Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said he was prepared to resume fighting “in new, forceful ways”, if Hamas violates the ceasefire agreement that is due to take effect on Sunday. Mr Netanyahu said the deal was “temporary” and that he had Donald Trump’s backing on the matter. Hamas is expected immediately to release three female hostages in exchange for 95 Palestinian prisoners.
TikTok was removed from app stores in America, ahead of a potential nationwide ban. 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. TikTok said it would be impossible to find a buyer. It must now hope for a reprieve from Mr Trump, who assumes the presidency on Monday.
Thousands of demonstrators, mostly women, marched in Washington, DC in protest against Mr Trump’s inauguration. Monday’s event will be moved indoors due to freezing weather, the first time in 40 years that the swearing-in ceremony has been relocated inside the Capitol. The change will deprive him of the large outdoor crowds that he so prizes.
Russia launched a wave of drones and missiles at Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, killing at least four people. Ukraine’s armed forces said its air defences shot down 24 drones and two missiles. Russia also struck Zaporizhia, a town in the south, injuring ten people. Meanwhile Ukraine attacked industrial sites inside Russia, igniting fires at fuel storage sites in Kaluga and Tula, in the west.
America’s Federal Aviation Administration grounded SpaceX’s Starship programme while an investigation into why one of the firm’s rockets exploded is conducted. The vessel burst into flames shortly after launch in Texas, possibly following an oxygen or fuel leak. The upper stage came to earth over the northern Caribbean, disrupting flights. Despite the failure, SpaceX successfully landed the rocket’s reusable booster.
A gunman shot dead two senior judges in Iran’s Supreme Court in Tehran, before killing himself. Officials said the motive was unclear, but suggested that “enemies” of the state were behind the attack. The judges, Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini, had presided over cases involving espionage, terrorism and dissidents.
At least 70 people died in the north of Nigeria when a petrol tanker overturned and exploded. Many of the victims had been collecting leaking fuel. Such accidents are common in Nigeria, where petrol prices have soared since 2023. In October a similar blast in the Jigawa state killed 147 people in one of the country’s deadliest fuel explosions.
Word of the week: chanoyu, a Japanese tea ceremony that contributed to the spread of matcha. Read the full story.
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