In a shock announcement, Donald Trump proposed America “take over” the war-ravaged Gaza Strip after its 2m Palestinians are “permanently” resettled in neighbouring countries. Speaking at a joint press conference with Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, America’s president suggested the enclave, which he earlier called a “demolition site”, could be developed into “the riviera of the Middle East”. Mr Trump did not directly answer a question about how and under what authority America could occupy the territory.
Police said that around ten people were killed in a shooting at a community college in the city of Orebro, Sweden. They said that the lone attacker, who is thought to have died at the scene, was not previously known to them, and that they do not believe he had links to an armed group. School shootings are rare in Sweden, but there have been a couple of knife attacks at schools in recent years.
Hamas said that the second phase of talks about the Gaza ceasefire deal had begun. Negotiators are expected to agree on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all of Gaza, and the release of all remaining living hostages. But there are still details to resolve, including the timeline. Meanwhile Israel continued a large military operation in Jenin, a refugee camp in the West Bank.
America began sending detained migrants to Guantánamo Bay, the White House confirmed. One military plane, carrying about a dozen people, left from Texas, according to the Wall Street Journal. Last week Mr Trump ordered the expansion of a migrant detention camp at America’s naval base in Cuba, with the goal of housing 30,000 of the “worst criminal illegal aliens”.
Norway’s government appointed Jens Stoltenberg, the former secretary-general of NATO, as finance minister. He previously served in the same post for the Labour Party from 1996 to 1997, and was dubbed the “Trump-whisperer” for his expert handling of the American president at NATO. His appointment comes after the Centre Party on Thursday pulled out of a coalition with Labour over a disagreement about implementing EU energy policy.
Marco Rubio said that Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, had offered to jail “dangerous American criminals” in the country’s prisons for “a fee”. America’s secretary of state said that this would include those with American citizenship. Meanwhile America began deporting Indian migrants who had entered the country illegally. Mr Trump has promised to do “whatever it takes” to crack down on illegal migration.
Spotify reported its first full year of profitability since its launch in 2008. The Swedish streaming giant’s total monthly active users rose to 675m in the fourth quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations. In recent years Spotify has made cuts to its workforce, raised subscription prices and moved to diversify its offerings to include audiobooks and podcasts in addition to music.
Figure of the day: 460, the number of words in the average British parliamentary speech, down from almost 1,000 in 1938. Read the full story.
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