The armed wing of Hamas has released a video it says is of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza since its October 2023 attack.

Liri Albag, described by local media as a soldier, was 18 when she was captured by Palestinian militants at the Nahal Oz base on the Gaza border along with six other women conscripts, five of whom remain in captivity.

In the undated, three-and-a-half-minute video recording, Albag, now 19, called in Hebrew for the Israeli government to secure her release.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a campaign group for relatives of those abducted, said the family has not authorised publication of the video.

The family said in a statement that the video had “torn our hearts to pieces”, adding: “This is not the daughter and sister we know. Her severe psychological distress is evident.

“We appeal to the prime minister, world leaders and all decision-makers: it’s time to take decisions as if it were your own children there.”

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in response to the video that Israel continued to work tirelessly to bring the hostages home, adding: “Anyone who dares to harm our hostages will bear full responsibility for their actions.”

He is under growing pressure from hostages’ families to reach a deal that will free their loved ones, with weekly demonstrations organised by the hostages forum, the latest in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

His critics accuse him of stalling on a deal.

Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have released a number of videos of Israeli hostages in their custody during nearly 15 months of fighting in Gaza.

The militants seized 251 hostages during the 2023 attack, of whom 96 remain in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of those are dead.

It comes as ceasefire talks between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Saturday.

Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of efforts that have failed to end the war.

Meanwhile, Palestinian medics said Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip had killed at least 70 people since Friday.

At least 17 of those who died were killed in airstrikes on two houses in Gaza City, the first of which destroyed the home of the Al-Ghoula family in the early hours, medics and residents said.

“Most of them are women and children, they are all civilians, there is no one there who shot missiles, or is from the resistance,” neighbour Ahmed Ayyan told Reuters.

Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said Israeli drones had “also fired on ambulance staff”.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

Another strike on a house in Gaza City killed five people later on Saturday, the Palestinian civil emergency service said, adding that at least 10 others were feared trapped under the rubble.

Elsewhere, the civil defence agency said an Israeli strike had killed five security officers tasked with accompanying aid convoys as they drove through the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Israeli army claimed the five had been “implicated in terrorist activities” and had not been escorting aid trucks at the time of the strike. Israel does not allow foreign journalists into Gaza to verify its claims.

The Israeli military said earlier its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town in the northern edge of the territory, where the army has been operating for three months, and claimed it had destroyed a military complex that had been used by Hamas.

AFP images also showed Palestine Red Crescent paramedics in Gaza City moving the body of one of their colleagues, his green jacket laid over the blanket that covered his corpse.

The health ministry in Gaza said a total of 136 people had been killed over the previous 48 hours. Photographs sent by news wires showed many children among the dead and injured.

The latest killings came as the US President Joe Biden’s administration reportedly notified Congress of a proposed $8bn arms sale to Israel.

The deal would need approval from House of Representatives and Senate committees and includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, Reuters reported citing two sources familiar with the proposal. The package also includes small-diameter bombs and warheads, according to the sources.

On Sunday, the Israeli military meanwhile said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen in the latest of a series of attacks by Houthi rebels in support of Palestinians.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, in which militants stormed border communities from Gaza, killing about 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Its military campaign, with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas, has levelled swathes of the territory, driving most people from their homes, and has killed 45,717 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Talks between the two biggest centrist parties in Austria on forming a coalition government without the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) have collapsed, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Saturday, adding that he would step down in the coming days.

The announcement came a day after a third party, the small, liberal Neos, threw the process into disarray by saying it was quitting the talks, blaming the other parties for failing to take the bold and decisive action it said it had called for.

“I will stand down as chancellor and as leader of the (conservative) People’s Party in the coming days and enable an orderly transition,” Nehammer said in a video statement on X, after coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPO) continued without the Neos on Saturday.

The Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPO won the last parliamentary election in September with 29% of the vote. It would have needed a coalition partner to govern and, since Nehammer ruled out governing with FPO leader Herbert Kickl, no potential partner was immediately available.

Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Greens, therefore tasked Nehammer with forming a government. Now that Nehammer is stepping down, the two most likely options are either that Kickl is tasked with forming a government or a snap election is called.

