6:44 am, November 26, 2023
Israel and Hamas complete second day of swaps as Gaza ceasefire holds
Hamas militants on Saturday released 17 hostages, including 13 Israelis, from captivity in the Gaza Strip while Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners in the latest stage of a four-day ceasefire.
The late-night exchange was held up for several hours after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement. The delay underscored the fragility of the ceasefire, which has halted a war that has shaken Israel, caused widespread destruction across the Gaza Strip and threatened to unleash wider fighting across the region.
The army said Red Cross representatives transferred the freed hostages to Egypt late on Saturday. They later said they have been transferred to Israel where they were being taken to hospitals for observation and to be reunited with families.
World’s focus must not leave Ukraine, ex-Nato chief warns
The world’s attention must ‘stay on Ukraine’ as the Russian invasion continues, a former Nato secretary-general has warned.
Lord George Robertson said Russian president Vladimir Putin would be emboldened to extend the attacks beyond Ukraine if foreign governments stop providing weaponry. It comes amid a four-day pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict, with the situation in the Middle East dominating much of the news agenda.
Lord Robertson, who was in the top Nato role between 1999 and 2003, welcomed the temporary ceasefire in Gaza, but he told the PA news agency: ‘I think it is inevitable that because we’re seeing the television from Gaza every day, that people are paying less attention to Ukraine, but that must change.’
Labour set to further water down £28bn green plans – reports
Labour may be set to further water down its pledge to spend £28bn-a-year on green initiatives, according to reports.
Labour had originally promised in 2021 to invest £28bn-a-year until 2030 in green projects if it came to power. But in June shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the figure would instead be a target to work towards in the second half of a first parliament.
Now the party could be set to backtrack further. The Tories have latched onto the policy to attack Labour’s fiscal credibility, attacking the idea of the extra borrowing needed to fund the pledge. The BBC said that a senior source in Sir Keir Starmer’s office suggested the £28bn figure may not be reached at all due to the current state of the public finances.
Digging to rescue 41 workers trapped in tunnel in India halted as machine breaks
Attempts to reach 41 construction workers stuck in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for two weeks have been hampered again.
Rescuers had been working by hand to remove debris after the drilling machine they were using broke down a day earlier while making its way through the debris of rock, stones and metal, but the operation was halted on Saturday.
An international expert assisting the rescue team at the accident site in the state of Uttarakhand, said it is unclear when the drilling will be able to start again.
This year’s Black Friday ‘busiest shopping day on record’ – Nationwide
This year’s Black Friday was the ‘busiest shopping day on record’, according to Nationwide Building Society, as shoppers shook off cost-of-living woes to make the most of festive deals.
Nationwide members made 9.92m purchases on Friday, which the bank said is equivalent to more than 114 transactions every second.
The figure is 2% higher than on Black Friday last year and 12% higher than on the same day in 2021.
Starmer open to Elgin Marbles deal with Greece – reports
Sir Keir Starmer would not oppose any loan deal that would involve the Elgin Marbles being returned to Athens, according to reports.
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir when he travels to London early next week, the Financial Times reported, with the issue expected to raised in both meetings.
Athens has long demanded the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
Weather
Cloud will build today with spells of rain moving eastwards, reports BBC Weather. Many areas will remain dry though and temperatures will be a little milder due to the cloud, sitting between eight and 13 in the south, although the far north of Scotland will remain very chilly at three degrees celsius.
The far north will see snow tonight while the rest of of the country will have cloud and rain – heavy in places.
