| | | | | | | Hello. Fighting stopped in Gaza a few hours ago but as we're sending this newsletter, our correspondents are checking out reports of Palestinians being shot at as they try to move north in Gaza. My colleagues in Israel and the Strip will keep you updated on the planned release of the first hostages, expected later. This Friday, I'm leaving you with a lesser-known pioneer of English football, a gigantic iceberg and a wonky Christmas tree. Have a nice weekend. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Israel and Hamas pause fighting | | | | Displaced Palestinians are returning to their homes as the truce comes into effect. Credit: Reuters |
| | Fighting has paused in Gaza and, after a 24-hour delay, the hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is coming into effect. If all goes to plan, 13 Israeli hostages - expected to be women and children - will be freed at 16:00 local time (14:00GMT). This will be followed later by the first Palestinian women and children to be released from Israeli jails under the deal. After the guns went quiet, humanitarian aid began entering Gaza from Egypt - 200 lorries a day are expected, which aid workers say is not enough. In Khan Younis, further north, Palestinians tell my colleagues they are "very happy" about the pause in fighting. "We hope that this truce is extended and that everyone can go back home," one said. But as our correspondent Yolande Knell stresses, "this is a very dangerous moment". Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers in the territory were fighting until the last minute. Our live page has the latest. | | • | Watch: Our crew in southern Israel was filming Gaza when the pause began. Here's the clip. | | • | The rundown: If you feel lost about the terms of the deal, here's everything we know about how the exchange is expected to go. | | • | A painful wait: Relatives of Abigail, a three-year-old Israeli-American taken hostage by Hamas, are "cautiously hopeful" for her release. Watch their interview with CBS, the BBC's US partner. |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Tunnel rescue: Work to save 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in India's Uttarakhand state has been delayed again because of a problem with the drilling machine. | | • | Reeva Steenkamp murder: Former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius is to be freed from jail on parole, 10 years after murdering his girlfriend. | | • | 'Comfort women': A South Korean court has ordered Japan to compensate a group of women who were forced to work in military brothels during World War Two. Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa called the ruling "extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable". | | • | China tourism: China is trialling visa-free travel for citizens from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia for a year. | | • | Twice the size of London: The world's biggest iceberg is on the move after more than 30 years being stuck to the ocean floor. Quite unpoetically named A23a, this one is hard to miss - take a look. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Dublin, Ireland | | Violence and looting in Dublin | | The Irish capital saw outbreaks of disorder "not seen in decades" on Thursday night. Rioters smashed storefronts, set fire to vehicles and clashed with police, following a knife attack which had left five people injured. Authorities have blamed a "lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology". Thirty-four people were arrested. | | | | Enda McClafferty, BBC News |
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| | The scars of Thursday night are being removed by street cleaners this morning, the burnt out Dublin bus has gone and the only evidence left is the scorch marks on the street. The Asics store has three smashed windows, workmen are trying to repair the damage. Inside has been completely looted. Three doors down we have Foot Locker and it's a similar story there. There's a billboard that says Black Friday - little did the people know who put up the sign how black this Friday was going to be for these companies. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | A pioneer of English football | | | | Frank Soo played for England's football team during World War Two. Credit: Getty Images |
| | Apart from die-hard fans of the English national football team, few remember Frank Soo. But the wartime player, who was born from an English mother and a Chinese father, deserves a line in the game's history books. He was the first non-white player to represent England, and remains the only player of Asian descent to have played for the national team. His story is slowly emerging from obscurity. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Any given Friday | | Some stores are snubbing the Black Friday frenzy. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Every day, we're scouring the BBC News website to find you a nugget from the lighter side of news. And sometimes, the lighter side of news is a wonky Christmas tree in Cambridgeshire. It won't change your life, but to be fair, it is strikingly wonky. It's "like the leaning tower of Pisa", one resident of the charming town of March said. "We're just hoping the lights are going to do the trick," another said. |
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| | | | | | Influential with Katty Kay | | In-depth and unexpected conversations with today’s change makers. | | |
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– Jules |
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