WARS
Thursday, 19 September 2024 04:46
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 349
Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict Hand-held radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon's south in the country's deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and Israel nearly a year ago, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group's pagers the day before. Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed and more than 450 injured on Wednesday in Beirut's suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from Tuesday's explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured. Israeli officials have not commented on…
Thursday, 19 September 2024 04:43
What to know after Day 938 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukrainian drone attack triggers earthquake-sized blast at arsenal in Russia's Tver region A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered an earthquake-sized blast at a major arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of a nearby town, war bloggers and some media reported. Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame blasting into the night sky and multiple detonations thundering across a lake about 380 km (240 miles) west of Moscow. NASA satellites picked up intense heat sources emanating from an area of about 14 square kilometres (5 square miles)…
Wednesday, 18 September 2024 04:43
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 348
Israel planted explosives in 5,000 Hezbollah's pagers, say sources Israel's Mossad spy agency planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers imported by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday's detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters. The operation was an unprecedented Hezbollah security breach that saw thousands of pagers detonate across Lebanon, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000 others, including the group's fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut. The Lebanese security source said the pagers were from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company said it did not manufacture the devices, but were made by a European firm with…
Wednesday, 18 September 2024 04:43
What to know after Day 937 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia strikes energy facilities in Ukraine's Sumy region, authorities say Russia fired missiles at energy infrastructure in the northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday hours after an overnight drone strike on the region, reducing power in some areas and forcing authorities to use back-up power systems. The Sumy region's governor, Volodymyr Artiukh, citing an initial assessment, said Russia had used at least four missiles in the latest attack on energy facilities. Ukraine's energy ministry said Russia's attacks had caused a fire at a power substation and cut power to more than 281,000 consumers. Power was later partially…
Tuesday, 17 September 2024 04:44
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 347
Returning residents to north Israel now a war goal, Netanyahu says Israel on Tuesday expanded its stated goals of the war in Gaza to include enabling residents to return to communities in northern Israel that have been evacuated due to attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The decision was approved during an overnight meeting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, Netanyahu's office said. Hamas' Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel sparked the war in Gaza. Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel a day later and fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border has since escalated, threatening to ignite a regional…
Tuesday, 17 September 2024 04:43
What to know after Day 936 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Putin orders increase in size of Russian military President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that officially increases the number of personnel in Russia’s armed forces to almost 2.4 million people, including 1.5 million servicemen. The latest increase comes after a similar decree in December 2023, when the president boosted the number of employees in the Russian military to just over 2.2 million, including 1.3 million troops. In his order on Monday, Putin also instructed the Russian government to allocate the necessary funds for the Defense Ministry to carry out the increase, which formally takes the number of…
Monday, 16 September 2024 04:28
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 346
Houthi missile reaches central Israel for first time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a "heavy price" on the Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen, after they reached central Israel with a missile on Sunday for the first time. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that travelled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just 11 1/2 minutes. An Israeli military official said the missile was hit by an interceptor and fragmented in the air, rather than being completely destroyed. Air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and across central…
Monday, 16 September 2024 04:27
What to know after Day 935 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine suffering high losses due to slow arms supplies, says Zelenskiy Ukrainian troops are suffering high losses because Western arms are arriving too slowly to equip the armed forces properly, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN in an interview aired on Sunday. Russia has been gaining ground in parts of eastern Ukraine including around Pokrovsk. Capture of the transport hub could enable Moscow to open new lines of attack. Zelenskiy said the situation in the east was "very tough", adding that half of Ukraine's brigades there were not equipped. "So you lose a lot of people. You lose people…
Sunday, 15 September 2024 04:48
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 345
Hamas leader sends letters from hiding after almost a year of silence Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has written a rare letter to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, according to the Lebanese militant group, in which he reaffirms his commitment to fighting Israel and supporting the Iran-backed alliance of regional militants known as the “Axis of Resistance.” Sinwar, Hamas’ political leader who is believed to be hiding underground in Gaza, told Nasrallah that the group is committed to the path of resistance taken by his slain predecessor Ismail Haniyeh and to the “unity of the Ummah (Islamic nation), at the heart of…
Sunday, 15 September 2024 04:48
What to know after Day 934 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia had reason to use nukes, but showed restraint – Medvedev Throughout the Ukraine conflict, Russia has had ample reason to use nuclear weapons, but has so far exercised restraint, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said. He warned, however, that Moscow’s patience is not limitless, suggesting that Russia could respond harshly if Western nations allow Kiev to use the missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. Kiev has been demanding that these limitations be lifted since at least May. Several media outlets have recently alleged that Washington and London…
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Saturday, 14 September 2024 04:40
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 344
In gym salvaged from rubble, Gazans release anger on weight machines Israeli air strikes destroyed the building housing Adli al-Assar's gym in Khan Younis in February. So he decided he doesn't need a building. "I went to the area and dug with my own hands, along with the help of my children and friends, until we were able to retrieve some of the equipment," he explained. Now, his reopened gym is crammed with salvaged weightlifting machines on an empty patch of ground surrounded by a corrugated fence, where dozens of Gazans were pumping iron under the open sky. For displaced…
Saturday, 14 September 2024 04:39
What to know after Day 933 of Russia-Ukraine war
US officials question if easing Ukraine weapons restrictions would pay off As the U.S. and Britain discuss allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike deep within Russia, some U.S. officials are deeply skeptical that doing so would make a significant difference in Kyiv's battle against Russian invaders. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Washington on Friday to discuss with U.S. President Joe Biden whether to give Ukraine approval to use NATO-supplied weapons to hit targets far beyond Ukraine's borders, something the U.S. administration has so far not been willing to allow in the 2-1/2-year-old conflict. U.S. officials noted…
Friday, 13 September 2024 04:47
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 343
Israel names Hamas gunmen it says were targeted in strike that killed UNRWA staff The Israeli military on Thursday named nine men it said were Hamas militants killed in Gaza airstrikes that the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said had left six of its staffers dead. The military said three of the Hamas men had doubled as UNRWA workers. Reuters was unable to independently verify their identities. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. UNRWA said six staffers were killed in two airstrikes that hit a school in central Gaza on Wednesday, the highest death toll among its staff in…
Friday, 13 September 2024 04:46
What to know after Day 932 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Putin issues new warning to NATO Removing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons would directly involve the US and its allies in the conflict with Russia and would be met with an appropriate response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned. The West has sent Ukraine long-range missiles such as Storm Shadows and ATACMS, which Kiev has so far used against Crimea and Donbass. In the past several days, however, the US and UK have suggested they might allow these weapons to be used to strike targets deeper into internationally recognized Russian territory. “We are not talking about…