Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Three years after Israel began its war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Palestinian territory has been altered almost beyond recognition. Israel’s prolonged air and ground campaign has wrecked large areas of the Gaza Strip, flattening homes and neighbourhoods while causing extensive damage to infrastructure, public services and essential facilities. Recommended Stories • list 1 of 3Israel’s deadline to shut UK consulate draws

At the start of summer, the halls of the district hospital in Hola Prystan, a city in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson region, had become unnervingly silent. Long electricity outages regularly left the building in complete darkness. Much of its equipment and medical stock had been removed or diverted for military needs, while many trained employees had either fled or stopped working there. “They even carried away some of the furniture,” says Natalia Sergeevna, a nurse who worked at the

South Korea has received an apology from Ukraine over the disclosure of information concerning the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul. However, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the apology “does not meet expectations,” according to reports. “I have remained in close contact with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on this matter, and he explained how complicated the situation is,” Cho Hyun said when lawmakers asked whether Ukraine had apologized. According to

From an exercise-loving bear to an orangutan with a cheeky gesture, these are 10 of the funniest wildlife photographs of the year. A grumpy-looking owl, playful bears and a relaxed praying mantis are among the shortlisted images in the 2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. In the photograph above, a female brown bear was spotted seeming to perform a morning workout near Lake Clark in Alaska, US. Her routine included a few bicycle-kick moves as though she were preparing herself for the summer

Coach companies have warned that record diesel costs could lead to reductions in services, including school transport, while haulage businesses say escalating fuel bills are forcing hundreds of operators to close. The average cost of diesel at UK filling stations climbed above £2 a litre last week, setting a new high as the conflict in the Middle East continues to affect worldwide fuel supplies. Alison Edwards, policy director at the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), said fuel

The British Museum has announced adjustments to the way visitors access its Bayeux Tapestry exhibition following complaints about lengthy queues and overcrowded conditions. The new arrangements will include extended opening times, an audio guide, more seating and improved signs throughout the visitor route. A museum representative said interest in the 11th-century embroidery had been “remarkable”, while accepting that some guests had faced waits far longer than expected. Some visitors said they

A US Marine was arrested Sunday on suspicion of murder and robbery after a woman was found dead in a hotel room in Japan, leading the country’s prime minister to condemn the alleged crime as “extremely brutal and heinous.” The 39-year-old woman was discovered unconscious in her hotel room in Naha, on Okinawa island, early Saturday and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Okinawa police. “The Government of Japan has strongly protested to the U.S. side and has called for the fullest

Over the past decade, great white sharks have been appearing far more often in Atlantic Canadian waters. What is encouraging these formidable predators to travel so far north? This summer, one seasonal visitor seemed especially fond of the waters off Nova Scotia, Canada. Only months earlier, the traveller had been swimming around Florida. When spring gave way to summer, however, he made his way north. His preference for Nova Scotia's cold coastline over the Sunshine State attracted

A potentially devastating emergency aboard a flight bound for Tel Aviv ended safely on Wednesday after passengers and crew intervened inside the cockpit and helped restore control of the aircraft. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot allegedly attacked the other on a Flydubai flight and attempted to interfere with the aircraft’s controls. The plane rapidly lost altitude, alarming those on board and prompting an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia. United Arab Emirates

Valeriya Tkachenko was taking her son to school in central Kyiv when an air raid siren began to sound. Teachers quickly directed children and parents to the shelter, where the anxious lawyer remained with her son for the next two hours. “All day, I’m terrified about what might happen to my child,” she said after leaving the shelter, knowing she was already late for work. The previous day, a Russian jet-powered drone had hit a school close by. “I can’t make plans any more,” she said. “Living

A horoscope has been prepared for the week of October 5 to 11, 2026. People born under three zodiac signs may feel especially supported by favorable circumstances. In the coming days, events could seem to unfold in their favor, while a bold and optimistic mindset may help them believe that even their most ambitious goals are within reach. Astrology, tarot reading, numerology, palmistry, extrasensory practices, and similar approaches are not scientific disciplines. They are based on longstanding

Swiss glaciers are shrinking at an alarming pace as winters bring less snow and Europe experiences exceptionally high summer temperatures, scientists have warned. The country, long associated with Alpine scenery and ski resorts, has lost almost one-fifth of its glacier ice in only five years. A report released on Thursday by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Academy of Sciences’ Commission for Cryosphere Observation found that Swiss glaciers lost 5.5 percent of their

Two ancient runestones in Jelling preserve the story of the Viking ruler who helped shape Denmark – and whose name later inspired Bluetooth. Anyone who has linked a phone to wireless headphones or paired a laptop with another device will recognise the word Bluetooth. The technology may be contemporary, but its name reaches back more than a millennium to a Viking king whose presence is still felt in Jelling, a small Danish town around 250km west of Copenhagen. Two weathered runestones stand

For Ukrainian travelers, a trip to Japan can feel like a real challenge. The route requires careful planning and a considerable budget. Ukrainian traveler Kristi Kuzenko, who has visited Japan, shared on TikTok how she managed to get to the country. She said that the entire journey took around 55 hours. The traveler also revealed how much she spent on the route and what level of comfort she received for that amount. She departed from Budapest Airport, so the first step was reaching Hungary. She

A prominent official from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s governing party was reportedly beaten to death on Sunday after speaking on radio about the Ebola outbreak, according to a party spokesperson. Marie-Celestin Karondwa, interim head of the federal executive committee of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) in Butembo, an area affected by the outbreak, was assaulted after joining a radio broadcast in which he encouraged residents to follow disease-prevention guidance,

After a long shift working in school maintenance, 28-year-old Paul likes to relax with a romance novel, especially one that mixes love with fantasy or horror. He gets through five or six books each month. One recent favourite was Love Bytes, about an eight-foot werewolf woman who leads a wildly successful AI company and falls for an attractive ballroom dance teacher. Paul first discovered romance through what he describes as its more conventional branch, including the Regency world of

OpenAI has cancelled plans to release a new artificial intelligence model after internal researchers identified safety issues during testing. The model, known as GPT-6.1 Astra, had been expected to arrive in ChatGPT and Codex in October, with the aim of carrying out more demanding tasks with less human supervision. Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, said the model had not reached the company’s required safety threshold. The UK AI Security Institute released a separate assessment of

A Russian drone struck the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv on Monday, killing at least one person in the latest daytime assault on Ukraine’s capital. Fire spread through the historic building as people climbed from first- and second-storey windows to escape, scenes that have become increasingly common in the repeatedly targeted city. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least one person died and three others were injured. The wounded were taken to hospital. The 19th-century academy

Five men have been detained on suspicion of explosives and terrorism-related offences after authorities declared a major incident near an airbase in western England. Bomb disposal specialists are inspecting several vehicles close to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, while dozens of nearby homes have been evacuated as a precaution. Here is what has emerged so far. Gloucestershire Police said they were alerted at 00:45 BST on Sunday to reports of "three suspicious vehicles" heading in

They may be promoted as free, but guides can still be charged for every person who books. Here is what travellers should understand before signing up. It is a rainy day in Rome in December, and my friend Daphne* has been standing near Piazza Barberini for 30 minutes. Five people reserved places on her free walking tour. Not one of them has arrived. It is the third consecutive tour where nobody has turned up. For the people who booked, there is no monetary consequence. For Daphne, however, there