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In the foothills of the Himalayas is Shimla – once the summer capital of the British Raj, known as the Queen of the Hills.

Shimla proudly sits 2,200m (7,200ft) in the mountains. But the Queen is crumbling – and she’s a warning shot to the rest of the planet.

It comes as India’s leader, Narendra Modi, kicks off G20 with climate change at the top of the agenda.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves after attending the East Asia Summit at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)
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Narendra Modi leaves attends a summit on Thursday

The prime minister recently called on countries to match his ambitions with action on climate finance and the transfer of technology.

Mr Modi has vowed to make India, the world’s fourth-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, net-zero by 2070.

He is seen as serious about climate change, without compromising India’s economic potential.

But his country has some serious challenges to overcome.

That’s painfully apparent In Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

Heavy rainfall and cloudbursts have swept rivers into towns, with roads and bridges washed away.

The torrent of extreme weather in Shimla wiped out an entire congregation.

In the foothills of the Himalayas, is Shimla, once the summer capital of the British Raj, known as the Queen of the Hills.
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Shimla, in the foothills of the Himalayas

Worshippers were praying at the Shiv temple in the early morning on 14 August when a landslide completely engulfed them.

Worshippers were praying at the Shiv temple in the early morning on 14 August when a landslide completely engulfed them.

It killed 20 people and wiped out three generations of one family.

I meet Jagdish Takur staring forlornly at the trail of destruction left behind.

He lost his nephew in the disaster, but it took 11 days to find his body under the mass of mud.

He’s just had his last rites read.

Jagdish Takur lost his nephew in the disaster, but it took 11 days to find his body under the mass of mud.
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Jagdish Takur lost his nephew in the disaster

“Emotionally, it’s been very sad for us,” Jagdish tells me.

“The bodies were buried and thrown down into the valley. Nothing will replace them. One family lost seven people.”

It was rapid and brutal, but Parvati Thakur was one of the few who miraculously made it out.

She now hobbles up the steep steps of the hillside after injuring her foot.

“I heard a loud noise like lightning,” she tells me.

“I looked out and the whole roof had collapsed, and the temple was moving. We were so stunned, we didn’t even scream. I saw the temple being destroyed within a few seconds.”

This is not a simple story of Mother Nature though.

Worshippers were praying at the Shiv temple in the early morning on 14 August when a landslide completely engulfed them.
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Worshippers were praying at the Shiv temple when the landslide struck

Environmentalist and former deputy mayor, Tikender Singh Panwar, says what’s happening in Shimla is “the planned destruction of the Himalayas”.

A few minutes’ drive through the winding roads, you can see the pain that progress has brought to these peaks.

Hotels and highways have cropped out at a rapid rate to accommodate tourists critical to the economy.

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About 200,000 people live here, but it welcomes up to six million visitors every year.

The roads are packed – but critics say developments have been unregulated and unethical – many built with concrete that easily cracks, not the wood and local stone of old.

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Moment landslide crushes buildings in India

But there is no single culprit, and climate change has played a major role in the threat to this majestic and ecologically fragile place.

Monsoons are more erratic and unpredictable, and climate experts say reducing carbon dioxide is critical to minimising risk.

That’s a burden we all shoulder. Shimla is still captivating, but it has unique demands and qualities to consider. It needs saving and help from way beyond its own valleys.

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Three Israeli hostages returned and 90 Palestinian detainees released as part of ceasefire deal

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Three Israeli hostages returned and 90 Palestinian detainees released as part of ceasefire deal

Three Israeli hostages have been reunited with their families, while 90 Palestinian prisoners were released in return in a ceasefire deal that has put an end, for now, to 15 months of bitter war in Gaza.

Amid a chaotic crowd in Gaza, the Israeli hostages were handed by masked, armed gunmen to the Red Cross on Sunday, before being transferred to the Israeli military and then entering southern Israel.

All three were in a stable condition, Sheba Medical Center said, and authorities released footage of them fiercely hugging their families and sobbing.

“An entire nation embraces you,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, three hostages who have been 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 Gaza Strip, in this still image taken from a video, January 19, 2025. Pic: Hamas Military Wing via Reuters
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The three women were pictured smiling in a Hamas photo shortly before their release. Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, Palestinian families welcomed the 90 prisoners freed by Israel early on Monday morning, with crowds gathering to celebrate with the first bus of detainees in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

All are from the occupied West Bank or East Jerusalem. The youngest is a 15-year-old boy from East Jerusalem. Two 17-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were also named.

Israel had detained them for what it said were offences related to Israel’s security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.

People gather around a bus carrying freed Palestinian prisoners after their release from an Israeli jail as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, outside the Israeli military prison, Ofer, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Pic: Reuters

One of the three hostages released by Hamas was 28-year-old British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was shot in the hand and taken to Gaza during the 7 October attack that sparked the war in 2023.

The other two hostages freed on Sunday were 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, abducted from the same Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel as Ms Damari, and Romi Gonen, 24, who was taken from the Supernova music festival.