Support for the FPO has only grown since the last election. It holds a lead of more than 10 points over the People’s Party (OVP) and the SPO, opinion polls show.

SPO leader Andreas Babler confirmed at a news conference that the talks had collapsed.

“We know what threatens to happen now. An FPO-OVP government with a right-wing extremist chancellor that will endanger our democracy on many points,” Babler said.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses in battles in southern Russia. “In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka, in Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops,” Zelenskyy said. “This is significant.” He provided no specific details. A battalion can vary in size but is generally made up of several hundred troops. Ukrainian and western assessments say that 11,000 North Korean troops are deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces occupy swathes of territory after staging a mass cross-border incursion in August.

• Zelenskyy also said “fierce battles” raged along the entire 1,000-km (620-mile) frontline, with the most difficult situation near the city of Pokrovsk. A Ukrainian military spokesperson earlier said Pokrovsk remained the “hottest” frontline sector, with Russian troops launching fresh attacks near the town in an effort to bypass it from the south and cut off supply routes to Ukraine’s troops. Ukraine estimates that about 11,000 of 60,000 people remain in the city that was once home to a mine that is the sole supplier of coking coal to Ukraine’s once-giant steel industry.

• Russia on Saturday vowed to retaliate after it accused Ukraine of firing US-supplied Atacms missiles at the border region of Belgorod the previous day, saying all the missiles had been shot down. Atacms missiles have a maximum range of 300 kilometres (190 miles), according to publicly available data. US president-elect Donald Trump said in an interview published last month he was “very vehemently” opposed to Ukraine using the arms, and has also called for an immediate ceasefire as Ukraine braces for Trump to enter negotiations.

• The Russian media outlet Izvestia said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone strike had killed its reporter, freelance correspondent Alexander Martemyanov, near the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The paper said the car was travelling on a highway linking Donetsk, the Russian-held main town of Donetsk region, and the city of Horlivka to the north. Russia’s state owned Ria news agency said two of its correspondents travelling with Martemyanov were injured in the incident, along with two journalists working for a local publication in Donetsk.

• A Russian strike on a village in Ukraine’s northeast Kharkiv region earlier on Saturday killed a 74-year-old man, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said. Moscow also struck a town in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, wounding seven including a two-year-old girl, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And in the Russian-occupied part of southern Zaporizhzhia region, a 10-year-old boy was killed and his parents injured when a drone hit their car, the region’s Moscow-installed head Yevgeny Balitsky said.

• Russia’s defence ministry meanwhile said on Saturday it had captured the Ukrainian village of Nadiya, one of the few settlements in the eastern Luhansk region still under Kyiv’s control. Moscow advanced by almost 4,000 square kilometres (1,540 square miles) in Ukraine in 2024, according to an AFP analysis, as Kyiv’s army struggled with chronic manpower shortages and exhaustion.

• Russia declared a regional state of emergency on Saturday in Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, as workers cleared tons of contaminated sand and earth on either side of the Kerch Strait after an oil spill in the Black Sea last month. Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russia-installed governor of the city of Sevastopol, said new traces of minor pollution required urgent elimination and declared a state of emergency in the city – giving authorities more power to take swift decisions such as ordering citizens to evacuate their homes. Rescue workers have now cleared more than 86,000 metric tons of contaminated sand and soil, the emergencies ministry said on Saturday. The oil leaked from two ageing tankers that were hit by a storm on 15 December. One sank and the other ran aground.

• Russia has arrested four teenagers on suspicion of planning a “terror” attack on the city of Ekaterinburg, Russian state news agencies reported on Saturday. Russia has seen domestic security – already fragile – deteriorate in recent years, as the Kremlin channels resources into arresting those suspected of collaborating with Ukraine.

• The separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria ordered a second day of rolling blackouts on Saturday, as a shutdown in Russian gas supplies starved the pro-Moscow self-proclaimed state of energy. The tiny breakaway republic bordering Ukraine has been unable to provide heating and hot water to its residents since Wednesday, when Moscow cut off gas supplies to Moldova over a financial dispute.

