WARS
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…
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 04:51
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.…
Friday, 15 November 2024 04:49
What to know after Day 995 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine is now struggling to cling on, not to win “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…
Thursday, 14 November 2024 04:44
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 405
Israel presses airstrikes as Beirut awaits truce ideas Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, as Lebanon waited to hear Washington's latest ceasefire proposals after a U.S. official expressed hope a truce could be reached. More than seven weeks since Israel went on the offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah, mid-morning airstrikes levelled half a dozen buildings in the Beirut suburb known as Dahiyeh and killed eight people in Dawhit Aramoun, a village south of the capital. The dead included three women and three children, Lebanon's health ministry said. "They used to hit Dahiyeh at…
Thursday, 14 November 2024 04:43
What to know after Day 994 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine could have nuclear weapon in months – report Ukraine could feasibly raid the country’s nuclear reactors to develop crude atomic weapons if the US cuts off military aid, a briefing paper prepared for the Ministry of Defense has advised. The Times reported on Wednesday that its authors at the National Institute for Strategic Studies believe “creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later.” Published by the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, the report claims that “creating a…
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Wednesday, 13 November 2024 04:38
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 404
Israeli strikes pound Lebanon, Hezbollah strikes back The Israeli military pounded Beirut's southern suburbs with airstrikes on Tuesday, mounting one of its heaviest daytime attacks yet on the Hezbollah-controlled area, and struck the middle of the country where more than 20 people were killed. Smoke billowed over Beirut as around a dozen strikes hit the southern suburbs starting in midmorning. After posting warnings to civilians on social media, the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut's Dahiyeh area and later said it dismantled most of the group's weapons and missile facilities. Israel said it had taken steps to…
Wednesday, 13 November 2024 04:37
What to know after Day 993 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE North Korea ratifies mutual defence treaty with Russia North Korea has ratified a mutual defence treaty with Russia signed by the two countries' leaders in June, which calls for each side to come to the other's aid in case of an armed attack, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. The report came amid international criticismover increasing military cooperation between the two countries, with North Korea having sent tens of thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a decree to ratify the pact on Monday, KCNA said, adding…
Tuesday, 12 November 2024 04:37
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 403
Israel sees progress in Lebanon ceasefire talks, says Russia can help Israel said on Monday there was progress in talks about a Lebanon ceasefire and indicated Russia could play a part by stopping Hezbollah rearming via Syria, although the Iran-backed group said it had not received any new truce proposals. Pummelled by Israel's offensive, Hezbollah said political contacts were under way involving its backers in Tehran, Washington and Moscow, while also saying it had enough weapons for a "long war" and keeping up rocket fire into Israel. Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said its war against Hezbollah was not yet…
Tuesday, 12 November 2024 04:36
What to know after Day 992 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine battles to shape 'starting positions' for any war talks after Trump return As Donald Trump's election win brings the prospect of talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine closer, Kyiv is battling to put itself in the strongest position for any negotiations, including by securing more arms and holding out on the battlefield. A senior Ukrainian official said the next four to five months would be pivotal, signalling how Trump's return to the White House is focusing minds in Kyiv on a possible end game in the war. Trump, who will be sworn in as U.S. president…