Israel said it would not allow hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until a female civilian hostage, whose release had been expected on Saturday, was set free. Meanwhile President Donald Trump called the Gaza Strip a “demolition site” and urged Egypt and Jordan to accept Palestinian refugees. Hamas strongly opposed the suggestion. On Saturday it freed four Israeli hostages, all of them female soldiers; Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
Prosecutors in South Korea charged the suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, with insurrection, following his brief imposition of martial law on December 3rd. Mr Yoon has refused to co-operate with the prosecutors, arguing that they have no legal authority over him. Separately, the Constitutional Court will decide whether to uphold his impeachment, which would remove him from office.
Donald Trump said he would impose “emergency” tariffs of 25% on Colombian goods, after Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, refused entry to two American military planes deporting migrants. Writing on Truth Social, his social-media platform, Mr Trump also vowed to take other measures, including travel restrictions, and said the tariffs would be increased to 50% after a week.
The Trump administration will renew sending powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. The president’s predecessor, Joe Biden, paused the delivery of these weapons last year for fear of the toll they could take on civilians in Gaza during Israel’s assault on the enclave. Asked why he had taken this decision, Mr Trump replied: “Because they bought them.”
Voting took place in Belarus’s all too predictable presidential election. An exit poll suggested that Alexander Lukashenko would win a seventh term of office with 88% of votes cast. He has crushed almost all opposition to his rule in his three decades in power. After nationwide protests greeted his last “victory” at the polls five years ago, Mr Lukashenko launched a sweeping crackdown, imprisoning thousands of political opponents.
Congo cut all diplomatic ties with Rwanda after fighting continued between Congolese troops, their allies and M23, a Rwandan-backed rebel group that is advancing on Goma, a city in eastern Congo. Some 13 UN peacekeepers were killed in the attacks on Saturday, nine of them from South Africa. The UN Security Council will discuss the crisis on Sunday.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, the defending champion and world number one, won the men’s singles at the Australian Open tennis championship. He beat Alexander Zverev of Germany in straight sets to claim his third grand-slam title. Mr Zverev, ranked second in the world, is yet to win a grand slam—and has now lost three finals.
Figure of the day: 200,000, the manpower of Poland’s armed forces, which have doubled in size since 2014. Read the full story.
American politics matters intensely to the rest of the world. Read The US in brief—a daily update to help you keep on top of the political stories that matter. Sign up here to receive it as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox.