WARS
Wednesday, 10 January 2024 04:35
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 96
Blinken presses Israel on Gaza’s postwar future as Lebanon border clashes escalate U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in Tel Aviv and, after meeting with top leaders Tuesday, said Israel must do more to lessen the Gaza war’s toll on civilians and said Washington rejects any proposal for settling Palestinians outside the territory. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent days as the Israeli offensive’s focus shifts to the southern city of Khan Younis and built-up refugee camps in the central Gaza. The entire 2.3 million population is also in a food crisis, with 576,000 people at…
Wednesday, 10 January 2024 04:33
What to know after Day 685 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Ukrainian air defenses depleted by Russian strikes Kiev’s air defense arsenal has been depleted as the country tries to shoot down increasing barrages of Russian missiles and drones, a Ukrainian Air Force official has acknowledged. “Intense Russian air attacks force us to use a corresponding amount of air defense means,” Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said on Tuesday in a Ukrainian television interview. “That’s why we need more of them, as Russia keeps increasing its attack capabilities.” Moscow’s forces have ramped up airstrikes in the past two weeks, launching hundreds of missiles and drones targeting weapons plants and…
Tuesday, 09 January 2024 04:45
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 95
Israeli strike kills an elite Hezbollah commander in the latest escalation linked to the war in Gaza An Israeli airstrike killed an elite Hezbollah commander Monday in southern Lebanon, the latest in an escalating exchange of strikes across the border that have raised fears of another Mideast war even as the fighting in Gaza exacts a mounting toll on civilians. The strike on an SUV killed a commander in a secretive Hezbollah unit that operates along the border, according to a Lebanese security official who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations. The commander, Wissam al-Tawil, was a…
Tuesday, 09 January 2024 04:44
What to know after Day 684 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia conducts major strikes on key Ukrainian military-industrial sites Russia has announced that its forces have conducted a range of missile strikes targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial base. Kiev has confirmed the attacks, admitting that its air defenses failed to intercept most of the projectiles. In a statement on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had carried out “a group strike” using high-precision sea- and air-based weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The barrage, which took place in the morning, targeted military-industrial facilities, officials said, without providing details on the results of the attack. According to the Ukrainian Air Force,…
Monday, 08 January 2024 04:48
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 94
Israel says Hezbollah struck sensitive air traffic base in the north and warns of 'another war' Hezbollah has struck an air traffic control base in northern Israel, the Israeli military said Sunday, and warned of “another war” with the Iran-backed militant group The increase in fighting across the border with Lebanon as Israel battles Hamas militants in Gaza gave new urgency to U.S. diplomatic efforts as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to visit Israel on his latest Mideast tour. “This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and even more suffering,” Blinken told reporters after…
Monday, 08 January 2024 04:47
What to know after Day 683 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia shoots down two Ukrainian jets – MOD Russian forces have downed two Ukrainian warplanes in the past 24 hours, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Sunday. The ministry identified one as a Su-25 close air support plane, which it said was shot down by Russian air defense not far from Dnepropetrovsk (known as Dnepr in Ukraine), some 150km north of the frontline. The other jet was a Su-27 fighter, downed not far from Krivoy Rog, about 140km west of Dnepropetrovsk, officials added. The Russian military also said it had intercepted 14 missiles fired from US-supplied HIMARS…
Sunday, 07 January 2024 04:34
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 93
Hezbollah, Israel trade heavy cross-border fire as Blinken seeks to prevent regional escalation Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah traded fire Saturday in one of the heaviest days of cross-border fighting in recent weeks, a day after the militia’s leader urged retaliation for the targeted killing, presumably by Israel, of a top Hamas leader in Lebanon’s capital. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that if his group didn’t strike back for the killing Tuesday of Saleh Arouri, Hamas’ deputy political leader, all of Lebanon would be vulnerable to Israeli attacks. With the risk of regional escalation, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken…
Sunday, 07 January 2024 04:33
What to know after Day 682 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian missile attack kills 11 in Pokrovsk in Ukraine's east, rescue efforts continue A Russian missile strike killed 11 people and injured 10 on Saturday in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, the governor of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk region said. Five of the dead were children. A U.N. official in Ukraine expressed horror at the incident. Rescue efforts extended into the night. Pictures posted online by regional governor Vadym Filashkin showed teams sifting through piles of smouldering rubble in the dark as well as a burned-out vehicle. Filashkin told Ukrainian television that Russian forces…
Saturday, 06 January 2024 05:02
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 92
US, Europe embark on new diplomatic push to quell Gaza war U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Europe's senior diplomat Josep Borrell began a new diplomatic push on Friday to stop spillover from the Gaza war into Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Red Sea shipping lanes. Their Middle East visits came three months since Hamas militants from Gaza attacked Israel, triggering an offensive that has devastated the enclave, uprooted 90% of its population, and killed 22,600 people, according to Palestinian officials. Israel, which says it has killed 8,000 militants since the deaths of 1,200 people in the Oct. 7…
Saturday, 06 January 2024 05:01
What to know after Day 681 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine unleashes more drones and missiles at Russian areas as part of its new year strategy Russian air defenses downed dozens of Ukrainian drones in occupied Crimea and southern Russia on Friday, officials said, as Kyiv pressed its strategy of targeting the Moscow-annexed peninsula and taking the 22-month war well beyond Ukraine’s borders. Air raid sirens wailed in Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, and traffic was suspended for a second straight day on a bridge connecting the peninsula, which Moscow seized illegally a decade ago, with Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. The span is a crucial supply link…
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Friday, 05 January 2024 04:49
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 91
Israeli defense minister lays out vision for next steps of Gaza war ahead of Blinken visit Israel’s defense minister on Thursday laid out his vision for the next phase of the war in Gaza, describing how Israeli forces would shift to an apparently scaled-down “new combat approach” in northern Gaza, while continuing to fight Hamas in the south of the territory “for as long as necessary.” Ahead of a visit by the U.S. secretary of state, Yoav Gallant also outlined a proposal for how Gaza would be run once Hamas is defeated, with Israel keeping security control while an undefined,…
Friday, 05 January 2024 04:47
What to know after Day 680 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukraine says it hit two Russian military targets in occupied Crimea Ukraine said on Thursday its air force conducted a strike on a Russian command post near the occupied city of Sevastopol more than 200 km (120 miles) from Kyiv-held territory, and hit a military unit in a separate strike on the Crimean peninsula. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence units had downed a total of 36 Ukrainian drones over Crimea. Ukraine's Air Force Commander, Mykola Oleshchuk, posted a video from social media on the Telegram messaging app showing smoke rising from an explosion near Sevastopol, a…
Thursday, 04 January 2024 04:46
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 90
Israel's Mossad chief vows to hunt down Hamas members a day after senior figure killed in strike chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service vowed Wednesday that the agency would hunt down every Hamas member involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, no matter where they are. His pledge came a day after the deputy head of the Palestinian militant group was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut. Israel has refused to comment on reports it carried out the killing, but the remarks by David Barnea appeared to be the strongest indication yet it was behind the blast.…
Thursday, 04 January 2024 04:45
What to know after Day 679 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia and Ukraine stage major POW exchange after UAE mediation Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday announced their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly five months, with more than 200 freed by each side after what both said was a complex negotiation involving mediation by the United Arab Emirates. Russia's Defence Ministry said 248 military personnel had been handed over by Ukraine. Kyiv said it had brought home 230 people - 224 soldiers and six civilians - in what it said was the largest documented swap of troops so far. The UAE's foreign ministry acknowledged its role,…