The Israel Defence Forces said that three hostages released by Hamas had arrived in Israel. A ceasefire deal belatedly took hold in Gaza at 11:15am local time. Israel expects 33 hostages to be released as part of the deal over the next six weeks; Hamas says 90 Palestinian prisoners are due to be freed on Sunday. Earlier Palestinians in the enclave began returning to their homes, many destroyed.
TikTok started restoring services for some users in America, after Donald Trump said that he would sign an executive order on Monday that would allow TikTok to stay online for an extended period of time. On Friday the Supreme Court upheld a law forcing the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell it by Sunday or shut down the video platform. Mr Trump said America should have “50% ownership position in a joint venture”.
Mr Trump prepared to address supporters during a “victory rally” in Washington, DC, ahead of his inauguration on Monday. It is his first major event there since January 6th 2021. Elon Musk, Tesla’s boss, and J.D. Vance, the incoming vice president, will give speeches at the rally. TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, may also reportedly attend.
On his last full day in office President Joe Biden pardoned five activists and public servants, including Marcus Garvey, a human-rights leader. He also commuted the sentences of two people; they will be released next month. On Friday Mr Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 non-violent drug offenders, the largest-ever mass commutation by an American president.
Supporters of Yoon Suk Yeol went on the rampage in a court in Seoul after a judge extended the South Korean president’s detention. Some 40,000 protesters had gathered around the building; more than one hundred breached police lines, smashing windows and vandalising offices. Mr Yoon was arrested last week for insurrection, following his attempt to introduce martial law in December.
Colombia’s human-rights office said that 80 people were killed during a bout of rebel violence in the Catatumbo region, an area on the border with Venezuela where coca, the plant-base of cocaine, is abundant. Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, on Friday called off peace talks with one of the groups involved, the National Liberation Army (ELN), accusing it of war crimes.
Mount Ibu, a volcano in eastern Indonesia, has erupted more than a thousand times this month, according to officials. It had already erupted more than 17 times on Sunday. The most recent eruption sent a 1.5km pillar of smoke into the air. Indonesian officials have begun evacuating the 3,000 people living around it.
Figure of the day: $175bn, the increase in shipping costs caused by Houthi attacks in the ten months to October 2024. Read the full story.
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