14 m. ago Hamas hands over first of six Israeli hostages during tense prisoner exchange

Hamas has today handed over two of six Israeli hostages due to be freed from the Gaza Strip, as the body of murdered mother-of-two Shiri Bibas was handed back to her grieving family

Events

19 m. ago Middle East crisis live: Israel says body of Shiri Bibas handed over as Hamas begins release of six more hostages

Hamas says six captives to be freed from Gaza in swap for about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detaineesA masked militant has sat down at a table on the stage with a Red Cross representative and they appear to be signing documents.Live images from Rafah are showing masked Hamas fighters taking to the makeshift stage, with one speaking into a microphone. Continue reading...

Events

46 m. ago A raid and a secret tape exposed a Sicilian mafia that is shrunken, whiny and clinging on for survival | John Dickie

A historic number of arrests were made, but the days of targeted murder or massive political influence are long gonePalermo has not seen anything like it for years. Helicopters in the pre-dawn sky. Carabinieri barracks across Sicily emptied, with all 1,200 officers deployed. The Cacciatori – red-bereted shock cops – brought over from the wilds of Calabria. The Carabinieri’s own film units serving up a morning montage of flashing blue lights, balaclava-wearing officers with submachine guns, police dogs sniffing, cottage doors breaking, and burly, handcuffed men ushered into Alfa Romeos. And then, of course, in the press, the humiliating wiretaps of gangsters sharing their secrets. Cosa Nostra is back in the headlines, and back under the cosh.Italian law enforcement is good at this stuff. Not a single one of the 181 men and women targeted for arrest on 11 February managed to go on the lam before the crackdown. Based on the numbers alone, this raid was the biggest anti-mafia operation ...

Events

86 m. ago The Traitors' Leanne Quigley's 'terrifying' birth with premature twins ahead of fresh IVF treatment

EXCLUSIVE: The Traitors star Leanne Quigley opens up about her plans to have more kids with fiancee Sophie Brown, despite the couple's traumatic experience with twins Harley and Hudson

Events

88 m. ago Middle East crisis live: Israel says body of Shiri Bibas handed over as Hamas prepares to release six more hostages

Hamas says six captives expected to be freed from Gaza on Saturday in swap for about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detaineesA convoy of Red Cross vehicles is now heading to a hostage handover site set up by Hamas in Rafah in southern Gaza, the Times of Israel is quoting an Israeli defense official as saying.The Red Cross is expected to receive two hostages there, the report says. According to Al Jazeera, hostages Tal Shoham and Avera Mengistu will be freed in Rafah. The other four — Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert and Hisham al-Sayed — will be released later in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.On the stage prepared by Hamas in Rafah are the usual placards with messages including “We are the flood” as well as military weapons and equipment the group claims were stolen from the IDF on October 7 2023.One piece is a gun on which the group wrote “Ravshatz,” the Hebrew acronym for the head of a community’s local security team, indicating it was taken from such an individual killed by terr...

Events

1 hour ago ‘I forgive the girl and boy for what they’ve done. If I didn’t, the hate would eat away at me’: Esther Ghey on life after the murder of her daughter Brianna

Transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death by two 15-year-olds. The killers had been radicalised on the dark web, while the victim was trapped in an online world of her own. Now her mother has become friends with the parent of one of the murderersThe first thing I notice about Esther Ghey is a blossom tree trailing down her left arm to her hand. There is one pink flower on the tattoo. Pink was her daughter Brianna’s favourite colour. If Brianna had got her way, the whole world would have been pink. And just after she was murdered by two teenage schoolchildren in February 2023, Ghey says, the world did briefly turn pink. The local blossom trees filled with the blossomiest blossom she had ever seen. “It really felt she was with us and that she was sending us a sign she was OK,” she says.Now Ghey has written a book, Under a Pink Sky. It’s a memoir of her and Brianna’s lives, and a manifesto of sorts; a shocking exploration of how deadly smartphones and online spaces can be....