Emily Damari, 28yo British-Israeli woman; Doron Steinbrecher, 31; Romi Gonen, 24
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(Clockwise) Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen

Released Israeli hostage Doron Steinbrecher embraces her mother, Simona, after being held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack by Hamas, in this?handout?image obtained by Reuters on January 19, 2025. Pic: IDF/Reuters
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Doron Steinbrecher hugged her mother, Simona, upon reuniting in Israel. Pic: IDF/Reuters

Emily Damari’s mother, Mandy Damari, thanked “everyone who never stopped fighting for Emily throughout this horrendous ordeal”.

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Released Israeli hostages reunite with families

Relief and grief in ravaged Gaza

In Gaza, Palestinians have been both celebrating the relief from the bombing and grieving the loss of loved ones and livelihoods.

Some started the trek back through the rubble to what is left of their bombed-out homes, hoping to pick up any pieces of their lives.

A drone view shows houses and buidings lying in ruins, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Al-Basos TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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At least two thirds of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Pic: Reuters

“I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again,” said a woman from Gaza City, who had been sheltering in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, for over a year.

A man throws a child into the air as displaced Palestinians celebrate at a tent camp following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025. Pic: Reuters
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Gazans were both celebrating the end to the bombing and mourning the loss of killed loved ones and homes they’d found destroyed. Pic: Reuters

Ceasefire arrived after last minute delay

The long-sought ceasefire for Gaza was delayed before it eventually took effect at 11.15am local time on Sunday (9.15am UK time).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire, which had been due to start at 6.30am, would not begin until Israel received the names of the three hostages to be released.

After receiving the list, his office confirmed in a statement the ceasefire had started.

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What happens on day one of the Gaza ceasefire?

Hamas blamed the delay on “technical field reasons”, during which time Israel continued to launch military strikes on Gaza, killing a further 13 people, and injuring dozens, the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.

The Israeli military said it struck “terror targets”.

Medics reported tanks firing at the Zeitoun area in Gaza City, and said an airstrike and tank fire also hit the northern town of Beit Hanoun, sending residents who had returned there in anticipation of the ceasefire fleeing.

Smoke rises after an explosion in northern Gaza as the ceasefire is delayed. Pic: Reuters
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An explosion in northern Gaza as the ceasefire was delayed. Pic: Reuters

Sky’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said he understood these technical issues may have been related to Hamas’s difficulties passing messages between its leadership in Gaza. It has long avoided using mobile phones to prevent detection by the Israeli military.

“Many in Israel will naturally blame Hamas for playing games,” Bunkall said.

“The mediating teams knew the ceasefire would be shaky, they knew that there would be bumps in the road and have encouraged both Israel and Hamas to remain calm as any difficulties are worked through.”

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As the fragile ceasefire started, Israeli forces started withdrawing from parts of Gaza, allowing thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin the journey back to their battered homes.

Two-thirds of all structures in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or obliterated, the United Nations Satellite Centre found back in September.

Weary residents returning to Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza found their homes reduced to rubble.

A Palestinian woman reacts as she returns to her destroyed house, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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A Palestinian woman returns to what is left of her home in Jabalia. Pic: Reuters


Displaced Palestinians make their way past rubble, as they attempt to return to their homes, following a delay in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the hostage list, in the northern Gaza Strip January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ramzi
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Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced since the start of the war. Pic: Reuters

A deal hard-won

The deal was agreed by Israel’s cabinet on Friday night after a breakthrough in negotiations – mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt – was announced on Wednesday.

Its first stage will last six weeks, during which 33 of the remaining 94 hostages – women, children, men over 50, the ill and wounded – will be released in return for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The Palestinians to be set free include 737 male, female and teenage prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.

The pause in fighting is also supposed to enable humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory. The UN World Food Program said trucks started entering through two crossings on Sunday.

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Rafah: Gazans return home

470 days of war

The war began after Hamas militants rampaged into Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted another 250 on 7 October 2023.

Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but say women and children make up more than half the dead.

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Australian broadcaster apologises to Novak Djokovic after ‘has-been’ comments

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Australian broadcaster apologises to Novak Djokovic after 'has-been' comments

An Australian broadcaster has apologised to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans after calling the 24-time Grand Slam champion “overrated” and a “has-been”.

Djokovic, 37, refused to give a customary post-match interview to Channel Nine anchor Jim Courier after beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open on Sunday.

He said in a press conference his annoyance was not directed at the crowd but another Channel Nine presenter, Tony Jones, who allegedly mocked a group of chanting fans on Friday by singing: “Novak is overrated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak kick him out.”

The tennis star said that he also spoke to Craig Tiley, the head of Tennis Australia, telling him he would accept a fine for him not giving the interview, if the body decided to issue one.

Not referring to Mr Jones by name, Djokovic later posted on X on Sunday to say the comments “made a mockery of Serbian fans” and were “insulting and offensive” towards him.

He said he hoped for a public apology and that he would continue to avoid speaking to Mr Jones and the Nine Network until “something is done”.

Appearing on the Today programme on Monday, Mr Jones offered that apology, saying he meant the comments as “banter”.

Television presenter Tony Jones during a live cross at Melbourne Park venue for the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
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Channel Nine presenter Tony Jones said his comments were ‘banter’. Pic: AP/Mark Baker

“I considered it to be humour, which is consistent with most things I do,” he said. “Having said that, I was made aware … that the Djokovic camp was not happy at all with those comments.