Marlon Brando was the original angry young man, winning an Oscar for On the Waterfront, Elia Kazan’s movie about union corruption. But anger got the better of him at the 1954 Italian premiere of the film, when he refused to watch it after discovering that his voice had been dubbed, a new book reveals.

“Why didn’t somebody tell me I was going to see a dubbed version?” he spluttered in fury in the darkened cinema. His embarrassed agent, who had expected the original English-language version, recalled him “staggering up from his seat as if from a heart attack”, frantically whispering: “Get me out of here!”

Brando could not be calmed. “I’ve never seen myself dubbed,” he reportedly said. “I’m an actor, not a ventriloquist’s dummy, for Christ’s sake. Can you imagine what it’s like to hear somebody else’s voice come out of my mouth? You feel like a goddamn freak in a sideshow. Christ, why didn’t somebody prepare me? Didn’t you guys know?”

The incident is among the revelations in a memoir by Hank Kaufman and Gene Lerner, an American couple who, having arrived in Rome from New York in 1953, became agents, friends and confidants to some of the biggest movie stars, including Anita Ekberg, Ava Gardner and Simone Signoret.

Kaufman and Lerner died in 2012 and 2004 respectively. Now their role as unsung movers and shakers of the industry in the 1950s and 1960s is being recognised with the publication of their memoir, Hollywood on the Tiber.

They wrote it in the late 1970s, but it was published only in Italian in 1982. The stars featured in its pages may have objected to revelations that reflect both the highs and lows of celebrity, described by Lerner as “toxins”. It features everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Federico Fellini.

The memoir will be published next week in English for the first time by Sticking Place Books, which specialises in publications that have been neglected. Paul Cronin, its publisher, said: “When I first encountered this book, I thought, ‘This reads like La Dolce Vita meets Call My Agent!’”

He said that, for nearly two decades, Kaufman and Lerner were intimately involved, night and day, with their clients’ ambitions, delusions, hopes and loves, on-screen and off.

In their chapter on Brando’s premiere, they write that when they escorted him to the cinema in a black Cadillac, he was “unprepared for the hysteria” from a “screaming mob” that engulfed him as he emerged from the car. Once inside, he was overwhelmed with nerves on being seated next to a 19-year-old Italian actor, Sophia Loren.

“Brando had made art out of mumble. But in no film had he yet achieved the total inarticulacy which now overcame him, nor a gasping double-take as extraordinary as the one prompted by Loren’s frontal apparatus … Marlon’s efforts not to stare were as farcical as his initial double-take. He was unable to utter a word, and outside of an occasional smile at each other, the two sat in fidgeting silence. Whenever Sophia seemed to be looking elsewhere, Marlon turned with open mouth and bulging eyes to stare at Sophia.”

When Brando tried to leave the cinema over the dubbing, Lerner warned him: “Everybody will write about your leaving. They’ll say you hated it, disowned it, whatever. They’ll write reams and say nothing about the quality of the film.”

Brando was persuaded to visit a nearby bar and sneak back into the cinema five minutes before the end of the film, so nobody would be the wiser, the agents recalled: “As the lights went up in the cinema, there was Brando standing, leaning over the mezzanine railing to acknowledge the wild applause and shouts of bravo.”

In the memoir, the couple also recall finding Ava Gardner in a “hysterical” state because her lover, the Italian actor Walter Chiari, was “hooked” on cocaine. “He sniffs the stuff. He might be on something worse,” she cried, begging them to “do something”.

They also describe the industry’s sleazy side, noting Anita Ekberg’s response to hearing that a director wanted to meet her: “What is he, another of those kind who just wants to make passes at me or ogle my body?”

When she heard Sean Connery had married Diane Cilento, Ekberg was devastated, telling Lerner: “He told me we would get married … Men take advantage. When it comes to real love, I’m always duped.”

The agents remember Shelley Winters becoming “violently jealous” when she discovered her husband, Vittorio Gassman, was playing “hanky-panky” with another actor in his dressing room: “Shelley was overcome by a mirror fetish. She smashed several against Gassman’s dressing-room walls while screaming. Fortunately … the shards of flying glass caused no injury.”