Events

1 hour ago ‘Traditional flavours and modern ideas’ turn Swedish buns into a TikTok delight

The ‘fantasticallly delicious’ semla has gone from a simple Nordic springtime favourite to a Noma-approved delicacyThe earliest version of the Swedish semla was a 16th-century plain bread bun served in a soup of warm milk eaten only on Shrove Tuesday in preparation for the 40-day fast of Lent.It is a far cry from this year’s hit varieties, which include Dubai chocolate (the chocolate bar with a knafeh and pistachio filling that became a TikTok trend) and chokladboll (based on a Scandinavian oat, cocoa and butter ball – a popular fika item). Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Hawaii man reveals first thing he plans to do after spending 30 years in jail for murder he didn't commit

After spending 30 years in prison for a murder he has always denied committing, Gordon Cordeiro was finally released after a judge vacated his conviction due to new DNA evidence.

Events

2 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...

Politics

3 h. ago ‘I forgive them for what they’ve done’: Esther Ghey on life after the murder of daughter Brianna – podcast

Two years ago, transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death by two 15-year-olds. The killers had been radicalised on the dark web, while the victim was trapped in an online world of her own. Now her mother has become friends with the parent of one of the murderers. On the second anniversary of Brianna’s death, Esther sits down with Simon Hattenstone to discuss her daughter’s murder and her own extraordinary response. Continue reading...

Events

4 h. ago Vehicle tax changes that will see some pay up to £195 for the first time

Some car owners across the country will be hit by major tax changes in just a couple of months

Economics

6 h. ago Love Island All Stars winners Gabby Allen and Casey O'Gorman pack on the PDA as they enjoy London night out after flying back from South Africa

The couple were crowned winners of Love Island: All Stars on Monday night and took home the £50,000 cash prize, and still appear to be going strong outside the villa.

Politics

6 h. ago Thieves win more than £400,000 on scratchcard bought with stolen credit card

In what is a scarcely believable tale, the victim - whose card was used to buy the ticket - has now offered the pair a life changing deal which would see them share the jackpot.

Economics

7 h. ago The inside story of arrogant motorbike couple who were charged with spying after everyone told them they were mad to go. PAUL BRACCHI reveals the reality of 'danger tourism'

Finca Foremana is a lovingly refurbished holiday let high in the Andalusian mountains of southern Spain.

Transport

7 h. ago Nurse dubbed the 'Angel of Death' after murdering patients with insulin in a strikingly similar case to Lucy Letby faces an astonishing twist

From its imposing perimeter wall to its forbidding entrance gates, everything about HMP Frankland appears designed to extinguish hope.

Events

7 h. ago Fears for Kanye West grow as he posts image of doomed couple Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen wearing swastika shirt

Kanye West sparked concern after posting a photo of the doomed couple Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. A disturbing detail in the image included Sid wearing a swastika.

Politics

8 h. ago Judge releases Hawaii man who argued he spent 30 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit

A judge has ordered the release of a Hawaii man who was imprisoned for 30 years for a murder he says he didn’t commit

Events

9 h. ago LILY ALLEN reveals she thought her voice had been stolen by AI for a dance track

A dance track titled Somebody Else was released online last week with vocals uncannily like Ms Allen's set to a backing track in the style of the British DJ Fred Again.

Politics

9 h. ago Los Angeles DA opposes new trial for Menendez brothers over parents’ deaths

Nathan Hochman casts doubt on sexual abuse claims but declines to say whether he would support resentencingLos Angeles’s new tough-on-crime district attorney made clear on Friday he is taking a much less sympathetic view of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s case, though his office has not yet announced what position it will take on the issue of whether the brothers should be resentenced.Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, Menendez were found guilty of first-degree murder in the killings of José and Kitty Menendez in 1989, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago Couple leave family and friends stunned with 12:03am WhatsApp message

Ruth Ridyard, 35, and now-husband Martin, 38, messaged 24 of their closest friends and family on WhatsApp just after midnight to tell them about their 'big surprise' later that day

Politics