Syrian leader meets Saudi crown prince for first official foreign visit

Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh on trip that highlights reset of regional alliances after end of Iran-backed Assad regime

Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader, in a sign of the major shifts under way in regional alliances.

Sharaa assumed power as transitional president last week, after leading a rebel campaign that ousted the longtime Iran-backed leader Bashar al-Assad, whose ties with the rest of the Arab world were strained throughout the nearly 14-year Syrian war.

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Rafah crossing reopening cannot be underestimated – it hints at success for Gaza ceasefire

Border has been closed since May 2024 for even the most urgent medical cases and evacuations are significant first step

The Rafah terminal that marks the crossing between southern Gaza and Egypt straddles a complicated border. On the Egyptian side, a double arch marks the entry to the terminal buildings themselves, and beyond, Gaza.

Television cameras on the Egyptian side caught the moment on Saturday that the crossing, which has been closed since May, was reopened for medical evacuations showing one young girl, whose foot had been amputated, being loaded into an Egyptian ambulance.

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Dozens killed as opposition RSF forces attack open market in Sudan

Assault by the Rapid Support Forces in city of Omdurman also leaves more than 150 people wounded

Fighters with the opposition Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have attacked an open market in the Sudanese city of Omdurman, killing 54 people.

The attack on Sabrein market also wounded at least 158 others, Sudan’s health ministry said.

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Middle East crisis live: Hamas releases two hostages with third expected

Two hostages freed on Saturday, with another expected to be released from different location

Here are images coming in of people in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square watching a screen broadcasting news footage of this morning’s hostage releases.

The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont is reporting on these latest hostage releases.

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Hamas releases more Gaza hostages under ceasefire deal with Israel

Two men handed over to Red Cross in southern Gaza Strip with a third due to be freed in Gaza City in exchange for jailed Palestinians

Middle East crisis live: Hamas release of more hostages under way

Three more Israelis – all male civilian hostages – were being released to Israel on Saturday as part of the continuing ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas handed the first two hostages over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning before they were received by the Israeli military a short while later.

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Russian spy ship fire exposes poor state of Mediterranean fleet, say experts

Incident reveals Russia’s maritime presence in the area is in a state of disrepair and disarray, argue western sources

A fire onboard a Russian spy ship off the coast of Syria has underlined the poor state of the Russian navy as its toehold in the Mediterranean hangs in the balance, analysts and western security services say.

The 55-year-old Kildin got into trouble off the Syrian coast last Thursday, when flames and thick black smoke could be seen billowing from its funnel and it hoisted two black balls up its mast, signifying that the crew no longer had control of the vessel.

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Freed Gaza hostage told Starmer that Hamas held her in Unrwa premises, her mother says

British-Israeli Emily Damari was taken on 7 October 2023 and says Hamas denied her medical treatment after shooting her twice

The freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari spoke to Keir Starmer on Friday and told the prime minister Hamas held her in facilities belonging to the UN refugee agency Unrwa, her mother, Mandy, has said.

Damari, 28, who was released 12 days ago, after more than 15 months in captivity in Gaza, with two fingers missing, also told Starmer that Hamas had denied her access to medical treatment after shooting her twice.

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Judicial review must be heard on how UK can sell F-35 parts to Israel, judge rules

Hearing likely in May, seven months after government decided to carve out jet parts from arms export ban

A high court judge has ruled a judicial review must be quickly heard on government claims that national security entitles ministers to sell parts for F-35 jets to Israel even though Britain accepts that there is a risk they will be used in breach of international humanitarian law.

The hearing will most likely take place in May – nearly seven months after the Labour government made the contentious decision to carve out F-35 parts from the ban on arms exports to Israel.

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Tulsi Gabbard grilled on Snowden, Assad and Putin in tense Senate hearing

Skeptical senators ruthlessly questioned Trump’s national intelligence director nominee ahead of confirmation vote

Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director, refused to call the whistleblower Edward Snowden a “traitor” but sought to rein in her unorthodox views on foreign dictators and opposition to electronic surveillance during a tense confirmation hearing that could sink her nomination to oversee the country’s sprawling intelligence community.

In a three-hour hearing before the Senate intelligence committee, Gabbard, a former congresswoman and member of the Hawaii army national guard, partially recanted her views that Russia was provoked into invading Ukraine, said she had “no love” for the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and denied meeting with Hezbollah representatives during a trip to Lebanon in 2017.

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Crowds greet militant leader Zakaria Zubeidi among prisoners released in Ramallah

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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Gaza internal checkpoint to be staffed by US private armed contractors

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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British-Egyptian dissident mulls giving up citizenship over failure to be released

Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s family reveal letters showing his despair after initial hopes David Lammy could get him freed from Cairo jail

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian political dissident held in a Cairo jail for more than five years, has reached such a state of despair over the UK’s inability to secure his release that he has contemplated renouncing both his British and Egyptian citizenship, his letters reveal.

His family have given permission for some of his private letters to be published to show his situation and his concern for his 68-year-old mother, Laila Soueif, on hunger strike seeking his release.

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Unrwa staff forced to leave as Israel’s ban comes into effect

UN agency says work in West Bank and Gaza will continue amid concerns over impact on delivery of aid

International staff working for the UN’s main agency serving Palestinians have been forced to leave after Israel’s ban on the agency came into effect.

