WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Hostages return, Met interviews Corbyn, and TikTok back online for US users

 
today's international story

Hostages and prisoners freed as Gaza ceasefire begins

What happened
The first Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners have been released under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, sparking jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv and the West Bank.

Who said what
The three released Israeli hostages – Romi Gonen (pictured above with her mother Merav), Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher – are in a stable condition, according to staff at Sheba Medical Center. Meanwhile, around 90 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were held in Ofer prison in Ramallah, were welcomed by thousands of people in the West Bank.

The start of an initial six-week phase of the ceasefire was delayed by almost three hours to 11.15AM local time, during which Israel continued to strike targets in Gaza. The delay "is not a good omen" for a deal that may be "doomed to failure as it moves through its challenging three phases", said The Guardian.

Israel and Hamas reached the ceasefire agreement "in part by putting off their most intractable disputes until a nebulous 'second phase' that neither side is sure it will reach", said The New York Times.

What next?
United Nations trucks carrying humanitarian supplies are already entering Gaza. Much of the region has been destroyed and most of its approximately two million people have been displaced at least once during the war.

After the agreement came into effect, hundreds of Hamas fighters emerged at Al Saraya Square in Gaza City, "roaming the devastated streets of Gaza in celebration", said CNN. It was "Hamas's reminder that its armed wing was still here 15 months after Israel set out to destroy them".

 
 
today's protest story

Corbyn faces police interview after pro-Palestinian rally

What happened
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the former Labour leader and shadow chancellor, agreed to be interviewed under caution by police following a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday. The pair were interviewed yesterday afternoon, said the BBC.

Nine other people, including Corbyn's brother Piers, have been charged with public order offences following arrests at the demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Who said what
The Metropolitan Police said they witnessed a "deliberate effort, including by protest organisers", to breach conditions that had been imposed on the event. Police said the organisers had agreed that the protest would be static to prevent demonstrators from gathering at a nearby synagogue.

The PSC refutes the claim and has accused the Met of deploying heavy-handed tactics.

What next?
Those who have been charged with breaching the rally's conditions are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in the coming days, according to the Met.

 
 
Today's technology story

TikTok back online for US users after Trump's pledge

What happened
TikTok restored its service to users in the US overnight after president-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause a ban on the social media platform with an executive order on his first day in office.

Who said what
On his Truth Social network, Trump said he would  "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve after millions of US TikTok users woke up to discover they could no longer access the platform.

The law that had come into effect yesterday morning required TikTok's owner ByteDance to cut ties with the platform's US operations due to concerns about its links to the Chinese government.

TikTok's "rise from the grave" interrupted a "meme-filled funeral", said Forbes, as users engaged in a "premature mass mourning" of the app's demise.

What next?
TikTok's chief executive Shou Zi Chew thanked Trump for his "commitment to work with us to find a solution". Chew is expected to attend Trump's inauguration today.

 
 

It's not all bad

Amid the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County, a wave of generosity has swept across communities, with more than $700,000 (£570,000) raised through GoFundMe campaigns for fire victims. Thousands of volunteers have also rallied to help support evacuees, creating massive donation centres stocked with food, clothes and supplies. Relief efforts have drawn backing from across the US, with individuals, non-profits and even major companies contributing to the cause. One Altadena resident, Ryan Marrone, said the amazing level of giving was "probably one of the more beautiful things I've seen in my life".

 
 
under the radar

Does Nepal have too many tigers?

For years conservationists had hailed Nepal as a success after it tripled its wild tiger population in a decade.

Last year K.P. Sharma Oli, the prime minister of the South Asian nation, called tiger conservation "the pride of Nepal". But with fatal attacks on the rise, Oli has had a change of heart on the endangered animals: he now says there are too many.

"In such a small country we have more than 350 tigers," said Oli last month at an event reviewing Nepal's Cop29 achievements. "We can't have so many tigers and let them eat up humans."

Nepal's "incredible feat" in doubling its tiger population since 2010 was "celebrated worldwide", said Al Jazeera, but the "roaring success" was accompanied by an "uncomfortable element" – the "unfair, uncompensated burden" on local communities.

Fatal encounters are on the rise. Tigers killed nearly 40 people and injured 15 between 2019 and 2023, according to government data cited by the BBC, but locals say the true figure is "much higher".

But concern over the number of tigers is "misplaced", according to biologist Ullas Karanth. He said humans were increasingly encroaching on tigers' habitats to cultivate the land, reducing prey numbers. Karanth argues that Nepal should focus on "expanding protected areas" that have enough prey for the tigers.

For now "the situation is at an impasse", added the BBC. It's unclear whether Oli's "tiger diplomacy" will gain traction, or who is in fact to blame for the increased attacks – man or beast. But what is clear is that "humans and tigers are struggling to achieve peaceful coexistence".

 
 
on this day

20 January 1841

China ceded Hong Kong to the British during the First Opium War and the colony remained under British rule until 1997, save for a four-year period during the Second World War when it was occupied by Japan. Today Hong Kong is technically governed by the principle of "one country, two systems", under which China agreed to give the region a high degree of autonomy, though its independence has steadily diminished in recent years.

 
 
Today's newspapers

Most papers lead this morning on the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the first hostages and prisoners, including British-Israeli Emily Damari who is now "smiling with her mother", the Daily Mirror says. The Times looks at the start of Donald Trump's second term. The US president is putting "tariffs and TikTok at the top of his agenda". Meanwhile, The Telegraph features a story on how ADHD "sickfluencers" are helping people claim up to £69,000 in benefits.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Sweet silence

Noisy nightclubbers in Leeds are to be given lollipops in a bid to keep them quiet following complaints from people living in a nearby block of flats. The sweets will be handed out to the guests of Home and Carousel, a city centre venue, after it was given permission to stay open later. "As daft as it sounds, people tend to become quiet when they have something in their mouth," the nightclub's manager David Nejrup told the BBC.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Sorcha Bradley, Jamie Timson, Ross Couzens, and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: GPO / Handout / Anadolu / Getty Images; Daniel Lai / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Images; Jacek Boczarski / Anadolu / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.