WARS
Thursday, 21 November 2024 04:36
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 412
Hamas: No hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless Gaza war ends Hamas' acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended. "Without an end to the war, there can be no prisoner swap," Hayya said in a televised interview with the group's Al-Aqsa television channel, reiterating the group's position on how to bring the war to an end. "If the aggression is not ended, why would the resistance and in particular Hamas, return the prisoners (hostages)?" he said. "How would…
Thursday, 21 November 2024 04:35
What to know after Day 1001 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE US reopens Kyiv embassy after Ukraine firing of ATACMS missiles into Russia prompted potential strike threat The United States said it had reopened its embassy in Kyiv late on Wednesday after it had shut for the day due to what it called the threat of a significant air attack, a day after Ukraine used American missiles to hit a target inside Russia. Russia had described the strike by U.S. missiles as an escalation in the 1,000-day-old war, while Ukraine's military spy agency said Russia was trying to sow panic by circulating fake online messages about a looming missile…
Wednesday, 20 November 2024 04:44
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 411
Netanyahu, in Gaza, says Hamas will no longer rule enclave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to Gaza on Tuesday that Hamas would not rule the Palestinian enclave after the war had ended and that Israel had destroyed the Islamist group's military capabilities. Netanyahu also said Israel had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the enclave and he offered a $5 million reward for the return of each one. "Anyone who dares to harm our hostages will have blood on their head. We will hunt you down and…
Wednesday, 20 November 2024 04:43
What to know after Day 1000 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine hits Russia with US ATACMS missiles for first time on war's 1,000th day Ukraine used U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on the war's 1,000th day. Russia said its forces shot down five of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. Debris of one hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said. Ukraine said it struck a Russian arms depot about 110 km (70…
Tuesday, 19 November 2024 04:36
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 410
Lebanon, Hezbollah agree to US proposal for ceasefire with Israel, Lebanese official says Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, a top Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday, describing the effort as the most serious yet to end the fighting. Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon had delivered its written response to the U.S. ambassador in Lebanon on Monday, and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was travelling to Beirut to continue talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Hezbollah, a…
Tuesday, 19 November 2024 04:35
What to know after Day 999 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE What long-range missile strikes in Russia could mean for Ukraine war The U.S. decision to authorise long-range Ukrainian strikes could help Kyiv defend the foothold in Russia's Kursk region that it seized as leverage in any war talks, but may come too late to change the course of the war, analysts said. Two months before leaving office, President Joe Biden lifted some restrictions that have blocked Kyiv from using U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper into Russian territory, in a major policy change, Reuters reported on Sunday. Military analysts said the impact on the battlefield, where Ukraine has been…
Monday, 18 November 2024 04:51
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 409
Hezbollah media head killed in Israeli strike on Beirut, security sources say Lebanese armed group Hezbollah confirmed its media relations chief Mohammad Afif was killed by an Israeli strike on a building in central Beirut on Sunday. Israel has rarely hit senior Hezbollah personnel who do not have clear military roles, and its air strikes have mostly targeted Beirut's southern suburbs where the group has its heaviest presence. Israel's military, which earlier declined to comment, issued a statement late on Sunday reporting it had "eliminated" Afif. The Lebanese health ministry said the strike had killed one and injured three. A…
Monday, 18 November 2024 04:50
What to know after Day 998 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE 'Massive' Russian attack causes Ukraine blackouts A “massive” Russian missile and drone attack has targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. At least 10 people were killed in the strikes, which hit the capital, Kyiv, as well as multiple targets in several regions including Donetsk, Lviv and Odesa. Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said its thermal energy plants had suffered “significant damage”, resulting in blackouts. The country's state-owned energy operator, Ukrenergo, says it will enforce "restriction measures" for the whole of Ukraine on Monday. The co-ordinated assault overnight on Saturday was largest…
Sunday, 17 November 2024 04:16
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 408
Two flash bombs fired into garden of Netanyahu's home in north Israel Two flash bombs were fired towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in the northern Israeli town of Caesarea on Saturday and fell into the garden, police said. Neither Netanyahu nor his family were present and there was no damage reported, it added in a statement. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the incident crossed "all red lines" in a post on X early on Sunday. "It is not possible for the Prime Minister of Israel, who is threatened by Iran and its proxies who are trying to…
Sunday, 17 November 2024 04:15
What to know after Day 997 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia open to Ukraine talks based on June proposals, Putin tells Scholz Russia is open to talks to settle the conflict in Ukraine based on the proposals that were announced at the Foreign Ministry in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as they spoke by phone, the Kremlin said. "As for the prospects for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, the Russian president noted that the Russian side has never refused and remains open to the resumption of the negotiations that were interrupted by the Kiev regime," the Kremlin said in a…
More...
Saturday, 16 November 2024 05:00
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 407
Iran backs Lebanese government on ceasefire talks, advisor to Khamenei says Iran will support any decision taken by the Lebanese government and Lebanon's "resistance" in current talks on a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, Ali Larijani, senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said on Friday. "We are not looking to sabotage anything. We are after a solution to the problems," Larijani said after meeting Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Larijani, referring to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. said Iran would support the "resistance" under all circumstances. Reuters
Saturday, 16 November 2024 04:59
What to know after Day 996 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Germany's Scholz calls Putin, ending Western isolation over Ukraine Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for the first time in nearly two years as the German leader gears up for a snap election and Europe waits to hear Donald Trump's plan for ending the war in Ukraine. In a phone call that was swiftly criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Scholz urged Putin to pull his forces out of Ukraine and begin talks with Kyiv that would open the way for a "just and lasting peace", the German government said. The Kremlin said…
Friday, 15 November 2024 04:52
Ukraine is now struggling to cling on, not to win - The Economist
“After 970 days of war,” said Lloyd Austin, America’s defence secretary, visiting Kyiv on October 21st, “Putin has not achieved one single strategic objective.” And Mr Austin offered confidence: “Moscow will never prevail in Ukraine.” In private, however, his colleagues in the Pentagon, Western officials and many Ukrainian commanders are increasingly worried about the direction of the war and Ukraine’s ability to hold back Russian advances over the next six months. Ukrainian forces have managed to hold on to Pokrovsk, an embattled town in the eastern Donbas region—an embarrassment for Mr Putin. But elsewhere along the front, Russia is slicing…
Friday, 15 November 2024 04:51
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 406
Lebanese ceasefire efforts inch ahead as Israel keeps up fierce bombardment Diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire in Lebanon showed tentative signs of progress on Thursday as Israel pounded its northern neighbour including heavy airstrikes on the stronghold of armed group Hezbollah near Beirut. Pressing its offensive against the Iran-backed group, Israel hit Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, carrying out intense attacks there for a third consecutive day. Plumes of smoke rose over the suburbs known as Dahiyeh, where Israeli strikes destroyed five buildings, sources familiar with the damage said. “We say God help us," said Ayat, a 33-year-old Lebanese woman.…