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Bodies of four hostages returned to Israel - and why finding others will be 'massive challenge'
The families of 24 dead hostages are still waiting to have their bodies returned from Gaza.

Only four bodies were transferred by Hamas to Israel on Monday. It remains to be seen when the remains of the remaining hostages will be handed over.

Here's what we know about the four hostages whose bodies have been returned, while the families of others who have been declared dead await word from Israeli authorities on the fate of their loved ones.

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Who are the four hostages whose bodies have been found?

The bodies of Yossi Sharabi, Guy Illouz, Daniel Peretz and Bipin Joshi have been returned to Israel.

The Israeli military has officially identified the bodies of Mr Illouz and Mr Joshi.

The two men were both in their 20s when Hamas took then during the October 7 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

Mr Illouz, who is from Israel, was taken from the Nova music festival, while Mr Joshi, a student from Nepal, was taken from a bomb shelter.

Israel said Mr Illouz died from his wounds while being held captive without proper medical treatment, while Mr Joshi was murdered in captivity during the first months of the war.

What about the remaining hostages' bodies?

Hamas has said recovering the remaining bodies could take time, as not all burial sites are known. Israeli authorities have said some of those remains may not be located.

The Red Cross said it will take time to hand over the remains of hostages and detainees killed in the war, calling it a "massive challenge" considering the difficulties of finding bodies amid Gaza's rubble.

"That's an even bigger challenge than having the people alive being released. That's a massive challenge," said Christian Cardon, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He said it could take days or weeks - and there was a possibility some may never be found.

An international task force will work to locate the bodies of the deceased hostages who are not returned within 72 hours, said Gal Hirsch, Israel's coordinator for the hostages and the missing.

What has been the response of hostages' families?

The Israeli Hostages Families Forum has called for the suspension of the ceasefire agreement, saying "Hamas's violation of the agreement must be met with a very serious response".

"We demand all 28 hostages back. We will not give up on anyone, until the last hostage is returned," it added.

Under US President Donald Trump's ceasefire agreement, all the hostages - including the deceased - should be returned as part of the first phase of the ceasefire.

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Release of living hostages brings pause to two years of war

On Monday, Hamas released all 20 living hostages, bringing a pause to two years of war that has levelled much of Gaza and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Tens of thousands of Israelis watched the hostage transfer at public screenings across the country. Tap on their pictures to read more about the hostages:

The hostages were exchanged for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners - including 250 serving life sentences for convictions for attacks on Israelis, as well as 1,700 Gazans detained during the war.

Issues remain with ceasefire plan

The exchange of hostages and prisoners has raised hopes it marks the end of the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.

A second phase of the plan, which all sides have yet to agree on, could see Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza.

However, issues remain, such as whether Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza.

Trump calls for new era of peace in Middle East

Mr Trump travelled to the region to celebrate the deal.

He received a rapturous welcome and multiple standing ovations as he addressed Israel's parliament, though at one point he was heckled by two left-wing politicians who were ejected from the chamber after they interrupted his speech.

"This is a historic dawn of a new Middle East," Mr Trump told the Knesset.

"Generations from now this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better."

Mr Trump later travelled to the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he called for a new era of peace in the Middle East, saying the region has "a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us".

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Speaking to world leaders attending the summit, he urged them "to declare that our future will not be ruled by the fights of generations past".

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave and killing more than 67,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants but it says around half of those killed were women and children.


Four big themes as IMF takes aim at UK growth and inflation
Six months ago the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the world economy was heading for a serious slowdown, in the face of Donald Trump's tariffs.

It slashed its forecasts for economic growth both in the US and predicted that global economic growth would slow to 2.8% this year.

Today the Fund has resurfaced with a markedly different message. It upgraded growth in both the US and elsewhere. Global economic growth this year will actually be 3.2%, it added. So, has the Fund conceded victory to Donald Trump? Is it no longer fretting about the economic impact of tariffs?

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Either way, the World Economic Outlook (WEO), the IMF's six-monthly analysis of economic trends, is well worth a look. This document is perhaps the ultimate synthesis of what economists are feeling about the state of the world, so there's plenty of insights in there, both about the US, about far-reaching trends like artificial intelligence, about smaller economies like the UK and plenty else besides. Here, then, are four things you need to know from today's WEO.

The tariff impact is much smaller than expected… so far

The key bit there is the final two words. The Fund upgraded US and global growth, saying: "The global economy has shown resilience to the trade policy shocks", but added: "The unexpected resilience in activity and muted inflation response reflect - in addition to the fact that the tariff shock has turned out to be smaller than originally announced - a range of factors that provide temporary relief, rather than underlying strength in economic fundamentals."

In short, the Fund still thinks those things it was worried about six months ago - higher inflation, lower trade flows and weaker income growth - will still kick in. It just now thinks it might take longer than expected.

The UK faces the highest inflation in the industrialised world

One of the standard exercises each time one of these reports come out is for the Treasury to pick out a flattering statistic they can then go back home and talk about for the following months. This time around the thing they will most likely focus on is that Britain is forecast to have one of the strongest economic growth rates in the G7 (second only to the US) this year, and the third strongest next year.

