4 h. ago Charles and Camilla make second donation to Middle East humanitarian appeal

The King and Queen were among the first to donate to the appeal at its launch last October.

Politics

6 h. ago Jailed Kurdish leader calls for PKK to disarm – in shift that could shake up region

Abdullah Öcalan’s message, which follows four decades of guerrilla warfare, will have far-reaching implications The ageing leader of a Kurdish militant group imprisoned on a remote Turkish island has called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself, signalling the start of a fragile peace with Turkey after four decades of guerrilla warfare, attacks and reprisals.Abdullah Öcalan, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), a group long regarded as a terrorist organisation in Turkey as well as in Britain and the US, issued the message in a letter read out by allies in Istanbul. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Jailed Kurdish leader calls for group to disarm, in major shift that could shake up Turkey and Middle East

Abdullah Öcalan’s message, which follows four decades of guerrilla warfare, will have far-reaching implications The ageing leader of a Kurdish militant group imprisoned on a remote Turkish island has called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself, signalling the start of a fragile peace with Turkey after four decades of guerrilla warfare, attacks and reprisals.Abdullah Öcalan, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), a group long regarded as a terrorist organisation in Turkey as well as in Britain and the US, issued the message in a letter read out by allies in Istanbul. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago 'Hawaii of the East' island is the perfect alternative to Bali and Thailand

The Vietnamese island of Phú Quoc is a stunning alternative to Bali and Thailand with white-sand beaches, a tropical jungle, mountains and a UNESCO-protected national park

Politics

12 h. ago Hamas responds to Trump's AI Gaza video after President lauded gaudy vision of his 'Riviera of the Middle East'

Hamas has accused Trump of trying to turn Gaza into a 'big prison' and criticized him for 'proposing ideas that do not take into account the cultures and interests of the people'.

Politics

13 h. ago Israel releases over 600 Palestinian prisoners as Hamas returns bodies of four hostages

Gaza ceasefire appears to hold after four-day breach, as Israel says three of four bodies identified as of Thursday morningSee all our Middle East coverageHamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages, and Israel has released more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, as the five-week-old ceasefire appeared to get back on track after a breach that had brought fears of a return to war in Gaza.The bodies of the hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in southern Gaza and driven to the border point at Kerem Shalom at about midnight, when immediate identity checks were carried out using dental records. By dawn on Thursday morning, three out of the four had been positively identified, according to a group representing the hostages. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago Middle East latest: Hamas says it is ready to negotiate the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza

Hamas says it is ready to negotiate the the next phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after a swap in which it handed over what it said were the remains of four hostages in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel

Events

20 h. ago Israel releases some Palestinian prisoners after Hamas returns bodies of four hostages

Gaza ceasefire appears to hold, though it remains unclear whether exchange would include all 602 Palestinian prisoners who were due for release on SaturdaySee all our Middle East coverageHamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages, and Israel has released some Palestinian prisoners, as the five-week-old ceasefire appeared to get back on track after a breach that had brought fears of a return to war in Gaza.The bodies of the hostages were transferred to the Red Cross in southern Gaza and driven to the border point at Kerem Shalom at about midnight. Meanwhile, a convoy of buses carrying Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that 43 Palestinians being held in Ofer had been transferred to the Red Cross. Continue reading...

Events

21 h. ago EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Leftie in TV rant about privilege is really a toff

Channel 4 series Go Back to Where You Came From showed six Britons exploring war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa to learn about what drives migrants to our shores.

Politics

22 h. ago Hamas hands over bodies of four Israeli hostages as first phase of ceasefire nears end

Israel frees hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange

Events

31 h. ago Haunting truth behind Trump's Gaza resort plans and how 'Middle East Riviera' might look

EXCLUSIVE: With the help of AI imagery, the Daily Star has presented a grim look at what Gaza under Donald Trump might look like, complete with the MAGA man dining out with glamorous women

Politics

33 h. ago 'I visited world's best airport – but was gobsmacked when I got there'

A woman was excited to pay a visit to Singapore's Changi Airport before her flight - but was left disappointed and 'creeped out' by what she found in the early hours of the morning

Politics

33 h. ago Trump sparks outrage with AI video of his vision for Gaza that includes bizarre bearded belly dancers and a statue of himself

Donald Trump has offered a vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended.

Politics

34 h. ago Trump faces Truth Social backlash over AI video of Gaza with topless Netanyahu and bearded bellydancers

Users of president’s own social media site criticise video showing reimagined Gaza featuring Trump and Israeli PM sipping cocktailsDonald Trump is facing a backlash on his Truth Social platform after sharing an AI-created video of him sipping cocktails with a topless Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza, in a future imagining of the Palestinian territory devastated by Israel’s war.The video presented a computer-generated vision of Trump’s property development plan for Gaza, under which he said he wants to “clean out” the population of about 2 million people. Named the “Riviera of the Middle East” plan, the proposal has been criticised as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing. Continue reading...

Politics

35 h. ago Thousands line streets to farewell Shiri Bibas and her young sons, killed in Gaza

Mourners held orange balloons and signs that read ‘forgive us’

Events

36 h. ago Middle East latest: Hamas will return bodies of 4 dead Israeli hostages in exchange for prisoners

Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire

Events

36 h. ago Trump shares bizarre AI vision of what Gaza will look like under his rule

President shared an artificial intelligence-generated video featuring Elon Musk and Benjamin Netanyahu outlining his vision for the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’

Politics

36 h. ago Trump promotes bold vision for Gaza in video that hints at how 'Riviera of the Middle East' could look

Donald Trump has offered a vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended.

Politics

39 h. ago Trump unveils bold vision for Gaza in video to promote his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan

Donald Trump has offered a vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended.

Politics

40 h. ago ‘Losing hope with every day that passes’: torment of the ships’ crews abandoned at sea

Thousands of seafarers are left on board their vessels in foreign waters, unpaid, with scant supplies – and no way of getting home When Vihaan* set off from his home in Tamil Nadu, south India, to work on a vessel crossing the Bay of Bengal into neighbouring Bangladesh, he told his family he would be gone a few months. After delivering his cargo of stone to Bangladesh’s Kutubdia Island, the marine engineer was due to head home in March 2024 to disembark at Thoothukudi port, India.But that month, the rusting tug, the Navimar 3, which was being operated by Middle East Marine (MEM), was detained by the authorities in Bangladesh due to unpaid fees. For almost a year, Vihaan has become a virtual prisoner on board, he says, forced to work without pay to keep the vessel safe, amid strong currents where it is anchored off the island in the cyclone-prone bay. His passport and certification documents are being held by a local agent for the Dubai-based company. With no means of getting home, n...

Politics