Gaza ceasefire talks in 'final stages' as details of deal emerge
Summary
Talks in Doha on a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages are in their "final stages", as key mediator Qatar says an agreement is "very close"
Our Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf says there would be three phases to the deal, with three hostages released on the first day and Israel beginning to withdraw troops after that
Envoys for both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have claimed credit for the progress of the talks, but Trump's looming inauguration has brought the pressure of a meaningful deadline, Tom Bateman writes
But as our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams notes, Qatari mediators say both sides could "still get lost in the details" and a deal could fall through
The war was triggered by Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response, and the enclave's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 46,600 people have been killed there during the war
Talks in Doha on a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages are in their "final stages", as key mediator Qatar says an agreement is "very close"
Our Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf says there would be three phases to the deal, with three hostages released on the first day and Israel beginning to withdraw troops after that
Envoys for both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have claimed credit for the progress of the talks, but Trump's looming inauguration has brought the pressure of a meaningful deadline, Tom Bateman writes
But as our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams notes, Qatari mediators say both sides could "still get lost in the details" and a deal could fall through
The war was triggered by Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken to Gaza as hostages
Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response, and the enclave's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 46,600 people have been killed there during the war
Bodies recovered from illegal goldmine in South Africa where many feared dead
Fifteen bodies brought to surface amid claims 109 are dead and between 400 and 800 people still alive and trapped
Tue 14 Jan 2025 11.31 GMT
Fifteen bodies have been brought out of an illegal goldmine in South Africa and 44 people have been taken out alive since Monday, after police blocked supplies of food, water and medicine to the workers underground in October in an attempt to force them out.
On Thursday, a letter brought up to the surface claimed there were 109 dead bodies underground. A video circulated by the NGO Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) appeared to show more than 50 wrapped bodies laid out in a tunnel.
Another video showed emaciated men begging to be sent food and rescued. Macua claimed there were between 400 and 800 people still alive and trapped underground at the Buffelsfontein mine near Stilfontein, about 100 miles south-west of Johannesburg.
NATO unveils Baltic Sentry pipeline, cable security mission
Baltic Sea NATO members met in Helsinki after a series of outages and damage to power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines, announcing a new mission aiming to deter such disruptions thought to be linked to Russia.
NATO leaders gathering in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Tuesday said European countries must be prepared to face further incidents in the Baltic Sea and announced a new mission designed to deter them.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after the meeting that a new mission dubbed Baltic Sentry would include frigates, maritime patrol aircraft, and a fleet of naval drones to provide "enhanced surveillance and deterrence."
"Across the alliance, we have seen elements of a campaign to destabilize our societies through cyberattacks, assassination attempts and sabotage, including possible sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea," Rutte told reporters.
'Syrian above all': The Alawite community refuses to pay for Assad's crimes
A month after Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed, Syria's Alawite minority, which served as the regime's backbone, fears a witch hunt. In their stronghold of Tartus, members of the community recount that they too suffered under the former dictator's bloody tyranny.
On his face, a black eye. On his back, large bruises. Ali*, a young man in his early twenties, is terrified. The former Syrian soldier claims he was stopped a few days ago at a checkpoint near the village of Khirbet al-Ma'zah, close to the Mediterranean coastal city of Tartus.
“They told me, ‘You’re an Alawite pig!’ They treated me like an animal because I’m Alawite,” he said, speaking under the condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
In a secluded location away from prying eyes, Ali recounted being dragged off a bus by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly linked to al Qaeda) militants while on his way to seek the promised amnesty for ex-regime soldiers who had not committed acts of bloodshed or torture. Taken to a checkpoint along with seven others, he described being tied up, detained and beaten with fists, feet and iron bars. He endured five hours of torment before being dumped on the roadside.
‘Today it’s cool to hang far-right slogans in your bedroom’
Germany’s AfD targets the youth vote
Olaf Scholz’s lame-duck coalition faces the voters in parliamentary elections next month. It does so after a year in which the far-right AfD made striking electoral gains, most worryingly among the young.
by Boris Grésillon
Last year was a good one for the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland). The far-right party, formed in 2013, won 15.9% of the vote in June’s EU election, becoming Germany’s biggest party after the CDU (Christian Democratic Union, 30%). If that seemed impressive, September elections in three eastern states (Länder) sent shockwaves through the traditional parties: the AfD amassed 29.2% in Brandenburg – where the SDP (Social Democratic Party) squeaked in with 30.9% – and 30.6% in Saxony, just behind the CDU (31.9%). And it took first place in Thuringia (32.8%). This means a far-right party now holds the majority in a German state parliament, something not seen since the second world war. Though a united firewall will prevent it from governing there, it will have a blocking minority that local leader Björn Höcke won’t be shy about using.
Haiti displacement surpasses one million people: UN
Children account for more than half of Haiti’s displaced population, which has tripled amid relentless gang violence.
The number of people in Haiti who have fled their homes has risen threefold in the last year to more than one million, according to the United Nations.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a report released on Tuesday that its latest data “reveals that 1,041,000 people, many displaced multiple times, are struggling amidst an intensifying humanitarian crisis”.
The figures show that in the capital, Port-au-Prince, displacement has surged by 87 percent, driven by relentless gang violence, as well as the collapse of essential services – especially healthcare – and escalating food shortages.
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