Mr Netanyahu needed to close a running sore for Israelis; Hamas needed a victory for its people and to score points over its rival, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who's often asked Israel to release prisoners without success. The prisoner deal does not touch the big issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians. This was a transaction between Israel and Hamas. It doesn't bring a wider peace deal closer.

An official investigation into the conduct of the former British Defence Minister Liam Fox, who resigned at the weekend, has concluded that he broke the ministerial code. The report by the head of the civil service said there was a clear conflict of interest in his relationship with his close friend Adam Werritty. Doctor Fox stepped down after days of controversy over his ties to Mr Werritty, who has no official role but attended defence ministry meetings.

Police in the US city of Philadelphia say they have arrested three people who imprisoned three men and a woman with mental disabilities in a small and squalid basement room, and collected their social security cheques. The four victims were found malnourished and suffering from bedsores. At least one man was chained to a radiator.

World News from the BBC

The BBC has learnt that the president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, is to call for the release of court documents which could reveal that senior officials at football's world governing body were paid bribes in return for granting television and sponsorship rights during the 1990s. The documents relate to a criminal investigation into the collapse of Fifa's former marketing partner, International Sport and Leisure.