The memoir has a foreword by Sandy Lieberson, who worked alongside Kaufman and Lerner in Rome and went on to produce Nicolas Roeg’s Performance, among other films. He writes: “The myth, the legend, but also the abyss and its squalour, one full of drug addiction, unrealised dreams and sexual favours. Hollywood on the Tiber is all these things together. It is heaven and hell.”

The Prince of Wales has said he is shocked and saddened by the death of his former nanny’s stepson in the New Years Day truck attack in New Orleans.

Edward Pettifer, 31, was one of 14 people killed when a pickup truck was driven through a crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Prince William said: “Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.”

It is understood King Charles has been in touch with Pettifer’s family to share personal condolences after being informed of the news through official channels.

Pettifer, from Chelsea, west London, was the stepson of Alexandra Pettifer, formerly known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke and who was the nanny for William and Harry from 1993-99, including during the time of their mother Diana’s death.

The New Orleans coroner gave Pettifer’s preliminary cause of death as “blunt force injuries”.

Pettifer’s family issued a statement through the Metropolitan police, who confirmed his death. They said: “The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.

“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack. We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you.”

The Foreign Office said it was supporting the victim’s family and was in contact with US authorities.

Pettifer was the eldest son of Charles Pettifer and Camilla Wyatt, the Telegraph reported. They separated in the mid-1990s, and Pettifer went on to marry Legge-Bourke, the paper said. They had two sons, who are godsons of William and Harry.

The foreign secretary, David Lammy, said on Saturday: “Extremely saddened to hear the tragic news that a British man was among those killed during the attack in New Orleans. We are supporting their family and are united with the US against terror threats.”

Fourteen people died and at least 35 others were injured when the suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, allegedly ploughed a pickup truck through crowds of revellers celebrating the new year.

The 42-year-old Texan allegedly got out of the vehicle and fired a gun before being shot by police.

The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a terror attack. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies were concerned about the potential of a copycat attack.

A bulletin seen by Reuters showed that the FBI, the Department for Homeland Security, and the US National Counterterrorism Center believed they were “likely to remain attractive for aspiring assailants”.

The Met police said family liaison officers were supporting Pettifer’s family and helping them through the process of returning his body to the UK.

The New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, said at a press conference that the victims and their families “matter” to the entire city. “Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victim’s families,” she said.

The New Orleans coroner said one of those killed remained unidentified, with the others coming from the US, the youngest aged 18 and the oldest 63.

It is believed the suspect acted alone. The FBI confirmed that an Islamic State flag was found inside the vehicle and explosive devices were found nearby.

Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press news agency bomb-making materials were found at Jabbar’s home when it was searched after the attack. He had booked the rental of the pickup truck on 14 November.

Earlier this week, the US president, Joe Biden, said the attacker posted a video that indicated he was inspired by Islamic State.

Condemnation of the terrorist incident came from countries including Britain, France, Germany and Mexico.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said on Wednesday: “The shockingly violent attack in New Orleans is horrific. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, the emergency responders and the people of the United States at this tragic time.”

The New Orleans coroner’s office released the names of all but one of those killed in the attack.

They are: Drew Dauphin, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama; Kareem Badawi, 18, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Brandon Taylor, 43, of Harvey, Louisiana; Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, of Gretna, Louisiana; Matthew Tenedorio, 25, of Picayune, Mississippi; Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi; Nicole Perez, 27, of Metairie, Louisiana; Reggie Hunter, 37, of Prairieville, Louisiana; Martin “Tiger” Bech, 27, originally of Lafayette, Louisiana, and a resident of New York City; Terrence Kennedy, 63, of New Orleans; Elliot Wilkinson, 40, of Slidell, Louisiana; William DiMaio, 25, of Holmdel, New Jersey.

The Prince of Wales has said he is shocked and saddened by the death of his former nanny’s stepson in the New Years Day truck attack in New Orleans.

Edward Pettifer, 31, was one of 14 people killed when a pickup truck was driven through a crowd in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Prince William said: “Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.”

It is understood King Charles has been in touch with Pettifer’s family to share personal condolences after being informed of the news through official channels.

Pettifer, from Chelsea, west London, was the stepson of Alexandra Pettifer, formerly known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke and who was the nanny for William and Harry from 1993-99, including during the time of their mother Diana’s death.

