Maya Yang

3 days ago | theguardian.com | Maya Yang

Hamas announced on Sunday that it will release the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier who was kidnapped on 7 October 2023. The 21-year old’s release is set to take place on Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Donald Trump begins a trip to the Middle East on the same day, although there is no stop in Israel on his schedule as of yet. The US president is set to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

3 days ago | theguardian.com | Maya Yang

Donald Trump is reportedly ready to accept a luxury plane described to be a “palace in the sky” being offered to the US president as a gift from Qatar’s royal family, almost immediately igniting accusations of bribery and corruption as well as commensurate criticism. On Sunday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, ABC reported that the Trump administration was girding itself to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8, a jumbo jet from the Qatari royals that was estimated to be about $400m.

4 days ago | theguardian.com | Maya Yang

The daughter of actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard was among those arrested at the latest Columbia University protests, marking the latest development in the anti-war demonstrations that also led to the temporary suspension of student journalists. On Friday, the New York Post reported that 18-year-old Ramona Sarsgaard – a Columbia freshman – was arrested during Wednesday’s campus protests where students demonstrated against Israel’s deadly war in Gaza.

4 days ago | theguardian.com | Adam Fulton |Maya Yang |Hayden Vernon |Hannah Ellis-Petersen |Shah Meer Baloch

Drone attacks reported in Jammu despite ceasefireReuters is now reporting that residents in India’s town of Jammu are facing drone attacks just hours after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan was announced. According to witnesses, blasts can be heard and projectiles have been seen in the sky. Indian and Pakistani officials have yet to comment on the reports.

5 days ago | theguardian.com | Noa Yachot |Maya Yang

A federal judge in Vermont on Friday morning ordered the release on bail of a Tufts University student arrested in March for her political speech and now held in Louisiana in what she and her lawyers argue is a breach of her constitutional rights. The judge had ordered Rümeysa Öztürk’s return to Vermont, where she was briefly held after being grabbed on the street by masked immigration agents near Boston, for hearings.