US 'confident' Gaza ceasefire will begin on Sunday, as Israeli cabinet yet to vote on deal
Summary
US officials say they are "confident" a Gaza ceasefire will go ahead on Sunday, after Israel accused Hamas of backtracking on a deal
Hamas says it is committed to the deal, but the BBC's Rushdi Abualouf hears the group is attempting a last-minute push for the release of one or two symbolic prisoners from its movement
A planned Israeli cabinet vote on the agreement has been pushed back
The health ministry in Gaza says dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes ahead of the truce coming into force
Meanwhile, aid trucks are queuing at the southern crossing into Gaza - our correspondent Fergal Keane has been travelling with an aid convoy from Jordan
Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages
The attack triggered a massive Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry
Summary
US officials say they are "confident" a Gaza ceasefire will go ahead on Sunday, after Israel accused Hamas of backtracking on a deal
Hamas says it is committed to the deal, but the BBC's Rushdi Abualouf hears the group is attempting a last-minute push for the release of one or two symbolic prisoners from its movement
A planned Israeli cabinet vote on the agreement has been pushed back
The health ministry in Gaza says dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes ahead of the truce coming into force
Meanwhile, aid trucks are queuing at the southern crossing into Gaza - our correspondent Fergal Keane has been travelling with an aid convoy from Jordan
Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages
The attack triggered a massive Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry
How Gaza casualties are calculated
By Matt Murphy
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, 46,788 people have died since Israel launched its military operations in October 2023.
The figures don't distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told BBC Verify it has killed 17,000 Hamas fighters as of September 2024. It has not explained how it established that figure.
Zaher al-Wahidi, head of the health ministry's information unit, explained to the BBC that a death is recorded when a body has been transported to a hospital and has been declared dead by medical professionals.
Lawyer for Ugandan opposition politician ‘arrested and tortured’
Eron Kiiza, who was representing regime opponent Dr Kizza Besigye, was assaulted and sentenced to nine months’ jail, say colleague
Thu 16 Jan 2025 13.13 GMT
A human rights lawyer involved in a case featuring a prominent Ugandan opposition leader has been tortured after he was arrested and detained without trial, according to colleagues who have visited him.
Eron Kiiza was assaulted and arrested by soldiers on 7 January while entering a military courtroom where he was representing Dr Kizza Besigye – a political opponent of President Yoweri Museveni – and his aide Haji Obeid Lutale.
He was convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment on the same day. He was immediately transferred to Kitalya prison, 34 miles from the capital, Kampala.
South African: Rescue efforts end at abandoned mine shaft
Authorities said that at least 78 bodies were recovered from the Stilfontein mine. A trade union federation has accused the South African government of wilful negligence.
Police in South Africa said Thursday that the death toll at an illegal mining operation in the North West province had risen to at least 78.
The latest announcement comes as search and rescue efforts began wrapping up at the abandoned mine shaft in Stilfontein following a monthslong standoff.
The Stilfontein standoff
The mine has been cordoned off by authorities since August, with food and water supplies cut off in an effort to force hundreds of illegal miners out from hiding.
Yoon’s detention casts shadow over future of Tokyo-Seoul ties
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 16, 2025 at 16:50 JST
The detention of South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has clouded the outlook of Japan’s relations with its neighbor and the trilateral partnership with the United States.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya tried to downplay a potential fallout from Yoon’s detention on Jan. 15.
“The importance of Japan-South Korea cooperation will only increase and never decrease,” he told reporters in the Philippines.
‘Russians in Kherson train on civilians’: Deadly drones stalk south Ukraine
Residents and officials say Russian forces are engaged in ‘human safaris’ with fatal effects in a city they once occupied.
In late November, Maria, a 22-year-old from Ponyativka in southern Ukraine, gave birth to a boy.
She named her second child Ivan, after his father who had been dreaming about a son since he joined the army in 2023.
Baby Ivan was the only child born that day in the district maternity hospital in Kherson, a city where more people die than are born and more decide to leave than stay.
Sudan’s Military Has Used Chemical Weapons Twice, U.S. Officials Say
The determination comes as the United States prepares to announce sanctions against the Sudanese military chief, saying there is strong evidence of atrocities in the country.
Sudan’s military has used chemical weapons on at least two occasions against the paramilitary group it is battling for control of the country, four senior United States officials said on Thursday.
The weapons were deployed recently in remote areas of Sudan, and targeted members of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries that the army has been fighting since April 2023. But U.S. officials worry the weapons could soon be used in densely populated parts of the capital, Khartoum.
The revelations about chemical weapons use come as the United States is expected to announce sanctions against the Sudanese military chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, for documented atrocities by his troops, including indiscriminate bombing of civilians and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.
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