The New Orleans coroner gave Pettifer’s preliminary cause of death as “blunt force injuries”.

Pettifer’s family issued a statement through the Metropolitan police, who confirmed his death. They said: “The entire family are devastated at the tragic news of Ed’s death in New Orleans. He was a wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and a friend to so many.

“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack. We request that we can grieve the loss of Ed as a family in private. Thank you.”

The Foreign Office said it was supporting the victim’s family and was in contact with US authorities.

Pettifer was the eldest son of Charles Pettifer and Camilla Wyatt, the Telegraph reported. They separated in the mid-1990s, and Pettifer went on to marry Legge-Bourke, the paper said. They had two sons, who are godsons of William and Harry.

The foreign secretary, David Lammy, said on Saturday: “Extremely saddened to hear the tragic news that a British man was among those killed during the attack in New Orleans. We are supporting their family and are united with the US against terror threats.”

Fourteen people died and at least 35 others were injured when the suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, allegedly ploughed a pickup truck through crowds of revellers celebrating the new year.

The 42-year-old Texan allegedly got out of the vehicle and fired a gun before being shot by police.

The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a terror attack. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies were concerned about the potential of a copycat attack.

A bulletin seen by Reuters showed that the FBI, the Department for Homeland Security, and the US National Counterterrorism Center believed they were “likely to remain attractive for aspiring assailants”.

The Met police said family liaison officers were supporting Pettifer’s family and helping them through the process of returning his body to the UK.

The New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, said at a press conference that the victims and their families “matter” to the entire city. “Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victim’s families,” she said.

The New Orleans coroner said one of those killed remained unidentified, with the others coming from the US, the youngest aged 18 and the oldest 63.

It is believed the suspect acted alone. The FBI confirmed that an Islamic State flag was found inside the vehicle and explosive devices were found nearby.

Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press news agency bomb-making materials were found at Jabbar’s home when it was searched after the attack. He had booked the rental of the pickup truck on 14 November.

Earlier this week, the US president, Joe Biden, said the attacker posted a video that indicated he was inspired by Islamic State.

Condemnation of the terrorist incident came from countries including Britain, France, Germany and Mexico.

The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said on Wednesday: “The shockingly violent attack in New Orleans is horrific. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, the emergency responders and the people of the United States at this tragic time.”

The New Orleans coroner’s office released the names of all but one of those killed in the attack.

They are: Drew Dauphin, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama; Kareem Badawi, 18, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Brandon Taylor, 43, of Harvey, Louisiana; Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, of Gretna, Louisiana; Matthew Tenedorio, 25, of Picayune, Mississippi; Nikyra Dedeaux, 18, of Gulfport, Mississippi; Nicole Perez, 27, of Metairie, Louisiana; Reggie Hunter, 37, of Prairieville, Louisiana; Martin “Tiger” Bech, 27, originally of Lafayette, Louisiana, and a resident of New York City; Terrence Kennedy, 63, of New Orleans; Elliot Wilkinson, 40, of Slidell, Louisiana; William DiMaio, 25, of Holmdel, New Jersey.

A Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest living person has died at the age of 116.

Tomiko Itooka, who was awarded the Guinness World Record status last year, died on 29 December at a care home in Ashiya, Hyogo prefecture in central Japan.

Itooka, who had previously spoken of her love of bananas and a Japanese yoghurt-flavoured drink called Calpis, was born on 23 May 1908, six years before the outbreak of the first world war, and in the same year as the Ford Model T was launched.

Born in Osaka, she had been a volleyball player in secondary school, and was a keen mountain climber.

Yoshitsugu Nagata, an official in charge of policies for older people, said Itooka had twice climbed the 3,067-metre (10,062ft) Mount Ontake.

She became the planet’s oldest person last year after the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

When she was told last year she was at the top of the world supercentenarian rankings, she simply replied: “Thank you.”

Itooka received flowers, a cake and a card from the mayor when she celebrated her birthday in 2024.

She married at 20 and managed the office of her husband’s textile factory during the second world war. Itooka lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979.

