Israel releases 200 Palestinian prisoners after freed hostages reunite with families
Summary
Four female hostages who were held by Hamas in Gaza have returned to Israel
The four women - who are the second group of hostages released since a ceasefire deal was agreed - are Israeli soldiers who were taken on 7 October
Israel has released 200 Palestinian prisoners in return, 70 of whom are expected to be deported
However, the Israeli government accuses Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal by not releasing civilian hostage Arbel Yehud
In response, Israel has said displaced Palestinians will not yet be allowed to return to northern Gaza, as had been scheduled under the deal
Meanwhile, Hamas says Arbel Yehud is alive and will be freed next week
Israel 'dragging its feet' by blocking corridor between north and south, says Hamas
Hamas says Israel is "dragging its feet" by continuing to block access to a key road in Gaza which would allow displaced Palestinians to return to their neighbourhoods in the north.
In a statement, the group says Israel is delaying the implementation of the ceasefire "by continuing to close Al-Rashid Street and preventing the return of displaced pedestrians from the south to the north".
Hamas says it holds Israel "responsible for any disruption in the implementation of the agreement and its repercussions" on the other phases of the ceasefire.
Rwandan army ‘ready to invade DRC’ and help rebels seize city
Intelligence sources suggest battle for Congolese regional capital Goma is imminent before UN crisis talks on Monday
Sat 25 Jan 2025 15.29 GMT
Rwandan army ‘ready to invade DRC’ and help rebels seize city
Intelligence sources suggest battle for Congolese regional capital Goma is imminent before UN crisis talks on Monday
Large numbers of troops from Rwanda have been pouring across the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help rebels seize the regional capital of Goma before an emergency UN meeting about the crisis takes place on Monday, intelligence officials have warned.
Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) soldiers are believed to have secretly crossed into the eastern DRC over the past few days to assist a lightning offensive by the M23 militia.
Philippine vessels suspend survey after China's 'harassment'
Two Philippine ships had to call off their scientific probe after Chinese vessels and a helicopter intercepted them near the Spratly archipelago, according to the Philippines' coast guard.
The Philippines said its fishing vessels were harassed by Chinese coast guard and navy on Saturday, prompting the Philippine ships to suspend a scientific survey they were conducting in the South China Sea.
According to the Philippine coast guard, two vessels from the Bureau of Fisheries were on the way to collect sand samples from Sandy Cay, three small uninhabited sandbars in the Spratly archipelago. Their destination was located near the Thitu island controlled by the Philippines and an artificial island where China had erected a military base.
Belarus election poised to extend decades-long rule of Alexander Lukashenko
When Alexander Lukashenko emerged victorious from Belarus's presidential election in 2020, protesters came out on the streets to accuse him of election fraud and call for his resignation. Now Lukashenko is back on the ballot and is all but certain to win a seventh term on Sunday as the only leader most people in Belarus have ever known.
Wearing a black beanie hat and glasses, Belarusian engineer Vladimir Labanov said he will cast his vote this weekend for the man that has led his Moscow-allied country since long before he was born: Alexander Lukashenko.
Labanov, 24, credits the autocrat – in power since 1994 – for keeping "order" in the reclusive state, believing that if 2020 mass protests had toppled Lukashenko, Belarus would have suffered the same fate as Ukraine.
Besides, he does not have much of a choice: the other little-known candidates have been picked to act as nothing more than paper opposition to Lukashenko, with the vote itself a mere formality to extend his 30-year rule.
Unusual Martian mounds could help solve one of the red planet’s biggest mysteries
Thousands of mysterious mounds on Mars preserve layers of evidence pointing to ancient water on the red planet that likely sculpted the towering formations.
More than 15,000 mounds jut skyward from the lowlands of Mars’ Chryse Planitia, located near a natural dividing line between the planet’s southern and northern hemispheres. The geological features have long intrigued scientists, who up until now weren’t sure what created the mounds.
The formations, which span an area as large as Texas, can be seen in images taken by NASA and European Space Agency orbiters that whirl around the red planet. The unusual features resemble the famed buttes and mesas of Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border.
Gunfire and Bandits Make School an Impossible Dream for Haitian Children
Some school buildings are in gang-occupied territory or have become de facto shelters for those forced from their homes, leaving hundreds of thousands with no chance for formal learning.
The last time Faida Pierre, 10, went to school, her mother found her stranded on the roof of the school’s building, barefoot and crying, while a gang stormed the surrounding downtown Port-au-Prince neighborhood.
The principal and teachers had called parents to pick up their children as the sound of gunfire grew louder and armed men approached. Then everyone ran for their lives. Faida ended up alone.
“There was a panic,” Faida recalled, “and people were running out of the building. People were saying that the bandits had attacked the neighborhood, so kids were trying to reach the rooftop.”
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