World

A temporary truce period between Israel and Hamas has begun – with the first group of Israeli women and children due to be released later today. There has been no official word from either side as to whether there has been a pause in the fighting – however, the truce period was due to start

Three young children are among five people injured following a “serious public order incident”outside a school in Dublin city centre. Police said the three children, a man and a woman were taken to hospitals around Dublin shortly after 1.30pm. One of the children, a girl, and the woman are being treated for serious injuries. The

For the president, it was personal. That was certainly the tone struck in a late night statement on the hostage deal from the White House. “Jill and I have been keeping all those held hostage and their loved ones close to our hearts these many weeks, and I am extraordinarily gratified that some of these

The hostage release deal has been delicately structured after weeks of negotiation and many false starts. After ratification by Israel’s war cabinet, security cabinet and full cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu now has the support of Israel’s security establishment. Some 50 hostages will be released, in phases, all with Israeli citizenship. Roughly 12 every day. We understand

The King dropped some references to South Korean popular culture as he hosted the country’s president at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Listening to the King’s banquet address were singers Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim, Lisa Manobal and Rose Park from the K-pop band Blackpink, South Korea’s biggest girl group who became the first Korean

Israel’s government has agreed to back a deal with Hamas for the release of some hostages in Gaza and a temporary pause in the fighting. The agreement involves swapping the hostages for Palestinian prisoners being detained in Israel. The prime minister’s office said the deal involves the release of 50 women and children being held

Israel’s latest evidence is the most convincing yet of Hamas military activity at al Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest.  Thus far, it falls short of proving there was a substantial secret subterranean command and control base below the medical complex. What it does show is the presence of men with guns inside al Shifa, something doctors

Argentina has elected a right-wing populist known as “el Loco” (the Madman) as its new president. Javier Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist who has been compared to former US president Donald Trump, promised to deal with Argentina’s soaring inflation and rising poverty. “The model of decadence has come to an end, there’s no going back,” Mr

Plans to stop emitting greenhouse gases in order to limit global warming are nowhere near enough to avert dangerous climate change, a United Nations body has warned. In its annual Emissions Gap report, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) says the climate action plans of governments around the world will fail to limit the global temperature

Gaza has lost its largest hospital. Al Shifa has been the beating heart of the strip’s medical infrastructure for almost eight decades, but now is “basically not functioning”, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Thirty-two babies still in hospital ‘death zone’ – live updates The WHO’s findings pose some very difficult questions for Israel

Fears over the safety of Palestinian civilians are growing as Israel suggests its bombardment of Gaza will shift to southern areas, having destroyed swathes of the north. Leaflets have been dropped by the Israeli military in some areas of the south, near Khan Younis, warning residents to leave as Israel declared the “next stage” of

Flying with the Icelandic coast guard low over Grindavik’s deserted streets, we followed the gash that has ripped the town apart. It zig-zags across gardens, car parks and streets, through houses and the sports centre. Iceland volcano live updates A crack in the earth that stretches for nine miles across the Reykjanes Peninsula. Steam still

Israel’s response to Hamas’s brutal attacks last month was immediate. However, it appears that Israel‘s military offensive was primarily motivated by anger and a political imperative to “do something, and get on with it”, rather than evolving clear military objectives, and how to enable post-conflict peace. Historically, Israel’s response to Hamas aggression is tolerated by

A powerful undersea earthquake of up to 7.2 magnitude has struck the Philippines. The tremor, which lasted several seconds, occurred around 16 miles (26km) off Burias at the southern tip of the archipelago, the US Geological Survey said. Scientists said no tsunami was expected, but residents were advised to be on alert for aftershocks and

Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is doing all it can to minimise civilian casualties in Gaza but had “not been successful”. The Israeli prime minister was speaking to CBS when he made the comments regarding the thousands of reported deaths since his forces began their operation against Hamas. Mr Netanyahu laid the blame for the

Israel is approaching the end of the first phase of its operation in Gaza and with it comes a dilemma. “You break it, you own it,” US secretary of state Colin Powell warned President Bush ahead of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, quoting signs in US department stores meant for customers. The same principle

China’s leader Xi Jinping has told US President Joe Biden that “planet Earth is big enough” for both their countries “to succeed”. The two leaders have met face-to-face for the first time in a year, amid strained tensions including over Taiwan, a Chinese ‘spy’ balloon, and hacking. Mr Biden had billed the meeting as a

Grindavik is now a ghost town. It has all the familiar places – shops, cafes, schools and apartment blocks. But they are all empty, abandoned in the rush to flee an earthquake swarm over the weekend. We were taken into the town under police escort, passing through several checkpoints. Follow live: 800 new earthquakes raise

Colombia has started sterilising hippos descended from animals illegally brought to the country by drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. The hippos spread from Escobar’s estate into nearby rivers, where they flourished. There are now more than 100 of them, prompting the government’s plan to control the population. Two male hippos and one female have

Which other countries have banned TikTok? TikTok has been banned in several countries, with many citing security concerns about the Chinese app. The UK and US governments have banned the app on government phones, as has the European Parliament, European Commission and EU Council. TikTok has repeatedly denied it has ever shared data with the