Israeli foreign minister accuses Irish taoiseach of legitimising terror over hostage statement

Eli Cohen criticised Leo Varadkar’s description of nine-year-old Emily Hand as being ‘lost’, not ‘kidnapped’

The Israeli government has accused Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, of legitimising terror and losing his moral compass by saying a freed Irish-Israeli hostage had been “lost” as opposed to kidnapped.

Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, on Sunday summoned the Irish ambassador to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem for a formal reprimand over Varadkar’s response to the release of nine-year-old Emily Hand, who was reunited with her family after 50 days as a hostage in Gaza.

Continue reading...

IDF messaging suggests Gaza truce unlikely to last much beyond Tuesday

Many expect pause to be extended if more hostages are released, but experts predict military campaign could run into next year

Gaza’s truce is unlikely to last significantly beyond Tuesday, with Israel’s military stepping up pressure on Sunday to restart the air and ground offensive in a campaign that some experts predict could run into next year.

The four-day halt in fighting, described by the Israel DefenceForces (IDF) as “an operational pause”, is scheduled to end on 7am on Tuesday if the agreed transfer of 50 hostages held by Hamas and others in Gaza goes to plan.

Continue reading...

Respiratory infection clusters in China not caused by novel virus, says health ministry

Data has been supplied to World Health Organization and China says flu and other known pathogens are culprits

A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.

Recent clusters of respiratory infections are caused by an overlap of common viruses such as the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus, as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a common culprit for respiratory tract infections, a National Health Commission spokesperson said.

Continue reading...

Syria says Israeli strikes put Damascus airport out of service – as it happened

This bog is now closed. All our Israel-Hamas war coverage can be seen here.

Israel’s military has issued a statement about its activity in Jenin in the occupied West Bank overnight. In a post to social media, it said:

In the operation commanded by the 646th Reserve Brigade, five terrorists were eliminated, 21 wanted persons were arrested, a cargo laboratory was destroyed and an aircraft attacked from the air an armed terrorist squad that endangered the IDF forces.

Continue reading...

Greek PM bemoans lack of progress on return of Parthenon marbles

Kyriakos Mitsotakis to raise issue of ‘reunification’ of sculptures when he meets Rishi Sunak this week

Talks over a possible return of the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum to Greece are not advancing quick enough, the Greek prime minister has said before his meeting with Rishi Sunak this week.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis likened the British Museum’s possession of the sculptures – also known as the Elgin marbles – to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half, saying it was not a question of ownership but “reunification”.

Continue reading...

‘Soldiers started shooting at my feet’: Palestinians describe fleeing northern Gaza

People trying to escape Israeli bombardment have to cope without the most basic life necessities

Dogs biting at a human corpse. An exhausted, heavily pregnant woman carrying a toddler on her back. A seemingly lifeless body pushed on a cart. The sights of the Salah al-Din road, the main highway that runs like a spine through Gaza, remain with those who’ve walked it.

“What we experienced cannot be seen in horror movies,” said Nahla from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

Continue reading...

Russian troops continue attempts to advance near Avdiivka in effort to encircle city – as it happened

Russia has conducted airstrikes in support of ground operations as it aims to surround city on outskirts of Donetsk. This live blog is closed

It’s just after 2.30pm in Kyiv. Here are the day’s main developments so far:

Russia has brought down at least 24 drones over the Moscow region and three other provinces to the south and west, the Russian defence ministry and the Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin have reported in a series of Telegram updates. One person was injured in Tula when an intercepted drone hit an apartment building, the region’s governor, Alexei Dyumin, said.

The spokesman for Ukraine’s ground forces, Volodymyr Fitio, has told the United News telethon that Russian soldiers “seek to reoccupy” the town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.

Russia has placed the Meta spokesperson Andy Stone on a wanted list, according to the state-run TASS news agency. TASS said the Russian interior ministry had opened a criminal investigation against Stone but had not disclosed the details of the investigation or charges.

The UK government has been urged to take immediate action to disrupt supply of technology used in electronic warfare. A dossier, compiled by Ukraine and circulated to the leading countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, identifies key Russian companies involved in the development and production of electronic military equipment. It says the UK and other countries have not yet imposed sanctions on some of the firms involved.

Indeed, Russian invaders have not abandoned their intentions to attack … to advance toward the town of Kupiansk. They seek to reoccupy it. In this area, Ukrainian defenders repelled four enemy attacks. It was near Usenkivka and Ivanivka. The enemy intends to advance to the settlement of Sinkivka in order to develop their further success in the offensive on Kupiansk.

Continue reading...

Ukraine’s arms industry boss calls for country to be ‘arsenal of the free world’

Oleksandr Kamyshin aims to revive state sector and coordinate private enterprises to boost export of weapons

Oleksandr Kamyshin, the man tasked with reviving Ukraine’s domestic arms industry, has a dream for his country’s future. Even when the war with Russia is over, he believes, Ukraine should focus on arms production, turning itself into the “arsenal of the free world” and providing weapons for export.

“For the next decades, defence should be the major industry in Ukraine. After the war it should be our core export product,” said Kamyshin, in a recent interview at his office in an unmarked building in central Kyiv.

Continue reading...

‘The people don’t want the Americans’: Gaza war fuels tensions in Iraq

Attacks on US troops in Iraq have led to US airstrikes, highlighting the risk of spillover from the situation in Gaza

A salvo of machine gun fire, customary during funerals, illuminated the night sky as dozens of men converged in a dimly lit, unpaved alley on the edges of the sprawling slums of Sadr city to pay their respects. A giant picture of Ali Hassan al-Daraaji had been erected outside the family home in northeast Baghdad to announce his “martyrdom” in this week’s US airstrikes on Iraqi armed groups.

