Saturday, April 26, 2025

BIG Wrap

Hostages freed and prisoners released in latest Gaza ceasefire exchange

(BBC News) Hamas has freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza, while Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange as part of an internationally brokered ceasefire deal. The three hostages – Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy – were handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday morning before reuniting with their families in Israel. Concerns have been raised about their wellbeing, with Sharabi's family – who live in the UK – describing...

UN warns of potential for regional spread in DRC conflict

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United Nations has called for efforts to prevent the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from spreading across the region. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned on Friday that the “worst may be yet to come” as he addressed an emergency meeting of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. However, while he urged all parties to help halt the violence, the DRC and Rwanda continued to...

Netanyahu meets U.S. lawmakers as Trump sanctions International Criminal Court

(BBC News) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday, days after appearing with Donald Trump at the White House. The visit came as Trump has signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court for targeting the US and allies such as Israel, the BBC understands. Earlier, Trump restated his plan for a US takeover of the Gaza Strip, after his idea was rejected by Palestinians...

U.S. government seizes plane of Venezuelan president Maduro

(Al Jazeera Media Network) During a visit to the Dominican Republic, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited a hangar where a plane allegedly belonging to the government of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro was located. Taping a large notice onto the door of the plane, Rubio and other US officials declared that the plane was now in the possession of the US government. This is the second time in less than a year that a plane belonging...

World reaction to Trump’s proposed plan to ‘take over’ Gaza

(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump has unveiled a shocking plan to take over the Gaza Strip after Palestinians are forcibly moved out of the besieged enclave, spurring fears he would back an ethnic-cleansing campaign. During a news conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said that Palestinians would “love to leave” Gaza, suggesting that the US would take long-term ownership of the Strip while it is rebuilt and redeveloped as the “Riviera...

China challenges Trump tariffs as ‘discriminatory’

(BBC News) China has accused the US of making "unfounded and false allegations" about its role in the fentanyl trade to justify tariffs on Chinese products. The complaint was lodged with the World Trade Organization (WTO) one day after US President Donald Trump raised border taxes on Chinese goods by 10%, a measure he said was intended to address an influx of illegal drugs. In the filing, China said the measures were "discriminatory and protectionist" and...

24 hours of chaos – why did Trump pause Canada, Mexico tariffs?

(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States President Donald Trump announced that he would “immediately pause” tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days after speaking with their leaders on Monday. However, a 10% tariff on all China exports comes into effect on Tuesday. So what led to this decision, and why was the pause announced? What happened between the US, Canada, Mexico and China? On February 1, Trump signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, with a...

Campus attack is ‘Sweden’s worst mass shooting,’ PM says

(BBC News) Swedish police say "around 10" people have been killed in a shooting on a school campus in the central city of Orebro. Police believe the perpetrator is among the dead and that he acted alone. A motive is not yet clear. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson describes the attack as the "worst mass shooting" in Sweden's history. The shooting happened at a school for adults, although there are children's schools on the site. Students and staff were...

Pro-Russia paramilitary leader killed in Moscow blast

(BBC News) The leader of a pro-Russian paramilitary group in eastern Ukraine has died in hospital after being injured in an explosion in Moscow on Monday morning, Russian media have said. Armen Sargsyan, the leader of the "Arbat" battalion, was severely injured following a blast in the entrance hall of a residential building in northwest Moscow, 12 km from the Kremlin. He was evacuated to a hospital by helicopter and placed in intensive care after the...

Trump, Sheinbaum announce one-month pause in threatened Mexico tariffs

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and her United States counterpart Donald Trump have announced a month-long pause to the sweeping US tariffs that were threatened for exports from Mexico. Both leaders confirmed the agreement in social media posts on Monday, a day before the tariffs were supposed to come into effect. Sheinbaum was the first to reveal the pause, writing on the platform X. “We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship...