Inside the operation to bring Israel’s hostages home from Gaza
If anything goes wrong, it risks the hostages remaining in captivity, and reigniting the war.
Ecowas: What changes as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger leave the West African bloc? – BBC.com
- Ecowas: What changes as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger leave the West African bloc? BBC.com
- After a Wave of Coups, 3 African Nations Leave Decades-old Alliance The New York Times
- Military governments lead West African trio out of ECOWAS regional bloc Al Jazeera English
- Juntas Exiting West Africa Regional Bloc Raises Instability Risk Bloomberg
- Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger formally withdraw from ECOWAS Citinewsroom
Three military-run states leave West African bloc – what will change?
In a huge blow to Ecowas, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are leaving to forge ahead with their own group.
Meta to report fourth-quarter earnings amid DeepSeek mania and ballooning AI investments
Zuckerberg likely to be asked about plans to spend $60-65bn on AI in 2025 as tech giant faces increased competition
Meta will report earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 after US stock markets close on Wednesday.
Analysts will probably ask about Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to spend between $60bn and $65bn on AI infrastructure in 2025. That is up from the $50bn the CEO said he expected to spend at the end of last quarter. But as Meta faces increased competition, especially from new player DeepSeek AI, the company is ramping up its AI efforts.
Continue reading...Climate activists ‘did what they did out of sacrifice’, appeal court told
Lawyers invoke philosophies of Hannah Arendt and Henry David Thoreau in bid to have long sentences of 16 protesters quashed
The philosophies of Hannah Arendt and Henry David Thoreau were aired in the court of appeal on Wednesday as 16 climate activists sought to convince England’s most-senior judge to quash their long sentences for disruptive acts of civil disobedience.
The appellants, prosecuted in four separate trials last year, appeared at a mass appeal in London before a panel led by Lady Justice Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, where they argued judges defied decades of precedent by ignoring their conscientious motives.
Continue reading...Harvey Weinstein back in court as judge set to decide #MeToo retrial start
Disgraced producer wants extra charge involving allegation from woman who was not in original case throw out
A judge on Wednesday set a 15 April trial date for Harvey Weinstein’s retrial, as the disgraced movie mogul pleaded in court to move the trial date sooner citing health conditions.
Weinstein appeared in court in New York on Wednesday morning, seated in a wheelchair. He addressed the court and begged the Manhattan criminal court judge Curtis Farber to move up the trial date to before 15 April, expressing he “can’t hold on anymore”.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s ‘Big Stick’ Foreign Policy Could Backfire – 19FortyFive
- Donald Trump’s ‘Big Stick’ Foreign Policy Could Backfire 19FortyFive
- Trump’s Transactional Foreign Policy Leads to Flurry of Pledges Bloomberg
- President Trump’s foreign policy playbook has our friends and foes equally rattled Fox News
- Opinion | Trump is playing all his cards all at once The Washington Post
- Do Americans support Trump buying new territories — or invading them? What poll finds Miami Herald
Egypt, Jordan leaders reject Trump’s suggestion to take in Palestinians
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says 'displacement of the Palestinian people is an injustice' after US president repeated call.
German immigration motion passes, breaking taboo on cooperation with AfD
Narrow passage of controversial CDU-CSU motion ends longstanding boycott on cooperating with far-right party
The German parliament has narrowly passed a motion urging tough restrictions on immigration that was highly controversial because it was backed by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party.
The motion was brought by the conservative opposition CDU-CSU and backed by, among others, the AfD, breaking a longstanding taboo on cooperation with the anti-immigration party.
Continue reading...Federal workers decry Trump attempt to force mass resignations as ‘cruel joke’
Advocates say email sent to 3 million employees offering resignations is dangerous and ‘of questionable legality’
- US politics live – latest updates
- US federal employees: share your reaction to Trump’s offer of buyouts
Federal workers and their advocates on Wednesday condemned the Trump administration’s attempt to encourage them to resign en masse, describing an unprecedented email from the government’s human resources department office as a ham-handed attempt to create hostility in their workplaces and offer a false promise of an easy transition out of government service.
On Tuesday, the US office of personnel management (OPM) sent nearly all of its 3 million employees an email offering them deferred resignations and warning that, if they choose to stay, they may be laid off or reassigned.
Continue reading...South Sudan plane crash kills at least 20, leaves only one survivor – BBC.com
- South Sudan plane crash kills at least 20, leaves only one survivor BBC.com
- Fatal South Sudan Beech 1900D crash leaves sole survivor Flightglobal
- Crash: Eagle B190 at Bentiu on Jan 29th 2025, lost height The Aviation Herald
- 2 Chinese nationals, 1 Indian and 17 others killed in South Sudan plane crash South China Morning Post
- Plane crash in South Sudan kills 20 oil workers Reuters
One survivor as 20 killed in South Sudan plane crash
Authorities say the plane carrying oil workers crashed three minutes after take-off.
Congo’s defeated foreign mercenaries head home with ‘big relief’ – Reuters
- Congo's defeated foreign mercenaries head home with 'big relief' Reuters
- Rwanda does a Putin in Congo The Economist
- Congolese President Skips Crisis Meeting With Rwanda Foreign Policy
- Congo's M23 rebels move south towards Bukavu in new push after Goma seizure Reuters
- Congolese civilians caught in a growing rebellion face a terrible choice The Associated Press
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.
Continue reading...Congolese president snubs peace talks over Goma crisis
The announcement comes as M23 rebels tightened their control over Goma city, seizing its airport.
Mexico to question Google over Gulf name change after Trump order
Claudia Sheinbaum says US government does not have right to change name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America
Mexico will send a letter to Google to question its decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico for users of Google Maps in the US.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said the US government did not have the right to rename the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico, much of which is in international waters.
Continue reading...Mass Evacuation as Passenger Plane Bursts Into Flames – The Daily Beast
- Mass Evacuation as Passenger Plane Bursts Into Flames The Daily Beast
- ‘Open the Door, Open the Door!’: How Dozens Fled an Inferno on a Plane The New York Times
- Plane fire ‘caused by passenger’s portable battery’ leaves seven injured Yahoo! Voices
- Air Busan A321 Catches Fire At Gimhae International Airport Aviation Week
- Plane catches fire at airport in Busan in South Korea with no casualties, Yonhap reports The Jerusalem Post
The upcoming Lively and Baldoni court battle… in 90 seconds
A trial date has been set for It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's dispute.
Reeves’s growth plans ‘exactly what economy needs’ say UK business groups – as it happened
This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here
Reeves says the supply side of the economy has been held back.
Politicians have lacked the courage to confront the factors holding back growth.
They have accepted the status quo. They have been the barrier, not the enablers, of change.
Without economic growth, we cannot improve the living standards of ordinary working people, because growth isn’t simply about lines on a graph. It’s about the pounds in people’s pockets, the vibrancy of our high streets and the thriving businesses that create wealth, jobs and new opportunities for us, for our children and grandchildren.
We will have succeeded in our mission when working people are better off.
Continue reading...Hamas talks a big game but is in chaos – The Economist
- Hamas talks a big game but is in chaos The Economist
- Victory and defeat in Gaza Al Jazeera English
- The state of the Hamas military after 15 months of war CBS News
- Until Israel’s Siege and Occupation End, Every Palestinian Remains a Hostage Truthout
- The next stages of the Gaza ceasefire face serious obstacles The Hill