86 m. ago From saviour to Judas How Trump’s pivot on Russia also endangers his own country | Simon Tisdall

With a Putin-appeasing president at the helm, it is clear the transatlantic alliance is collapsing and European leaders must plot their own courseHow do I betray thee? Let me count the ways Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning for mangling her celebrated poem to reflect Donald Trump’s multiple Ukraine treacheries. This most perfidious of presidents surpassed himself last week, accusing Kyiv of invading itself three years ago . “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” he fatuously griped.Candidate Trump, touting a just peace, pledged to end the war in a day. Now he praises Vladimir Putin, claims Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is “a dictator” and backs a settlement on Moscow’s criminal, one-sided terms. This deranged collapse into craven capitulation, this transition from American saviour to American Judas, took less than a month. It’s contemptible. Continue reading...

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10 h. ago Body of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas returned after Hamas release her remains

Ms Bibas was kidnapped with her sons from Niz Or kibbutz during Hamas's terror attack in October 2023

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11 h. ago Family confirms body of hostage handed over by Hamas was Israeli mother Shiri Bibas

Hamas returns remains of Israeli hostage after mixup that threatened the ceasefire

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12 h. ago Shiri Bibas remains identified as Israel and Hamas prepare for another hostage

Gaza ceasefire deal still on track amid uproar over fate of two Israeli boys and initial false return of their mother’s bodyThe body of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has been identified, Israel’s army radio reported early on Saturday, adding that Bibas was likely killed in captivity with her children.The confirmation came as Israelis and Palestinians braced for another tense exchange of hostages, prisoners and detainees on Saturday after uproar in Israel over allegations that two child hostages were “brutally murdered” by Hamas, and the group’s initial failure to deliver the body of their mother, instead returning the corpse of an unidentified woman. Continue reading...

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18 h. ago Body of hostage Shiri Bibas finally 'returned to Israel', Hamas claims

The mix up, as well as the public handover of the bodies, threatened to throw the fragile ceasefire out of the window after it caused outrage in Israel.

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19 h. ago US envoy to Ukraine hails Zelenskyy as ‘embattled and courageous leader’

Keith Kellogg takes different tone from Trump, who contrasted ‘very good talks’ with Putin with cooler relationship with Ukraine’s leaderThe US envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, has praised Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war”, striking a dramatically different tone from Donald Trump, who has called Ukraine’s president a “dictator”.Kellogg left Kyiv on Friday after a three-day visit. Posting on social media, he said he had engaged in “extensive and positive discussions” with Zelenskyy and his “talented national security team”. “A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine,” he said. Continue reading...

Politics

28 h. ago Another ceasefire is under threat from Trump – the precarious deal between Lebanon and Israel | Mohamad Bazzi

Israel, seemingly with the US president’s blessing, has kept troops inside Lebanon. Renewed conflict with Hezbollah is loomingAs global attention remains focused on the hostage-prisoner swaps between Hamas and Israel, another ceasefire in the region hangs in the balance.The 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim militia which has been the most dominant political faction in Lebanon for the past two decades, was paused by a US-brokered ceasefire in late November. The agreement also paved the way to end years of political deadlock in Beirut. Lebanon has formed a new government, and finally has leaders chosen for their promises to carry out reforms, rather than their sectarian affiliations – but the future of the ceasefire deal has left them facing an immediate crisis.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor at New York University Continue reading...

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29 h. ago Hamas 'will pay the full price' for not returning the body of Shiri Bibas, Netanyahu warns after terror group blamed 'mix up' for sending the wrong remains

The remains of four people, whom Hamas said were Israeli hostages, were handed over on Thursday, the first such transfer under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Events

31 h. ago Hamas offers horrific explanation after Israel revealed body returned to grieving family was NOT missing hostage Shiri Babas

The remains of four people, whom Hamas said were Israeli hostages, were handed over on Thursday, the first such transfer under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Events

34 h. ago Fresh hell as Hamas hands over WRONG body to youngest hostages' grieving family: Remains of Shiri Bibas are NOT her

The bodies of Hamas' youngest hostage Kfir Bibas and his brother have been formally identified but the third body returned to Israel is not their mother.

Events

35 h. ago Middle East latest: Netanyahu says body Hamas released was that of a Gazan woman, not a hostage

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a body that Hamas militants released during the handover of remains of Israeli hostages is that of a Gazan woman instead of that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of two young boys whose bodies were returned on Thursday

Events

41 h. ago Israeli mum slaughtered with children not among hostages' bodies returned by Hamas in 'serious violation'

Shiri Bibas' body was supposed to be in the caskets released by Hamas but the Israeli Defence Forces have reportedly told the Bibas family that only Ariel, 4, and nine-month-old baby Kfir's remains were positively identified

Events

41 h. ago Fresh hell as Hamas hands over WRONG body to youngest hostages' grieving family: Remains of tiny Kfir Bibas, nine months, and his brother Ariel, 4, are returned

The bodies of Hamas' youngest hostage Kfir Bibas and his brother have been formally identified but the third body returned Israel is not their mother.

Events

42 h. ago Israel claims Hamas handed over unidentified body instead of hostage’s remains

The Israeli military said two of the bodies had been identified, but a third remains unknown

Politics

52 h. ago Appeals court denies Trump’s plea to reinstate birthright citizenship ban

President signed executive order on day one ordering end to citizenship for children of non-legal permanent residentsUS politics live – latest updatesA federal appeals court in San Francisco denied the Trump administration’s request to reinstate a ban on birthright citizenship.Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office that ordered an end to birthright citizenship for children for whom neither parent is a US citizen or legal permanent resident. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago How will Trump and Musk’s freeze on USAid affect millions around the world?

Immediately after his inauguration, the US president and the head of Doge froze funding for all foreign assistance, creating chaos for staff and for humanitarian projects, charities, governments and people around the worldWithin hours of taking office on 20 January, the US president, Donald Trump, announced an immediate 90-day freeze on all US foreign assistance, including over $40bn (£32bn) for international projects coming from USAid, the US Agency for International Development.In that time, there would be a review conducted to ensure the agency was backing work that aligned with the administration’s “America First” agenda. Waivers were later announced for “lifesaving humanitarian assistance” but it was quickly apparent the guidelines were confusing and contradictory. Continue reading...

Politics

53 h. ago Israel receives bodies of four hostages held by Hamas including mother and her two children

The remains of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, are believed to have been returned to Israeli on Thursday.

Events

56 h. ago Middle East crisis live: remains of four hostages, including mother and two children, returned to Israel

Bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, who Hamas says were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as well as Oded Lifshitz, 83, handed overThe handover of the four bodies from Hamas to the Red Cross is now complete.The vehicles are on their way to Israel, and the crowd in Khan Younis is beginning to disperse. Continue reading...

Events

57 h. ago Israel's saddest day: President says 'our hearts lie in tatters' as coffins containing remains of four hostages including Shiri Bibas, her son Ariel and baby Kfir are returned from Gaza

At just nine months old, Kfir Bibas was the youngest captive taken on October 7, 2023. He was taken alongside his mother Shiri, and then-four-year-old brother Ariel.

Politics

57 h. ago Hamas hands over remains of four Israeli hostages including two children

Exchange under shaky ceasefire deal includes three deceased members of Bibas family

Politics