Egyptian and US mediators report signs of compromise, but many analysts remain pessimistic Middle East crisis – live updates Hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza rose on Saturday as a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to continue indirect talks, with what is believed to be a response to a new proposal, reportedly agreed by Israel, to halt fighting for an initial 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Egyptian and US mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days and Egyptian state news channel Al-Qahera said on Saturday that a consensus had been reached in the indirect ..read more

MP says trade in remains is ‘gross violation of human dignity’, as skulls from Pitt Rivers collection removed An auction house has withdrawn 18 ancient Egyptian human skulls from sale after an MP said selling them would perpetuate the atrocities of colonialism. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, believes the sale of human remains for any purposes should be outlawed, adding that the trade was “a gross violation of human dignity ..read more

Mediators renew efforts to secure a truce ahead of invasion of city, where more than 1 million people are sheltering Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will proceed with an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah even if renewed efforts at internationally brokered talks with Hamas result in the release of hostages and a ceasefire. Mediators led by Egypt have made fresh attempts to broker a truce in recent days after it became clearer that Israel is preparing for its long-threatened ground operation in Rafah. The city on the Egyptian border is the only part of the Palestinian territo ..read more

US secretary of state to discuss avoiding regional conflict Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia to try to restart fraught ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, as a delegation from Hamas, expected in Cairo in parallel to the US secretary of state’s visit, said they would provide a response to an Israeli proposal focused on an initial hostage release. Pressure on international mediators has mounted to secure a swift deal, amid fears of a looming Israeli ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, where over a million people are now believed to be sheltering. The move risks sounding the death kn ..read more

Islamist group release new video apparently showing two hostages as UN warns famine thresholds will be breached within six weeks Hamas has said it is studying the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after media reports said a delegation from Egypt had arrived in Israel in an attempt to jumpstart stalled negotiations. The signs of renewed truce talks come as the UN warned that “famine thresholds in Gaza will be breached within the next six weeks” unless massive food assistance arrives ..read more

Tit-for-tat attacks present Sunni monarchies with complicated choices over region’s future Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel had, by the end of this week, become one of the most interpreted events in recent modern history. Then, in the early hours of Friday, came reports of Israel’s riposte. As in June 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in a moment that ultimately led to the first world war, these shots were heard around the world, even if few can agree conclusively on what they portend. By one de minimis account, Tehran was merely sending a performative ..read more

Two endurance sailors’ perilous voyage is supposed to lead them to empathy for refugees’ plight – but they sure take their time discovering that Here is a well-intentioned but brief, unsatisfying and oddly structured documentary, supposedly about refugees and boat people … although the refugees’ experiences are only discussed in the final 10 minutes or so. The film is actually about two Egyptians, Omar Nour and Omar Samra, energetic and prosperous young entrepreneurs who in 2017, in a spirit of adventure, took on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, a well-established annual endurance event ..read more

Exclusive: Abdellatif released to join family after years of struggling to overturn denial of visa as a result of being convicted in Egyptian trial that used evidence obtained under torture Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The Egyptian refugee Sayed Abdellatif has been freed after almost 12 years in Australia’s immigration detention facilities. Abdellatif was granted a temporary protection visa and released on Tuesday afternoon from Villawood detention centre before being driven by authorities to ..read more

Going public after I was attacked was hard, but it helped me overcome the shame that so many victims feel A few weeks ago, I had a difficult conversation with my teenage daughter. It came out of something that happened to me more than a decade ago, and which changed the course of my life and work. As a documentary photographer, I have travelled the world, taking portraits of survivors of trauma who shared their testimonies with me. It is a finely balanced exchange, in which they give me their trust, and my pictures attest to their resilience. But for many years, there was always a distance bet ..read more

Ras el–Hekma is part of a $60bn package to help the economy withstand the impact of conflict in Gaza, but critics fear the money will entrench a corrupt, oppressive regime It is one of the few undeveloped spots remaining on the Mediterranean coast. There are white sand beaches, a few olive groves and an ageing 1940s holiday home built by the deposed King Farouk. So far, there is nothing to suggest that, within 30 years, the tranquil Egyptian peninsula of Ras el-Hekma will host a major new city. On 23 February, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ announced plans to develop Ras el-Hekma as p ..read more