Avera Mengistu, who entered Gaza around a decade ago and has been held there since, and Tal Shoham, a hostage held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are released as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Hatem Khaled/Reuters
Hamas hands over final living hostages to be released under first phase of Gaza ceasefire
How the world changed in a month
Draft US-Ukraine rare earth minerals deal not one President Zelensky would accept, source says
Knife attack leaves one dead in France in ‘terrorist act,’ officials say
Pope is in ‘critical’ condition after suffering ‘asthmatic respiratory crisis,’ Vatican says
‘We are in danger’: Migrants deported from US were locked in hotel and held at remote camp in Panama, lawyers say
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From Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico/X
Mexico announces arrests of alleged high ranking Sinaloa Cartel members
Israel says Shiri Bibas is not among bodies returned from Gaza, Hamas pledges to investigate
Arab leaders gather to discuss postwar Gaza proposal to counter Trump’s ‘Riviera’ plan
Mystery and anguish over the fate of missing Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas
US aid freeze puts HIV-positive orphans in Kenya at risk as medical supplies dwindle
Sweden investigates suspected sabotage of Baltic Sea telecoms cable
Freed Thai hostages return home to celebrations and spiritual blessings after 15 months in Gaza
Reuters, Getty Images, Associated Press, Khader Al Za’anoun/CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Red Crescent Society
How Gaza’s hospitals became battlegrounds
For CNN
How the climate crisis fuels gender inequality

Video

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• Video 1:17
CNN
Video Mother of last living American hostage tells CNN what she’s heard about her son 1:17
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• Video 2:26
Telegram
Video Injured Russian soldiers are being returned to the frontline 2:26
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• Video 0:33
Hostages & Missing Families Forum
Video Shiri Bibas confirmed dead, hostage families’ forum says 0:33
<p>Adam Boehler joins The Lead</p>
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Video U.S. envoy on Hamas returning remains of hostages 4:39

Around the world

Europe

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Police officers work at the cordoned-off scene where a person was injured near the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin on February 21, 2025.
Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
German police arrest Syrian refugee after stabbing at Berlin Holocaust memorial
Russia is ‘recycling’ wounded troops, sending some to the frontline on crutches
Germany is holding a national election. Here’s what’s at stake
Young voters are powering the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD party
Pope Francis’ condition ‘slightly improving’ after pneumonia diagnosis, Vatican says
Europe’s closest ally is in bed with its worst enemy. Now what?

Middle East

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A poster shows Shiri Bibas, who was kidnapped to Gaza with her husband and two young sons on Oct. 7, 2023, in Jerusalem, on February 21.
Mahmoud Illean/AP
Human remains returned by Hamas to Israel confirmed as those of former hostage Shiri Bibas
Netanyahu orders West Bank military operation after Israel bus blasts
Hamas stages macabre ceremony to release bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include Bibas children and their mother
Israeli hostage families forum receives ‘heart-shattering’ news of Bibas deaths
Israel demolishes West Bank apartment buildings as military campaign displaces tens of thousands of Palestinians
Iran accuses detained British couple of spying

World in photos

In this image taken from video, passengers walk away from a Delta Air Lines jet that crash-landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, February 17.
• Gallery Gallery
Peter Koukov/Handout/Reuters
Gallery The week in 31 photos
Pope Francis (L) waves at the end of his weekly general audience at Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican on October 26, 2022. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP) (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
• Gallery Gallery
Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
Gallery Pope Francis, in pictures
Mexican singer Paquita la del Barrio performs at the 14th annual Latin Grammy Awards, November 21, 2013 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Gallery Gallery
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Gallery People we’ve lost in 2025
The Philadelphia Eagles celebrate with the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Sunday, February 9.
• Gallery Gallery
David J. Phillip/AP
Gallery The week in 32 photos

Africa

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M23 rebel troops arrive at the Rusizi border post, joining the Congolese city of Bukavu with Cyangugu in Rwanda, on February 16, 2025 in Cyangugu, Rwanda.
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images
UN human rights chief accuses Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern DR Congo of killing and recruiting children
Man hailed as world’s first imam to say he was gay is shot dead in South Africa
Rebels seen in center of key DR Congo city after claiming takeover
White South Africans gather in support of Trump and his claims that they are victims of racism

Americas

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Gang tattoos cover the faces and bodies of many inmates, including this man, a member of MS-13.
Evelio Contreras/CNN
The US now considers these cartels and gangs terrorist groups. Here’s what to know about them
More than 170 Venezuelan migrants, deported to Guantanamo as part of Trump’s crackdown, flown home
Mexico’s Sheinbaum vows to protect national sovereignty as US cracks down on cartels in its territory
A conservationist is building bridges in the Amazon so monkeys can cross the road

Asia

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Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong delivers her keynote speech during the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit on March 4, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia.
Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
Commercial airlines warned as Chinese navy holds live fire exercise off Australia
Train hits elephant herd in Sri Lanka, killing at least six elephants, say police
South Korea’s Yoon attends first trial hearing for insurrection
US calls out ‘dangerous’ Chinese helicopter maneuvers as tensions rise over South China Sea