The series of strikes left a total of nine fighters dead, including Daraaji, the first Iraqi fatalities linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Even as a tenuous truce takes hold in Gaza, the pace and intensity of clashes in Iraq has picked up, highlighting the risk of spillover in a country that has long been mired in conflict.

Continue reading...

‘Overjoyed’: nine-year-old hostage Emily Hand returns to family in Israel

Relatives say they ‘can’t find the words to describe our emotions’ as Israeli-Irish girl comes back from Gaza

The family and friends of Emily Hand have spoken of their joy after Hamas released the nine-year-old Israeli-Irish girl from captivity in Gaza late on Saturday.

“Emily has come back to us,” her father, Thomas Hand, said after an emotional reunion at a hospital in Israel.

Continue reading...

Sierra Leone imposes nationwide curfew after armed clashes in capital

Government says attempt to break into an armoury in Freetown has been repelled and calm restored

Armed clashes erupted in Sierra Leone’s capital on Sunday after what the government said was an attack on a military armoury, as it imposed an immediate nationwide curfew.

Witnesses said they had heard gunshots and explosions in the Wilberforce district of Freetown, where the armoury and a number of embassies are located.

Continue reading...

Success of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV raises fears for Dutch climate policies

The party has a hostile stance on attempts to cut carbon emissions but got more votes than any other in general election

The shocking success of Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV party in Dutch elections has left climate activists fearful of a drastic shift to fossil fuels and a rollback of climate policies if it manages to form a government.

Best known abroad for its rhetoric against Muslims, the PVV, which came first in Wednesday’s election but may struggle to find coalition partners, has taken a hard line on policies to stop the planet getting hotter.

Continue reading...

Russia wages electronic warfare ‘using UK-made tech’, Ukraine dossier claims

Report calls on government to take immediate action to disrupt supply of technology used in electronic warfare

Many of the countries that have sanctioned Russia over the war in Ukraine need to take urgent action to disrupt the supply of technology for its electronic warfare campaign, according to a new report.

The dossier compiled by Ukraine and circulated to the major countries which have imposed sanctions identifies key Russian firms involved in the development and production of electronic military equipment. It says the UK and other countries have not yet sanctioned some of the firms involved.

Continue reading...

Moderate Dave Sharma wins NSW Liberal Senate spot after beating both Peter Dutton-endorsed candidates

Liberal leader Peter Dutton had endorsed Andrew Constance and Zed Seselja for the seat opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation

Former Wentworth Liberal MP Dave Sharma is returning to parliament after emerging victorious in the NSW Liberal Senate race in what was largely a conservative field.

Sharma beat fellow moderate Andrew Constance, who was billed as the front runner, and hard-line conservative and former junior minister in the Morrison government, Zed Seselja, to take the seat opened up by Marise Payne’s resignation.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘They thought I had cancer’: painkiller banned in UK linked to Britons’ deaths in Spain

Patients’ group says reactions to metamizole can cause sepsis and organ failure – and British and Irish people are at higher risk

A patients group representing several British victims has launched legal action against the Spanish government over claims it failed to safeguard people against the potentially fatal side effects of one of the country’s most popular painkillers, involved in a series of serious illnesses and deaths.

The drug metamizole, commonly sold in Spain under the brand name Nolotil, is banned in several countries, including Britain, the US, India and Australia. It can cause a condition known as agranulocytosis, which reduces white blood cells, increasing the risk of potentially fatal infection.

Continue reading...

Blouse worn by Diana in 1981 royal engagement portrait to be auctioned

Pink top designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel among the famous items of clothing to be sold

A top worn by Diana, Princess of Wales for her engagement portrait in 1981 is among the items in an auction of famous clothing.

The pink crepe blouse with ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front, worn by Diana, was captured by royal photographer Lord Snowdon and is being put up for sale by Julien’s Auctions.

Continue reading...

Kidnappers free two of three journalists taken in Mexico, group says

Silvia Arce and Alberto Sánchez, who were kidnapped on Wednesday, freed unharmed

Two of three journalists recently kidnapped in southern Mexico have been freed unharmed, the journalists’ international free-speech group Article 19 said in a statement on Saturday.

Silvia Arce and Alberto Sánchez, who lead the digital RedSiete platform, were released during the early hours of the morning, the organisation said.

Continue reading...

Sixty-one trucks deliver aid to northern Gaza, says UN – as it happened

This blog is now closed. All our Israel-Hamas war coverage is here.

Here are some pictures of Yaffa Adar, 85, as she was reunited with her family after being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

She had been kidnapped from Nir Oz and taken into the Gaza Strip in a golf cart on 7 October.

Continue reading...

Israel releases 39 Palestinian prisoners as Hamas frees 17 hostages in latest stage of ceasefire deal

Exchange takes place after ceasefire was plunged into crisis when Hamas accused Israel of blocking aid convoys

Prison authorities in Israel announced early on Sunday that they had released 39 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas freed 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals in the latest stage of a four-day ceasefire.

Television footage showed hostages on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing after leaving Gaza, as Hamas handed over the captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross late on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Geert Wilders vows to become Dutch PM by compromising with other parties

Anti-Islam MP who won recent election says he will ‘continue to moderate’ his positions to gain power

Veteran Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders on Saturday vowed to be prime minister of the Netherlands, after an election in which his party won the most seats.

In a long post on X, formerly Twitter, that expressed frustration at other parties for their apparent unwillingness to cooperate with his Freedom party (PVV), Wilders said he would “continue to moderate” his positions if necessary to gain power.

Continue reading...