She is survived by a son, a daughter and five grandchildren. A funeral service was held with family and friends, according to Nagata.

The world’s oldest person is now 116-year-old Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun who was born 16 days after Itooka, according to the GRG.

The Washington Post’s Pulitzer prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes has resigned from her position at the newspaper after its refusal to publish a satirical cartoon depicting the outlet’s owner, Jeff Bezos – along with other media and technology barons – kneeling before Donald Trump as he gears up for his second US presidency.

“I have had editorial feedback and productive conversations – and some differences – about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at,” Telnaes wrote on Friday in an online post on the Substack platform detailing her decision to quit. “Until now.”

In a statement reported by the New York Times, the Post’s opinions editor, David Shipley, defended the newspaper’s decision against publishing Telnaes’s cartoon, saying he disagreed with her “interpretation of events” and that “the only bias was against repetition”.

“Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force,” said Shipley, whose statement added that he had spoken with Telnaes and asked her to reconsider leaving. “My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column – this one a satire – for publication.”

Telnaes’s Substack post from Friday contained a rough draft of her cartoon. Beside Bezos, who founded Amazon before buying the Post, the cartoon portrayed caricatures of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and Walt Disney Co mascot Mickey Mouse.

“The cartoon … criticizes the billionaire tech and media chief executives who have been doing their best to curry favor with … Trump,” Telnaes said. “While it isn’t uncommon for editorial page editors to object to visual metaphors within a cartoon if it strikes that editor as unclear or isn’t correctly conveying the message intended by the cartoonist, such editorial criticism was not the case regarding this cartoon.

“To be clear, there have been instances where sketches have been rejected or revisions requested, but never because of the point of view inherent in the cartoon’s commentary. That’s a gamechanger … and dangerous for a free press.”

Telnaes announced her resignation less than three months after the Post and Bezos faced withering backlash over the outlet’s decision to prevent its editorial team from publishing an endorsement of Kamala Harris in the presidential election of 5 November. Soon-Shiong had also similarly refused to allow the LA Times’ editorial board to publish an endorsement of Harris.

Readers met both outlets with more than 200,000 subscription cancellations combined, the overwhelming majority of those affecting the Post’s larger readership, according to reports. And commentators accused the two newspapers of demonstrating what has been classified as “anticipatory obedience” to Trump after he had repeatedly accused the media of being enemies of the state and promised retribution against many in the industry if he defeated Harris.

Trump then scored a decisive victory against Harris to wrest back the Oval Office, which he had lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

After Trump’s victory, Zuckerberg dined with Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort. His company, Meta, also donated $1m to a fund for Trump’s second inauguration. Observers interpreted those to be conciliatory gestures after Trump during his first presidency criticized Zuckerberg and his Facebook platform of being “anti-Trump”.

Meanwhile, in December, ABC News – which is owned by Disney – and its anchor George Stephanopoulos agreed to pay $15m to a foundation and museum to be established by Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit the president-elect had filed against the network.

Stephanopoulos and his employer also agreed Stephanopoulos would express regret over on-air statements that he made in March claiming Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a lawsuit pursued against him by the columnist E Jean Carroll.

A jury found Trump “had sexually abused” Carroll under New York law but stopped short of finding that he raped her. Trump subsequently was ordered to pay Carroll $5m. He also was ordered to pay her $83.3m after being found liable on defamation claims.

Trump’s appeals of both those orders remained pending as of Saturday.

Telnaes won the prestigious Pulitzer for illustrated reporting and commentary in 2001 – coincidentally, while working for the LA Times Syndicate – and was a finalist in the same category for the Post in 2022. She also received the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben award in 2017, becoming the first woman to win both that prize as well as a Pulitzer.

Independent director and screenwriter Jeff Baena – who was known for quirky hits such as Life After Beth and was the husband of that film’s star, Aubrey Plaza – has died, according to reports. Baena was 47.

The Los Angeles medical examiner said that Baena died on Friday at his home in that city at about 10.39am local time. Officials did not immediately provide Baena’s cause or manner of death.

Baena’s The Little Hours – a dark comedy set in a 14th-century convent and released in 2017 – was among his best-known works, and it was led by Plaza. Plaza and Baena had dated since about 2011, and in 2021 she revealed in a social media post that they had gotten married.

