Israeli families of hostages confirm that Hamas will release 4 female soldiers

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An advocacy group representing the family members of Israelis held in Gaza has confirmed that the four hostages set to be released by Hamas on Saturday are female soldiers. Under the ceasefire agreement that paused the 15-month war, Israel would release 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees in exchange for the four, including 120 militants serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. The four soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19, were captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war and have had no contact with the outside world since then.

Governor of Congo’s North Kivu province dies of his wounds in fighting with rebels

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma. M23 made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling Goma, which has around 2 million people and is a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts. The circumstances around the death Thursday of Maj. Gen Peter Cirimwami were unclear but Cirimwami — who led army operations in the restive North Kivu — visited troops on the front line in Kasengezi, around 8 miles from Goma, on the day of his death. His death was confirmed by a military spokesperson Friday.

Major storm lashes Ireland and Scotland as hurricane-force winds down power lines

LONDON (AP) — Millions of people in Ireland and northern parts of the U.K. have heeded the advice of authorities to stay at home. Hurricane-force winds disabled power networks and brought widespread travel disruptions Friday. Forecasters had issued a rare “red” weather warning, meaning danger to life, across the whole island of Ireland and central and southwest Scotland. Ireland bore the brunt of the storm first, as it was hit with wind gusts of 114 ph, the strongest since World War II, as a winter storm spiraled in from the Atlantic before hitting Scotland. The storm was moving fast, though, and is expected to have cleared Scotland’s shores by late Friday.

Thousands of endangered tortoises are rescued in Madagascar

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A community in southern Madagascar has pulled together to save thousands of critically endangered tortoises that were swept away from their sanctuary and left swimming for their lives in floods this month caused by a tropical cyclone. The 12,000 radiated and spider tortoises that were housed at the Lavavolo Tortoise Center had been confiscated from poachers and illegal wildlife traffickers. They faced a new and unexpected ordeal when Cyclone Dikeledi hit the southern part of the island in mid-January. A sanctuary representative says a rescue operation involving staff, volunteers and even local police officers has saved more than 10,000 tortoises.