But there are a couple of less flattering prisms through which one can look at the UK economy. First, if you look not at gross domestic product but (as you really ought to) at GDP per head (which adjusts for the growing population), in fact UK growth next year is poised to be the weakest in the G7 (at just 0.5 per cent).

Second, and perhaps more worryingly, UK inflation remains stubbornly high in comparison to most other economies, the highest in the G7 both this year and next. Why is Britain such an outlier? This is a question both Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will have to explain while in Washington this week for the Fund's annual meeting.

What happens if the Artificial Intelligence bubble bursts?

Few, even inside the world of AI, doubt that the extraordinary ramp up in tech share prices in recent months has some of the traits of a financial bubble. But what happens if that bubble goes pop? The Fund has the following, somewhat scary, passage:

"Excessively optimistic growth expectations about AI could be revised in light of incoming data from early adopters and could trigger a market correction. Elevated valuations in tech and AI-linked sectors have been fuelled by expectations of transformative productivity gains. If these gains fail to materialize, the resulting earnings disappointment could lead to a reassessment of the sustainability of AI-driven valuations and a drop in tech stock prices, with systemic implications.

"A potential bust of the AI boom could rival the dot-com crash of 2000 in severity, especially considering the dominance of a few tech firms in market indices and involvement of less-regulated private credit loans funding much of the industry's expansion. Such a correction could erode household wealth and dampen consumption."

Pay attention to what's happening in less developed countries

For many years, one of the main focuses at each IMF meeting was about the state of finances in many of the world's poorest nations.

Rich countries lined up in Washington with generous policies to provide donations and trim developing world debt. But since the financial crisis, rich world attention has turned inwards - for understandable reasons. One of the upshots of this is that the amount of aid going to poor countries has fallen, year by year. At the same time, the amount these countries are having to pay in their annual debt interest has been creeping up (as have global interest rates). The upshot is something rather disturbing. For the first time in a generation, poor countries' debt interest payments are now higher than their aid receipts.

I'm not sure what this spells. But what we do know is that when poor countries in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa face financial problems, they often face instability. And when they face instability, that often has knock on consequences for everyone else. All of which is to say, this is something to watch, with concern.

The IMF's report is strictly speaking the starting gun for a week of meetings in Washington. So there'll be more to come in the next few days, as finance ministers from around the world meet to discuss the state of the global economy.


Asylum seeker seen 'dancing and laughing' after stabbing hotel worker 23 times, jury hears
An asylum seeker stabbed a hotel worker more than 20 times with a screwdriver on a railway station platform and left her for dead, a jury has heard.

Deng Chol Majek left Rhiannon Skye Whyte with 23 stab wounds, mainly to her head, at Bescot Stadium station in Walsall, West Midlands, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Jurors heard how Majek, who is from Sudan and claims to be 19, was caught on CCTV following Ms Whyte from the town's Park Inn hotel, which was then being used to house asylum seekers, on 20 October last year.

Ms Whyte was heard screaming during a phone call to a friend after finishing her shift, prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC told the court. Her body was found on the platform by a train guard minutes later.

Opening the Crown's case against Majek at the murder trial on Tuesday, Ms Heeley told the court he followed the 27-year-old from the hotel, where he was living.

"He followed her down on to the train platform at the Bescot Stadium station and then he attacked her. Stabbing her over and over again with a screwdriver," Ms Heeley said.

"He left her bleeding to death and then casually went back to his hotel. We say you can be sure he is guilty of murder."

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Jurors were told Ms Whyte had worked at the hotel for around three months, helping with cleaning and serving food.

"During the evening one of Rhiannon's co-workers noticed this defendant. He seemed to be staring at Rhiannon and the women she was working with," Ms Heeley said.

"No one could recall any particular issue that would have caused him to act in that way."

She added: "What is clear from the CCTV is that the defendant was hanging around the reception area, staring at Rhiannon throughout the evening. He changed into a distinctive jacket and sandals and then waited around the reception area where Rhiannon was.

"CCTV tracks the defendant all the way. He followed her from the hotel and to the station. He had been hanging around waiting for her to leave and waited until she was on her own before he followed her."

Ms Heeley said Ms Whyte's friend "heard a scream, then another scream" before her "phone went dead".

A train driver who pulled into the station saw a figure slumped on the platform and Ms Heeley said the guard tried to help Ms Whyte, as did an employee who had come from the hotel, but "she was too seriously injured and nothing could be done to save her".

She died in hospital surrounded by family three days later.

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Ms Heeley said Majek went to a shop to buy a drink, threw Ms Whyte's phone into a river, and then returned to the hotel, where "he was seen dancing and laughing, clearly excited about what he had done".

Majek denies murder and possessing a screwdriver as an offensive weapon.

The trial continues.