Featured

Travel

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Passengers at St Pancras station in central London. Eurostar passengers faced continued disruption on Saturday after arson attacks on the French rail network ahead of the start of the Olympic Games. The rail operator, which runs international services from London St Pancras, said one in four of its trains would not run over the weekend. Picture date: Saturday July 27, 2024. PA Photo. Four trains from London to Paris were cancelled on Saturday, affecting thousands of passengers, with disruption expected to last until Monday. Travellers were advised to postpone their journeys where possible. Only a handful of seats were available to book on the remaining London to Paris Eurostar services on Saturday, while tickets for overnight coaches arriving in the French capital on Sunday morning were selling for as much as £197 through Flixbus. The disruption came as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games got under way and as millions were expected to embark on summer getaways. See PA story TRANSPORT Eurostar. Photo credit should read: Maja Smiejkowska/PA Wire
Maja Smiejkowska/PA Wire
New, faster train routes connecting Britain to France and Germany might be on their way
Frequent flyers have spent years staying loyal to airlines. Now airlines are giving them ‘the middle finger’
Anne Frank’s hidden home, now in Manhattan through October
Sweden’s best food dishes: From waffles to Wallenbergers
New Zealand’s bug of the year is an ancient worm that spits poison goo

Style

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Emerging British designer Talia Lipkin-Connor’s personal history doubles as a story of the UK’s changing fashion scene.
Ed Aked
Her great grandpa dressed The Beatles. Now, she’s making her own name in fashion
How the Superman ‘S’ became fashion’s favorite logo
Can sandals be art? Birkenstock says yes, but a German court says no
Police raided a forger’s workshop in Rome. They found dozens of pieces, including fake Picassos and Rembrandts
Paris Hilton sells Y2K wardrobe in aid of LA wildfires

Weather

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People walk with warm drinks in hand through the snow in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 19.
Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network/Imagn Images
The polar vortex is acting weird and the US is paying the price this winter
Record-breaking cold: Temperatures to plunge to as much as 50 degrees below normal
At least 10 deaths blamed on powerful winter storm pushing strong winds and heavy snow further East
At least 1 dead as storm batters eastern US with life-threatening flooding and prompts evacuations in Kentucky and Virginia
Torrents of mud and floodwater cover roads and trap cars in LA, but city dodges another disaster

More of the latest stories

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Ben Curtis/AP
Somali pirates have used the Red Sea Crisis and war in Gaza to stage a return
<p>As U.S foreign policy takes a jarring turn, sidelining Ukraine in favour of discussions with Putin's Russia, Christiane Amanpour speaks with New York Times Opinion Columnist M. Gessen about the implications these changes could bring.</p>
• Video 4:43
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Video ‘I see Trump adopting Putin’s Language’: New York Times columnist on the US foreign policy tone shift 4:43
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• Video 1:36
Getty Images
Video CCTV footage shows ‘first openly gay’ imam shot dead 1:36
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi meet on the sidelines of a G20 gathering in Johannesburg on February 20.
Russian Foreign Ministry/Reuters
As Trump loses patience with Ukraine, Russia’s biggest backer sees a ‘window for peace’
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• Video 3:16
CNN
Video Trump’s hostage envoy calls on Hamas to release all hostages or ‘face total annihilation’ 3:16
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Alvaro Herrero/UPY 2025
Breathtaking images from the Underwater Photographer of the Year contest
<p>Sen. Markwayne Mullin joins The Lead </p>
• Video 10:27
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Video GOP Sen. Mullin: Wray politicized the FBI, not Patel 10:27
<p>Sen. Chris Murphy joins The Lead</p>
• Video 4:13
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Video Dem Senator: WH is a full-time Kremlin propaganda operation 4:13
<p>Trevor Reed joins The Lead</p>
• Video 3:46
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Video Trevor Reed, wrongfully detained by Russia, on Ukraine war 3:46
Pope Francis leads the vespers at St Peter's basilica in The Vatican, on February 1, 2025. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
• Video 1:05
Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images
Video CNN’s Vatican Correspondent explains the unique history of the hospital treating Pope Francis 1:05
<p>Isa Soares speaks with former FBI Director James Comey about his new book as part of Isa's Book Club. </p>
• Video 7:30
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Video James Comey on his new legal thriller ‘Westport’ 7:30
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Associated Press
Video Hamas releases bodies of four hostages to Red Cross 1:23

Something Extra

Architecture around the world

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Foster + Partners
$1-billion Dubai skyscrapers to be linked by daring rooftop pool
AC/DC was born in this house. A developer mistakenly demolished it
Is Uzbekistan the next great architectural destination?
11 architecture projects set to shape the world in 2025
London approves plan for joint-tallest tower in Western Europe

Sports

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Mikaela Shiffrin was competing in Sestriere, Italy.
Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images
Mikaela Shiffrin fails to qualify for second run in giant slalom event for first time since 2012
‘I’m patiently impatient’: Naomi Osaka won’t let injury derail her plans for greatness
Steph Curry reaches historic scoring milestone as Warriors continue post-trade deadline improvement
This cricket-mad country spent years convincing international teams it was safe to come play. Now the party is in full swing
Yankees stun baseball world with new facial hair policy

Tech

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BYD electric cars waiting to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, in eastern China's Shandong province.
STR/AFP/Getty Images
A Chinese EV giant is now offering free driver assistance tech on cars under $10,000
2023/05/18: In this photo illustration, the Signal -Private messenger app is displayed in the App Store on an iPhone.
Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images/File
How to keep your private conversations private
This photo illustration shows the DeepSeek app on a mobile phone in Beijing on January 27, 2025. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
DeepSeek hasn’t just disrupted OpenAI. Chinese tech giants are being upended too