Plus: Russia's dystopian library, and missing cryptoqueen's murder mystery ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to "eliminate" Hamas after the group's deadly attack on 7 October. The terms of a ceasefire in Gaza now depend on how that verb may be defined, writes Lucy Williamson. In Russia, Steve Rosenberg tours a library named after author George Orwell to understand how dystopian writings resonate in the country. The team behind the Missing Cryptoqueen podcast series investigate new information about the FBI most-wanted's fate. Finally, a museum with an unusual focus opens in the US. | |
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED | High stakes riding on Gaza ceasefire plan |
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| | The plan aims to wind down the war after eight months of fighting. Credit: BBC | On Friday, US President Joe Biden attempted to end a stalemate in the talks between Israel and Hamas over how to end the war in Gaza by outlining an Israeli proposal for a three-phase ceasefire plan. Some members of Israel's government have vocally opposed the deal. |
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| | Lucy Williamson, Middle East correspondent |
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| What do the different parties want? | Hamas leaders are likely to want permanent ceasefire guarantees upfront. But the option to resume fighting – until Hamas is “eliminated” – is, some believe, the least Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners will demand. | Why are far-right coalition parties vital to the Israeli government coalition? | Without their support, Mr Netanyahu faces the prospect of early elections and the continuation of a corruption trial. He needs to keep his long-term options open, to stand a chance of winning their support for any initial hostage deal. | How to break this impasse? | It all depends on how much room for manoeuvre Mr Netanyahu has with his hard-right government allies to find alternatives to the “elimination” of Hamas – and how far Hamas leaders are prepared to consider them. | | Hadid sisters: Supermodels Bella and Gigi, whose father is Palestinian, are donating $1m (£785,000) to support relief efforts in Gaza. Jabalia refugee camp: Palestinians who returned to the northern Gaza site after the end of Israel's three-week military operation there have expressed shock at the level of destruction.
Israeli hostages: Israel's military says it has established the deaths of four more people abducted by Hamas on 7 October. | |
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| Inside a Russian dystopian library | | Although not banned, the contents of the books at the library can bring problems. Credit: BBC | Two years ago, Dmitry Silin opened a library dedicated to books about totalitarianism and dystopian worlds. A vocal critic of Russia's war in Ukraine, Mr Silin has left the country after being accused of scrawling “No to war!” on a building. The library, for now, remains open. |
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| | Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor |
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| | In the town of Ivanovo, a four-hour drive from Moscow, a giant banner glorifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine covers the entire wall of an old cinema. These posters depict a country marching towards economic and military success. But there is one place in Ivanovo that paints a very different picture of today’s Russia.
I’m standing outside it. There’s a poster here, too. Not of a Russian soldier, but of the British author of Nineteen Eighty-Four. The sign above it reads The George Orwell Library. “The situation now in Russia is similar to Nineteen Eighty-Four,” librarian Alexandra Karaseva tells me. “Total control by the government, the state and the security structures.” |
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THE BIG PICTURE | Missing cryptoqueen: Dead or alive? |
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| | | Ruja Ignatova has not been seen since she took a flight from Sofia to Athens in October 2017. Credit: Shutterstock | In 2019, a BBC podcast started reporting on Ruja Ignatova, a Bulgarian woman wanted by the FBI after scamming investors out of $4.5bn (£3.54bn) through her fake cryptocurrency. In the past year, the team has looked at her ties to a suspected Bulgarian organised crime boss and allegations he ordered her murder. |
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FOR YOUR DOWNTIME | Movie-set warfare | The British film industry fooled the Nazis ahead of D-Day. | |
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