International

Hamas announces the names of the three Israeli hostages who will leave Gaza tomorrow

The spokesman for the Hamas al-Qasam Brigades, Abu Obeida, announced this Friday the name of the three hostages who will be released tomorrow from the Gaza Strip, including one with dual German-Israeli nationality.

The chosen captives are the German-Israeli Ohad Ben Ami, 56 years old and kidnapped along with his wife, Raz Ben Ami (already released), from the Kibutz Beeri; Eli Sharabi, 53, who lost his children and wife in the Hamas attack on the same kibutz on October 7, 2023, and Or Levy, 34 years old and forcibly taken at the Nova festival.

In return, a total of 183 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released, although it is not yet known how many of them will be delivered to the occupied West Bank, returned to Gaza or deported to third countries such as Turkey or Egypt.

“After the Palestinian resistance handed over the names of the enemy’s prisoners, tomorrow 18 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, 54 prisoners with high sentences and 111 prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after the attack of October 7, as part of the first phase of the exchange agreement,” the prisoners’ press office, in charge of Hamas, will be released in a statement.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed this Friday in a statement that the national intelligence service (the Mossad), as well as the Army, had received the list of kidnapped and said that the respective families had been informed.

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Tomorrow will be the fifth exchange since the beginning of the ceasefire in Gaza, in force since January 19, thanks to which another 18 hostages (counting five Thais not initially included in the first phase of the pact) have already been released in an exchange for about 600 Palestinians.

However, in addition to the 33 hostages who must be released before March 1, only through new negotiations will male Israeli soldiers and those men between 19 and 50 years of age be able to leave Gaza in the second phase; something that relatives of the captives beg Netanyahu to happen.

“We have the sacred duty and the moral right to bring all our brothers and sisters home. We will not surrender or stop until all the hostages return, according to the agreement, until the last of them: the living for their recovery and the deceased for an appropriate burial,” said today the Forum of Hostages and Relatives of Missing, the main entity in defense of the hostage release agreement, after the announcement with the names of the three captives.

Although three days ago Netanyahu announced, after meeting with several US officials, that a negotiating team would travel to Doha at the end of this week to “discuss the technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement,” that trip has not yet occurred.

Asked today by EFE, a senior Israeli official said he had no “news” about the alleged trip that should happen tomorrow, while Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, confirmed that negotiations “have not yet begun.”

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International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.