Israel and Hezbollah in major missile exchange as escalation fears grow Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare. Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant blast lit the horizon, while smoke rose over houses in Khiam in southern Lebanon. On Sunday evening, sirens sounded in Rishon Letsiyon,…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian attacks on Ukraine kill 4, injure 37 Russia launched attacks on northern, eastern and southern Ukraine, killing at least four people and injuring 37, Ukrainian military and local authorities said on Sunday. Overnight attacks targeted Ukraine's frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine's air force said on the Telegram messaging app. Russia has been pummelling Ukrainian border regions with strikes, and Kyiv said its surprise incursion earlier this month into Russia's Kursk regionaimed to hinder Moscow's ability to stage such attacks. "Most of the missiles did not reach their targets," the air force said, adding…

Gaza ceasefire talks resume in Cairo, with no sign of progress Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiators discussed new compromise proposals in Cairo on Saturday, seeking to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas, but there was no indication of progress after hours of talks. "The talks in Cairo didn’t make any progress. Israel is insisting to keep eight positions along the Philadelphi corridor," one Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject. The Cairo talks came as the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated, with malnutrition soaring and polio…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Zelenskiy touts new 'drone missile', calls Putin 'sick old man' President Volodymyr Zelenskiy touted a newly developed Ukrainian "drone missile" on Saturday that he said would take the war back to Russia and scornfully derided Russia's Vladimir Putin as a "sick old man from Red Square". As Ukraine marked 33 years of post-Soviet independence, Zelenskiy said the new weapon, Palianytsia, was faster and more powerful than the domestically made drones that Kyiv has so far used to fight back against Russia, striking its oil refineries and military airfields. "Our enemy will ... know what the Ukrainian way for…