Israel-Gaza war This article is more than 1 month oldFootage shows IDF parading scores of Palestinian men around in underwearThis article is more than 1 month oldIsraeli media claimed images show Hamas fighters but several civilians have been identified including a journalist Israel-Gaza war – live updates The International Committee of the Red Cross has said it is concerned by images of semi-naked Palestinian men being paraded by the Israeli military in Gaza, adding that all of those detained must be treated in keeping with international humanitarian law.

From the Guardian archiveCapital punishmentFrom the archive, 16 October 1976: Texas prison to switch 'Old Sparky' back onBehind the infamous electric chair there are rooms that hold the generators, the rheostat, the telephone for last-minute messages, and two thick iron levers Huntsville, Texas, October 15 The staff at the Texas State Prison at Huntsville have just tested their 52-year-old electric chair, Old Sparky, and, to their obvious delight, have found it works perfectly.

MoviesReviewThis film about Misha Defonseca, author of a ‘memoir’ about escaping the Nazis and sheltering with wolves as a child, is propulsively watchable “Sometimes a story is so astonishing it’s unbelievable.” So said a Massachusetts radio presenter in the 90s, introducing Misha Defonseca, a local Jewish woman originally from Belgium. As a child in the war, Defonseca walked hundreds of miles across Nazi-occupied Germany to find her parents. She was one of Belgium’s “hidden children”, taken in by a Catholic family, her identity erased.

Higher educationResearchers find the real face of Father ChristmasChildren expecting the ruddy cheeked, blue-eyed, elderly Father Christmas to pop down their chimneys on December 25 are being misled. According to new research, Saint Nicholas did once exist, but he was short, olive-skinned and had a broken nose. Using forensic technology more often used to reconstruct a facial image from rotting remains, scientists have pieced together an image of Saint Nicholas that owes more to his 4th century Turkish roots and bruiser lifestyle than the 20th century Coca-Cola advert, which introduced the red suit.

The ObserverPsychologyThe idea of summoning the spirits took thrilling hold of the Victorian imagination – and has its adherents now. But the psychology behind spiritualism is more intriguingAs the evenings get darker and the first hint of winter hangs in the air, the western world enters the season of the dead. It begins with Halloween, continues with All Saints' and All Souls' days, runs through Bonfire Night – the evening where the English burn effigies of historical terrorists – and ends with Remembrance Day.