caribbean nation of St Kitts launches investigation after 19 people found dead in drifting vessel  Fox News
  4. 19 bodies found in vessel drifting in Caribbean Sea  UPI News
  5. At least 19 bodies found on ship adrift in Caribbean Sea  New York Daily News
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Girl, 8, left to die by cult who SANG as she lay dying instead of giving her lifesaving insulin as ‘God w… – The US Sun

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  1. Girl, 8, left to die by cult who SANG as she lay dying instead of giving her lifesaving insulin as ‘God w...  The US Sun
  2. 14 Convicted in Death of Girl for Depriving Her of Insulin  The New York Times
  3. Elizabeth Struhs: Australian sect members guilty of killing girl  BBC.com
  4. Instead of giving her life-saving insulin, Elizabeth Struhs's parents prayed over her dying body  ABC News
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Office of Public Affairs | Cracked and Nulled Marketplaces Disrupted in International Cyber Operation – Department of Justice

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  1. Office of Public Affairs | Cracked and Nulled Marketplaces Disrupted in International Cyber Operation  Department of Justice
  2. Law enforcement takes down two largest cybercrime forums in the world  Europol
  3. The FBI Just Declared War On Hackers—Virtual Shots Fired  Forbes
  4. Police seizes Cracked and Nulled hacking forum servers, arrests suspects  BleepingComputer
  5. Operation Talent: FBI Takes Down Cracked.io and Nulled.to in Global Cybercrime Crackdown  SOCRadar
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Panama will not discuss control of canal during Rubio visit, president says

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José Raúl Mulino rules out talks on waterway with secretary of state: ‘That is sealed. The canal belongs to Panama’

Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, has ruled out discussing control over the Panama Canal in a meeting with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is set to visit the Central American country in his first official trip abroad this weekend.

Mulino’s comments during a weekly press conference come after Donald Trump threatened to take control of the canal, claiming it is being operated by China. The Panamanian government strongly denies the accusation.

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