Variety noted that The Little Hours was somewhat inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, a 14th-century classic. Baena had studied the medieval and Renaissance eras, according to the outlet.

Plaza had also starred in Baena’s Life After Beth, a 2014 zombie-themed romantic comedy.

Baena had also co-written the 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees with David O Russell. The indie film explored existential woe with bleak humor and had a star-studded cast, including Dustin Hoffman, Naomi Watts, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher and Mark Wahlberg.

Baena, a Miami native, attended college at New York University. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles for his film career, People reported.

Baena is survived by Plaza, mother Barbara Stern, stepfather Roger Stern, father Scott Baena, stepmother Michele Baena and brother Brad Baena, as well as step-siblings Bianca Gabay and Jed Fluxman, Deadline said.

The Los Angeles medical examiner’s office has not released any information about a cause or manner of death for Baena, and the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Syria’s main airport in Damascus is to resume international flights after commercial trips were halted following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

“We announce we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus international airport from [Tuesday],” the state news agency Sana reported, quoting Ashhad al-Salibi, the head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport.

“We reassure Arab and international airlines that we have begun the phase of rehabilitating the Aleppo and Damascus airports with our partners’ help, so that they can welcome flights from all over the world.”

International aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations have already been landing in Syria. Domestic flights have also resumed.

On Thursday, Qatar Airways announced it would resume flights to the Syrian capital after nearly 13 years, starting with three weekly flights from Tuesday.

A Qatari official told Agence-France Presse last month that Doha had offered the new Syrian authorities help in resuming operations at Damascus airport.

On 18 December, the first flight since Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad 10 days earlier took off from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north, AFP journalists reported.

An Egyptian aid plane touched down at Damascus airport on Saturday carrying Cairo’s first humanitarian delivery since Assad was ousted. The civilian cargo plane loaded with 15 tonnes of supplies was part of “Egypt’s commitment to supporting the brotherly Syrian people”, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The shipment, provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent, was handed to its Syrian counterpart and included tents, blankets, food and medical supplies, the state-linked Al-Qahera News said.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia launched a humanitarian air bridge to Syria, delivering food, shelter and medical supplies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Syria is reeling from 13 years of civil war and crippling western sanctions targeting Assad’s regime, which was toppled in a rebel offensive last month. The conflict has displaced millions and left the economy in ruins, with basic infrastructure struggling to function.

A man has died after falling 70 metres from a mountain ridge in the Lake District.

Keswick Mountain Rescue said its first callout of the year ended in tragedy after the man fell from Sharp Edge on Blencathra on Thursday.

The volunteers were called out at 12.25pm. A Keswick team member already on Blencathra made his way to the scene above Scales Tarn, along with a helicopter crew.

“Keswick team recovered the body to H58 who then airlifted the man to Keswick MR Base,” the team said.

“Many thanks to [helicopter] H58, the coastguard, and to the hillgoers who went to assist. Our thoughts and condolences go to the man’s family and friends.”

The man has not been named.

The team said on its Facebook page there had been a “flurry of callouts” in the last few days of 2024.

It added: “2024 has been a record year for Keswick with 146 callouts and 34 alerts (incidents that were managed without a team deployment). This can only have been done with the support of the general public and your kind donations which are greatly appreciated.”

Sharp Edge is a ridge leading to the top of the 868-metre-high Blencathra mountain and one of the most popular Lake District areas.

Between 1949 and 2018 there were 100 incidents with 11 fatalities on the ridge, according to Keswick Mountain Rescue.

In 2021, Paul Band died while traversing Sharp Edge. The 47-year-old, from Stoke, slipped and fell 50 metres down the steep gully on the north side.

Band had been training for a planned climb of Kilimanjaro.

Blencathra was dubbed “the people’s mountain” in a 2016 documentary by Terry Abraham and is renowned for its tiger claw of ridges towering over the valley.

The route is described as “strenuous” on the Cumbria tourism website, which states: “Its lofty position and fine sculpted crest have the capacity to excite even the most jaded scrambler. But it also has the capacity to scare some people.”