National-World

By Ivana Kottasová, Dana Karni, Kareem Khadder, Jeremy Diamond, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Eugenia Yosef, CNN (CNN) — Israel is preparing to receive on Saturday four female soldiers held hostage by Hamas. The militant group said Friday that it intends to release Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19. Israeli

By Zeena Saifi, Abeer Salman, Jeremy Diamond and Tareq ElHelou, CNN (CNN) — Thirteen-year-old Zakariya Barbakh had spent most of his life shuffling between hospitals across Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Israel. Born without a lung, he had struggled to breathe. Doctors had predicted he would need a transplant if he were to reach

By Sophie Tanno, CNN (CNN) — A rare “stay at home” warning has been issued for parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland as a severe storm lashes the region, bringing dangerous 100mph (160 kmh) winds and unleashing travel chaos. Storm Éowyn, an extratropical “bomb” cyclone that has formed in the North Atlantic and intensified

By Jeremy Diamond and Rob Picheta, CNN (CNN) — A private American security company will take over a key checkpoint on the road to northern Gaza in the coming days as Israeli forces withdraw from the area on Saturday, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. Armed personnel from an American security contractor will

By Mick Krever and Jeremy Diamond, CNN (CNN) — The Israeli government says its military will not withdraw from Lebanon by Sunday’s deadline, in violation of a ceasefire agreement that ended months of conflict with Hezbollah. Israel was expected to withdraw all of its forces from southern Lebanon as part of the deal but the

By Chris Lau and Yumi Asada, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — A Chinese man who carried out a knife attack in eastern China last June that wounded a Japanese woman and her child and killed a bus attendant trying to protect them has been sentenced to death, according to a Japanese official. A court in

By Eve Brennan and Robert Shackelford, CNN (CNN) — The United Kingdom and Ireland are bracing for what could be one of the most severe storms seen in years, with authorities shutting schools and warning residents to stay in. Storm Éowyn, an extratropical “bomb” cyclone that has formed in the North Atlantic and intensified rapidly,

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN (CNN) — Italy’s high court has upheld the remaining conviction against American Amanda Knox, who was jailed and later acquitted of the 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. Knox was convicted of slandering her former boss Patrick Lumumba by falsely accusing him of Kercher’s murder. Knox, 20 at

Story by Associated Press Pingtung, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan plans to cull up to 120,000 green iguanas, with supporters urging humane methods to bring down the animal’s population, which is wreaking havoc on the island’s agricultural sector. Around 200,000 of the reptiles are believed to be in the island’s southern and central areas, which are

By Nadeen Ebrahim, Nada Bashir and Abeer Salman, CNN Bethlehem, occupied West Bank (CNN) — The female Palestinian inmates were made to kneel in a line on a cold evening last Sunday on the grounds of Israel’s Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank. “This is not a victory for you. We have destroyed and

By Kathy Rose O’Brien, CNN (CNN) — Micheál Martin became Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister) for the second time in his political career on Thursday, a day later than planned. The Irish parliament descended into uproar on Wednesday, its first day back in session after weeks of political horse-trading and coalition-building, following the country’s general election

By Tim Lister and Eugenia Yosef, CNN (CNN) — The Israeli military has intensified operations across the occupied West Bank, targeting Palestinian militant cells, imposing roadblocks and cutting communities off from the outside world. The sudden expansion of Israeli security operations in the West Bank has killed at least 10 people and follows the start

By Salma Abdelaziz and Lauren Kent, CNN (CNN) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Taliban leaders for alleged gender-based crimes, as the group continues to crack down on women’s rights in Afghanistan. The news of the ICC action against two top Taliban officials was immediately welcomed by Afghan women and