While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 5, 2025

In the undated video, 19-year-old soldier Liri Albag called in Hebrew for the Israeli government to secure her release. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED Jan 05, 2025, 08:44 AM

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Hamas armed wing releases video of Gaza hostage

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, released a video on Jan 4 of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza since its October 2023 attack.

In the undated, three-and-a-half-minute video recording that AFP has not been able to verify, 19-year-old soldier Liri Albag called in Hebrew for the Israeli government to secure her release.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a campaign group for relatives of those abducted, said Albag’s family has not authorised publication of the video.

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Cartoonist quits Washington Post over rejected sketch mocking owner, Trump

An award-winning political cartoonist for The Washington Post has announced her resignation after a cartoon depicting the newspaper’s billionaire owner groveling before Donald Trump was rejected.

Ann Telnaes posted on Substack late Jan 3 that this was the first time she “had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at.”

The cartoon – which she included in her post – depicts Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, as well as Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and other media and tech moguls, kneeling and holding up bags of money before a massive Trump.

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UBS investigates undisclosed Nazi-linked accounts at Credit Suisse

Swiss bank UBS is working with an independent ombudsman to shed light on Nazi-linked accounts, it said on Jan 4, after the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported some accounts at collapsed bank Credit Suisse, which UBS bought in 2023, had not been disclosed in earlier investigations.

The Journal cited a December 2024 letter from the ombudsman to the US Senate which said his probe had uncovered a cache of client files marked “American blacklist,” a designation for those trading with Nazi-affiliated entities, and revealed signs of a cover-up during past reviews.

UBS said it was working with the independent ombudsman, Neil Barofsky, a former US prosecutor who had previously been engaged by Credit Suisse to look into the issue, to lead a review aimed at addressing the legacy of Nazi-linked accounts held at predecessor banks of Credit Suisse.

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Austrian chancellor quits as coalition talks collapse

Talks between Austria’s two main centrist parties on forming a coalition government without the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) collapsed on Jan 4, prompting conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer to announce he would step down.

A day earlier a third party, the liberal Neos, walked away from the talks, blaming the other parties for failing to take the bold and decisive action it said it had called for.

“I will stand down as chancellor and as leader of the People’s Party in the coming days and enable an orderly transition,” Nehammer said in a video statement on X, after talks with the Social Democrats (SPO).

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Arsenal held to 1-1 draw by brave Brighton

Arsenal squandered the chance to exert some pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool when they drew 1-1 away at Brighton & Hove Albion, while Chelsea’s challenge continued to falter as they also dropped points at Crystal Palace on Jan 4.

Liverpool kick off their new year on Sunday at home to Manchester United when they have the chance to move eight points clear of their pursuers with a game in hand.

Reigning champions Manchester City began their year with a second successive victory as something like normal service resumed for Pep Guardiola’s side and Newcastle United closed on the top four with a narrow victory at Tottenham Hotspur.

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