Thai hostages freed from Gaza

The US lurches towards a government shutdown as president-elect Donald Trump torpedoes a bipartisan spending bill. Plus: the EU takes the UK to court. Then: the best films of 2024 and what to eat and drink over the holidays.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, presents her budget to parliament and her image of Italy as a stable, fiscally responsible country in the EU. Plus, the UK becomes the first country outside the Asia-Pacific to sign a trade deal in the region. Then, our final edition of ‘Th ...  Show more

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Israel today, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an ongoing diplomatic push to prevent fighting in Gaza from escalating across the region. President Biden says that while “taking out” Hamas extremists is neces ...  Show more

By Monday morning, more than fifty hostages held in Gaza had been released as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas. The deal, which includes a four-day pause in fighting, came seven weeks after the 7 October attacks on Israel. In exchange, more than a hundred Palestinian women ...  Show more

Two U.S. citizens, Judith Tai Raanan and her 18-year-old daughter Natalie Raanan, who had been kidnapped by Hamas, have been released and are now back in Israel. Israel believes Hamas still has around 200 hostages and believes most of them are still alive. Plus, humanitarian aid ...  Show more

With the world watching in horror as a hospital in Gaza was hit, is this a turning point for Israel and Palestine? The Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff hears from Médecins Sans Frontières, and talks to the Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland and the former Middle East minister Alistair ...  Show more