UK's 'most remote pub' The Old Forge cancels Harry Potter-themed Halloween party after backlash
The UK's "most remote pub" has axed a Harry Potter-themed Halloween dinner party after staff were subjected to "inappropriate grief".

The Old Forge in Inverie, within the Knoydart peninsula in the Scottish Highlands, had advertised the 31 October event as a "spellbinding" night with "magic and wizarding wonder".

Customers were promised a complimentary butterbeer on arrival to "Platform 9 3/4" before "departing on the Hogwarts Express".

After venturing "through the enchanted forest to the great hall", diners were set to be treated to a four-course Harry Potter-inspired "culinary extravaganza".

However, the pub has since cancelled its plans after the theme proved "dividing".

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is a pro-women's rights campaigner and is known for her gender-critical beliefs.

In a social media post, The Old Forge said: "The pub management team has decided to cancel this year's Halloween dinner party.

"It was always meant to be just a fun night, but unfortunately using Harry Potter as a theme has proven dividing, and some of our staff have received inappropriate grief as a result.

"We thought it was clear how we feel about everyone's rights, especially given our recent support of the amazing Knoydart Pride celebrations - we had also planned a charity collection for trans youth on the night.

"Any upset caused by our theme choice was most certainly unintentional."

A children's party will go ahead as planned, with all other services that day running as normal.

Those with complaints were urged to raise their concerns to the management committee via the "appropriate formal channels".

The pub added: "Finally, we would just like to reiterate that the pub cares about everyone in our community, and we would ask folk to be kind and respectful to each other, and our staff."

The Old Forge declined to make any further comment when contacted by Sky News.

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The community-owned venue is famed for being the UK mainland's "remotest pub".

With no roads in or out of the village, it can only be reached by walking 18 miles or by making a seven-mile sea crossing.

The pub once offered a free drink to walkers if they could get there. One unlucky hiker was forced to survive for a week in Scotland's "last great wilderness" after becoming lost during his epic trek for a "free pint".


Migrant with AK-47 face tattoo who threatened to kill Nigel Farage shouts from dock as he's jailed
An Afghan migrant who came to the UK on a small boat has been jailed for five years after posting a TikTok video in which he threatened to kill Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Hundreds of thousands of viewers saw the "chilling" video Fayaz Khan, 26, posted last October, in which Southwark Crown Court heard he threatened to "pop pop pop" Mr Farage.

As he was sentenced, Khan yelled to the court that Mr Farage had initiated proceedings to "use me because you want to be prime minister".

As he was taken down to the cells, he again shouted: "You want to be prime minister, I am not here because I want to kill you.

"I want to go back to Afghanistan, send me back to Afghanistan, my family is in Afghanistan.

"You want to use me because you want to be prime minister.

"Just because you want to do that you want to f*** my life, you want to put me in prison."

Outside the court, Mr Farage welcomed the sentence but said he was "deeply deeply concerned" Khan would be "out in 18 months".

He added: "This violent criminal... will be in this country, living in a house of multiple occupancy or a hotel, free to walk the streets whilst his asylum claim is judged."

'Don't talk s***'

Jurors had been told the TikTok content was posted in response to a video Mr Farage had uploaded to YouTube titled "the journey of an illegal migrant", which highlighted Khan and referenced "young males of fighting age coming into our country about whom we know very little".

Khan's post appeared to say: "Englishman Nigel, don't talk s*** about me.

"You not know me. I come to England because I want to marry with your sister. You not know me.

"Don't talk about me more. Delete the video.

"I'm coming to England. I'm going to pop, pop, pop."

While Khan said "pop, pop, pop" he made "gun gestures with his hand". He also headbutted the camera during the video and pointed to an AK-47 tattoo on his face to "emphasise he wasn't joking", jurors were told.

Khan had "live-streamed" his journey across the English Channel from France and was arrested on 31 October last year after arriving in the UK on a small boat, Detective Constable Liam Taylor told the court.

Mr Farage told the trial last week he found Khan's video "pretty chilling", adding: "Given his proximity to guns and love of guns, I was genuinely worried."

'Sorry'

Jurors deliberated for 11 hours and 55 minutes before finding him guilty.

During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Khan asked his lawyer Charles Royle to apologise to Mr Farage and the politician's sister "for any offence and upset caused".

Mr Farage, who arrived at court with security guards, was sitting just metres away from the defendant in the courtroom.

Known in Britain as Khan and 26 years old, prosecutor Peter Ratliff said that in Sweden - where Khan had lived previously - authorities believe he is called Fayaz Husseini and is 31.

The court heard it was thought he had given a false name in the UK to hide his Swedish criminal history, which included convictions for carrying a knife in a public place and threatening behaviour.

Mr Ratliff said records suggest Khan had been convicted of 17 offences on 12 separate occasions there.

Addressing the video from Mr Farage, sentencing judge Mrs Justice Steyn told Khan: "You saw the widespread dissemination of Mr Farage's video as a hindrance to your attempts to come to the UK."

Khan was also sentenced for entering the UK illegally having previously pleaded guilty to the offence.


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