“I immediately contacted the Djokovic camp and issued an apology to them. And as I stand here now, I stand by that apology to Novak.”

He also said he felt he had “let down the Serbian fans”.

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 19, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic shakes hands with Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka after winning his fourth round match REUTERS/Edgar Su
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Djokovic and Jiri Lehecka shake hands after Sunday’s match. Pic: Reuters/Edgar Su

He said the one comment he particularly regretted was “kick him out”, which he accepted could only be construed as a reference to Djokovic’s deportation from Australia in a row over his Covid vaccination status in early 2022, Sky Sports News reported.

Australia’s Nine Network also issued a statement Monday and apologised to Djokovic “for any offence caused from comments made during a recent live cross”.

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It said: “No harm was intended towards Novak or his fans. We look forward to further showcasing his Australian Open campaign at Melbourne Park.”

Djokovic is scheduled to play no 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

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Ceasefire deal: Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding after mass destruction

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Ceasefire deal: Gaza faces huge task of rebuilding after mass destruction

With the ceasefire now in effect, it hopes to bring an end to the most destructive chapter in the almost 77 year-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Gaza’s Hamas-led government estimates that 14 in every 15 homes have been damaged, with five destroyed.

The destruction has left the Gaza Strip littered with an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris, the equivalent of 180 Wembley stadiums.

The UN estimates that 69% of buildings have been damaged, with one in four (24%) totally destroyed.

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Satellite images from northern Gaza capture the extent of the destruction.

Less than one kilometre west of the Indonesian Hospital, one of North Gaza’s main hospitals, entire residential neighbourhoods have been destroyed.

Alongside the destruction of physical infrastructure, tank trails, and sand fortifications indicate the current large-scale presence of the military in the north.

What does the future hold for Gaza?

The ceasefire came into force on Sunday morning after a delay. Under the terms of the deal, Israeli forces will be required to withdraw from their current positions to within 700 metres of the Gaza border.

The most immediate consequence is likely to be a rush of Palestinians returning to their homes. An estimated 1.9 million Gaza residents have been displaced since the war began – 90% of the population.

Many of them are sheltering in vast tent cities along Gaza’s shoreline, following Israel’s orders for them to flee to what it calls the Al Mawasi “humanitarian zone”.

The largest displacement took place on the sixth day of the war, when Israel gave all residents of the northern half of Gaza just six hours to flee southwards.

The ceasefire agreement stipulates that residents will be permitted to return to the north from the seventh day of the ceasefire, Sunday 26 January.

Yet it is unclear if the region can cope with an influx of returnees, especially the area to the north of Gaza City.

Displaced Palestinians walk past the rubble as they attempt to return to their homes, following a delay in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the hostage list, in the northern Gaza Strip, January 19, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Displaced Palestinians trying to return to their homes. Pic: Reuters

An estimated 70% of buildings in this region have been damaged or destroyed, and there is currently only one operational hospital.

The ceasefire agreement anticipates a mass exodus of people returning to the north, requiring that half of all aid be sent there.

The agreement stipulates that 600 aid trucks must be allowed to enter Gaza every day – a nine-fold increase on the month to 13 January, which saw an average of just 67 trucks enter per day.

Many agencies have a backlog of trucks filled with humanitarian aid ready to be transported into Gaza, but the extent of the damage makes prioritising a challenge.

Trucks carrying aid line up near the Rafah border waiting to cross into the Gaza Strip.
Pic Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Damage to water and sanitation facilities, for example, is extensive. Before the war, 80% of water production came from groundwater wells – aid agencies estimate that only 8% of those wells in North Gaza are now accessible.

The only seawater desalination plant in the North, which was a key source of drinking water, was destroyed in the fighting.

Even if water sources can be repaired, the infrastructure distributing it has been badly damaged. According to the WASH Cluster, a group of aid agencies, damage to pipelines in Gaza means that 70% of water sent through them is currently leaking out.

Healthcare infrastructure is also heavily damaged. According to the World Health Organisation, half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are out of service. The other half are only partially functioning, a result of shortages of medical supplies, fuel and personnel.

While homes and infrastructure can be rebuilt, the lives lost in this devastating conflict will continue to weigh heavily on both Israeli and Palestinian society.

1,195 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack which sparked the war in 2023, according to Israeli authorities, including 815 civilians.

The Palestinian militant group and its allies took a further 251 people, including women and children, back to the Gaza Strip as hostages.

Israel responded with a devastating air and ground offensive that Palestinian authorities say has killed at least 46,788 people, and injured a further 110,453.

People mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes. Pic: Reuters
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People mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes. Pic: Reuters


That means one in every 14 Palestinians in Gaza has been killed or wounded since the war began.

Those figures are from Gaza’s health ministry, which is part of the territory’s Hamas-led government.

They don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but only around 41% of reported fatalities are military-age males – the rest being women, children and elderly people.

Health officials say 1,410 families have been “completely wiped out”, and a further 3,463 left with one surviving member. At least 35,055 children have lost a parent.


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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