WARS
Monday, 13 May 2024 04:42
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 220
Israel moves deeper into Rafah, fights Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago. Rafah is considered Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there have fled the city following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken from Israel in the…
Monday, 13 May 2024 04:41
What to know after Day 809 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian forces bear down on Ukraine border town in Kharkiv region Russian forces attacking Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region were engaged in fighting on the outskirts of the border town of Vovchansk, Kyiv's troops said on Sunday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described heavy fighting there and in the east. Moscow troops entered into the Kharkiv regionon Friday, opening a northeastern front in the 27-month war that has long been waged in the south and east. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, is 30 km (18 miles) from the Russian border. Soldiers returning from a combat mission in the area said…
Sunday, 12 May 2024 04:59
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 219
Israel orders new evacuations in Gaza's last refuge of Rafah as it expands military offensive Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is considered Gaza’s last refuge, in defiance of growing pressure from close ally the United States and others. As pro-Palestinian protests continued against the war, Israel’s military also said it was moving into an area of devastated northern Gaza where it asserted that the Hamas militant group has regrouped after seven months of fighting.…
Sunday, 12 May 2024 04:58
What to know after Day 808 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE With a surprise cross-border attack, Russia ruthlessly exposes Ukraine’s weaknesses The town of Vovchansk in the northern Kharkiv region, liberated from Russian occupation more than 18 months ago, awoke Friday to intense shelling and aerial bombardment. Russia has found another way of stretching Ukraine’s already thin blue line. President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials said that Russian efforts to advance towards the town had been thwarted, but the Russians have since tried to cut road links with Vovchansk. The Russians launched battalion-strength attacks along a 60-kilometer stretch of the border on Friday, claiming to occupy several villages…
Saturday, 11 May 2024 04:45
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 218
Heavy fighting in Gaza's Rafah keeps aid crossings closed and sends 110,000 civilians fleeing Heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has left crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forced more than 110,000 people to flee north, U.N. officials said Friday. With nothing entering through the crossings, food and other supplies were running critically low, aid agencies said. The World Food Program will run out of food for distribution in southern Gaza by Saturday, said Georgios Petropoulos, an official with the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in…
Saturday, 11 May 2024 04:44
What to know after Day 807 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russian forces attack Ukraine's Kharkiv region, striking on new front Russian forces launched an armoured ground attack on Friday near Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv in the northeast of the country and made small inroads, opening a new front in a war that has long been waged in the east and south. Ukraine sent reinforcements as fighting raged in the border areas of the region, the defence ministry said, adding that Russia had pounded the frontier town of Vovchansk with guided aerial bombs and artillery. "Russia has begun a new wave of counteroffensive actions in this direction," Ukrainian…
Friday, 10 May 2024 04:38
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 217
Netanyahu on US threat to withhold arms: Israel will fight with its 'fingernails' if needed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a U.S. threat to withhold some arms would not prevent Israel from continuing its offensive in Gaza, indicating it might proceed with an invasion of the packed city of Rafah against the wishes of its closest ally. President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to go ahead with such an operation over fears it would exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophein the Palestinian enclave. On Wednesday, he said the United States would not provide offensive weapons for a Rafah offensive,…
Friday, 10 May 2024 04:37
What to know after Day 806 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE Russia knows how to deal with Ukrainian drones — Putin Ukrainian drones "fly like flies over the heads" of the fighters in the special military operation, but Russia knows how to deal with it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with military on May 7, following the inauguration ceremony. The video was released on May 9 by the Kremlin press service. "We know how difficult it is for our fighters, who are faced with the fact that enemy drones are flying overhead like flies, we all know this. We are working on this, and I am…
Thursday, 09 May 2024 04:42
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 216
Netanyahu weighs risks of Rafah assault as hostage dilemma divides Israelis Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces competing pressures at home and abroad when he weighs how far to push the operation to defeat Hamas in Rafah that complicates hopes of bringing Israeli hostages home. Street demonstrations against the government by families and supporters of some of the more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza have become a constant fixture, with protestors demanding a ceasefire deal with Hamas to get them back. Others are demanding the government and the Israeli Defence Forces press ahead with the Rafah operation against the…
Thursday, 09 May 2024 04:40
What to know after Day 805 of Russia-Ukraine war
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE What is known about string of blasts at Ukraine’s power facilities Russia’s Armed Forces have struck Ukraine’s energy sector and military-industrial complex in response to Kiev’s attempts to attack Russian power facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters. According to the ministry, the strikes were carried out with drones as well as sea-and air-launched precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles. In the early hours of Wednesday, explosions occurred at fuel and energy facilities in Kiev as well as in several other Ukrainian regions. Power outages were reported in some Ukrainian cities and districts. The authorities urged citizens…
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Wednesday, 08 May 2024 04:19
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 215
Israel seizes Gaza's vital Rafah crossing, but the US says it isn't the full invasion many fear Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and talks with Hamas over a cease-fire and hostage release remain on a knife’s edge. The U.N. warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, from Israel, at a…
Wednesday, 08 May 2024 04:18
What to know after Day 804 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia, Ukraine trade allegations of chemical weapons use Russia and Ukraine have accused each other at the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague of using banned toxins on the battlefield, the organisation said on Tuesday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the accusations were "insufficiently substantiated" but added: "The situation remains volatile and extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons." Neither Russia nor Ukraine has formally asked the OPCW to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons, it said. Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s first deputy foreign minister,…
Tuesday, 07 May 2024 04:49
Here’s the latest as Israel-Hamas war enters Day 214
Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire; Israel says it will continue talks but presses on with Rafah attacks Hamas said Monday it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its core demands and it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations. The high-stakes diplomatic moves and military brinkmanship left a glimmer of hope alive — but only barely — for an accord that could bring at least a pause in the 7-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip. Hanging over the wrangling…
Tuesday, 07 May 2024 04:46
What to know after Day 803 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia says it takes control of two more settlements in eastern Ukraine Russian forces have taken control of the settlements of Soloviove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and Kotliarivka further north in the Kharkiv region, the defence ministry said on Monday. Ukraine's military made no mention of either locality in its evening General Staff report. Kharkiv Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Monday that Kotliarivka, located near the town of Kupiansk, was one of several locations to come under Russian shelling. But Ukrainian bloggers appeared to acknowledge that both villages were in Russian hands. DeepState, a popular forum…