As the UN flag was still flying above the headquarters building in Jerusalem, Palestinian staff were not present at the site over security concerns amid a planned “celebration” by Israeli rightwing groups outside the compound.

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Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa made transitional president of Syria

Appointment of former leader of group that led operation to topple Assad comes amid other political changes

The former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group which led the military operation to topple the former president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, last month, has been appointed president of Syria for a “transitional period”.

The appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has been acting as the de-facto leader of the country since early December, came after a meeting of rebel faction leaders on Wednesday and was announced by a military spokesperson.

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Unrwa closure imminent as last-bid attempts to stop Israeli ban fail

Palestinians in war-devastated Gaza and occupied West Bank expected to be hardest hit by ban on refugee agency

The main UN agency serving Palestinians in the occupied territories, including Gaza, looks likely to be shut down on Thursday as Israel defied widespread international support for the agency in a move Unrwa predicted would “sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition”.

Unrwa’s banning looks certain, as Israel’s high court of justice refused a last-minute request to intervene to suspend the law forbidding the agency from operating in Israel.

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Wednesday briefing: The problems, perils and precedent of ‘cleaning out’ Gaza

In today’s newsletter: After Donald Trump’s remarks, renewed alarm about what will follow the first phase of the ceasefire

Good morning. Donald Trump presented his proposal as one rooted in a concern for the safety of Palestinians: it was time to find many of the residents of Gaza somewhere else to live. “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” he said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say: ‘You know, it’s over.’”

That was more than stream of consciousness: Trump doubled down on his comments on Monday. But the idea of “cleaning out” Gaza is not welcomed by the Palestinians who live there – or the countries that Trump has in mind as their new home. And if they were to be forced to leave after Gaza was devastated by the Israeli military, it would appear to be a clear case of ethnic cleansing.

Kumbh Mela festival | Dozens of people are feared to have died in crowd crushes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, local officials have said, as vast crowds went to bathe at one of the holiest sites of the Hindu gathering. People were crushed in the early hours of Wednesday as tens of millions flocked to immerse themselves in the sacred confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

UK economy | Rachel Reeves is unveiling plans to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley” between Oxford and Cambridge as she stakes the government’s success on kickstarting economic growth. The chancellor will announce a blueprint to improve infrastructure across the region in the hope of adding £78bn to the UK economy within a decade.

Extremism | Yvette Cooper will reject internal Home Office advice to widen the definition of extremism to include violent misogyny and conspiracy theorists, the Guardian understands. The home secretary is expected to reject a report saying that authorities should adopt an “ideologically agnostic” approach in favour of focusing on Islamist and far-right violence.

Tax | Roman Abramovich, the billionaire Russian oligarch, may owe British tax authorities as much as £1bn, according to analysis of documents that suggests his companies failed to pay tax on profits made through an elaborate offshore investment scheme.

Technology | US tech stocks tentatively recovered on Tuesday after the emergence of the Chinese DeepSeek app wiped $1tn (£800bn) in value from the leading US tech index. Nvidia recovered somewhat from Monday’s 17% drop, rising 9%.

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IS fighters in Syria could break free amid Trump aid cut, terrorism expert warns

Prediction by ex M16 counter-terror director comes as security paused around two main detention facilities

Donald Trump has thrown into doubt the security and administration of the main two detention facilities in north-east Syria that hold thousands of Islamic State fighters, the former counter-terrorism director of M16 Richard Barrett says.

The state of limbo has been caused in the short term by the US president unexpectedly suspending all USAid funding for 90 days, and by long-term uncertainty over his willingness to retain troops in Syria.

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Trump repeats suggestion Palestinians should leave Gaza for Egypt and Jordan

US president insists leaders of both countries would agree to move that could be ‘temporary or long-term’

Donald Trump has repeated his suggestion that large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza for Egypt or Jordan, despite widespread opposition to the proposal from Palestinian leadership, the UN and US allies in the region.

Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Monday night, the US president was asked about his comments over the weekend about “cleaning out” the Gaza Strip either “temporarily or long-term”. Trump reiterated he would “like to get [Palestinians from Gaza] living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much”.

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Italy sends 49 refugees to Albania in bid to resume disputed scheme

Latest push to process migrants in Balkan country despite court challenge comes amid increase in boat arrivals

Italy has transported 49 people to Albania, in the latest push by Giorgia Meloni’s government to enforce a legally disputed plan to have asylum claims processed in the Balkan country as part of a hardline policy critics have called “disgraceful”.

The Italian navy ship Cassiopeia arrived at Shëngjin port on Tuesday morning carrying passengers intercepted on Saturday in the Mediterranean south of the island of Lampedusa. They will be identified and have a health check before being transferred to a detention centre in Gjadër, about 12 miles away.

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ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants over atrocities in Darfur

Karim Khan says civilians being targeted and communities destroyed in western region of Sudan

The prosecutor for the international criminal court has said he is seeking arrest warrants for people accused of atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, where the US and others have determined that a paramilitary group and its allies have perpetrated genocide.

Karim Khan told the UN security council in New York: “Criminality is accelerating in Darfur. Civilians are being targeted, women and girls are subjected to sexual violence, and entire communities are left in destruction.

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