World

It was almost spring, when the Gestapo came for them. The Gronowskis had planned to escape through the back garden if the worst happened. But they were taken by surprise, sitting at the breakfast table sipping coffee and spreading jam on bread, when the doorbell rang. “The door opened and two men shouted ‘Gestapo. Papers’,”

Four Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza have been handed over to the Red Cross. Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, were all serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) when they were captured. They are being freed by Hamas in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners,

Hamas has released the names of four female soldiers expected to be freed on Saturday as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel. Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, who were serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), are set to return to Israel in exchange for

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told Sky News he is seeking the arrest of two senior Taliban figures over the ”systemic and deliberate” persecution of women in Afghanistan. Karim Khan KC, speaking on Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, said the pair bore “criminal responsibility” over the treatment of women

Gaza’s Hamas-run municipal governments have published their first official reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip, in the latest sign that the group intends to be a leading actor in the rebuilding of the territory. In recent days, Hamas has re-emerged as the area’s main governing authority, deploying security forces across the Gaza Strip, despite suffering

Italy’s highest court has decided to uphold the conviction of Amanda Knox for slander related to the 2007 murder of her British flatmate, Meredith Kercher. The ruling is the latest part of a 17-year legal saga which ultimately exonerated her for the 2007 fatal stabbing in the Italian university town of Perugia, north of Rome.

Hundreds of same-sex couples have been tying the knot in Thailand today as it becomes by far the largest nation in Asia to allow equal marriage and the first in South East Asia. A mass LGBTQ wedding at a shopping mall in Bangkok saw hundreds of marriage registrations as the law came into effect. It

A Russian “spy” ship has been monitored by the Royal Navy after it entered UK waters earlier this week, the defence secretary has said – as he issued a warning to President Vladimir Putin. The vessel, called Yantar, has been used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure, John Healey told MPs.

Eight people have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli troops carried out a raid in the city of Jenin – an area not covered by the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israel described it as a “significant and broad military operation” against Palestinian militants, just two days after a long-sought deal to stop the

A fire at a hotel in a popular ski resort in Turkey has killed at least 66 people, the country’s interior minister has said. Ali Yerlikaya added that at least 51 other people were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains in northwest Turkey, around 185

An Australian broadcaster has apologised to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans after calling the 24-time Grand Slam champion “overrated” and a “has-been”. Djokovic, 37, refused to give a customary post-match interview to Channel Nine anchor Jim Courier after beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open on Sunday. He said in a

Donald Trump will pull the US, the world’s second-largest climate polluter, out of the most important global treaty for tackling climate change for the second time. The White House announced the move to withdraw from the Paris Agreement shortly after Mr Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The decision would place the United States alongside Iran, Libya

Emily Damari, a 28-year-old British-Israeli woman, is among the first three hostages Hamas plans to release today as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. She was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel when she was “shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said a ceasefire in Gaza due to take effect this morning will not happen if Hamas fails to issue the list of the hostages up for release. A long-sought ceasefire for Gaza, where Israel has been waging a powerful military campaign for the past 15 months, was due

Dozens of people have been injured, some seriously, in a chair lift accident in Spain. The incident took place at the Astún ski resort, which is on the Spanish border with France, in the Pyrenees mountain range. At least 30 people have been injured in the incident. Nine of those are very seriously injured and

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners. It will now go to the full cabinet for final sign-off, with a full government meeting scheduled later today. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said approval came “after examining all political,