Sunday, March 9, 2025

BIG Wrap

Russia on mission to cause mayhem on European streets, warns MI5

(BBC News) Russia's intelligence agency has been on a mission to generate "sustained mayhem on British and European streets," the head of MI5 has said. Giving his annual update on security threats faced by the UK, Ken McCallum said GRU agents had carried out "arson, sabotage, and more dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness" in Britain after the UK backed Ukraine in its war with Russia. MI5 had also responded to 20 plots backed by Iran since...

Israel steps up Lebanon bombing as Hezbollah attacks Haifa

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Israel has expanded attacks on southern Lebanon and pounded the capital Beirut’s southern suburbs as the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has claimed a series of missile attacks on northern Israel, including near the city of Haifa. The Israeli military said it carried out 120 strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon “within an hour” on Monday. An earlier attack on a municipal building near Bint Jbeil killed at least 10 Lebanese...

Mexican mayor murdered days after starting job

(BBC News)  The mayor of a Mexican city plagued by drug violence has been murdered less than a week after taking office. Alejandro Arcos was found dead on Sunday in Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 people in the southwestern state of Guerrero. He had been mayor for six days. Evelyn Salgado, the state governor, said the city was in mourning over a murder that "fills us with indignation". His death came three days after the...

Why is the UK handing back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius?

(Al Jazeera Media Network) After a dispute running for more than 50 years, the United Kingdom will finally hand back the Chagos Islands, an archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, to the southeast African island country of Mauritius. As part of an agreement on Thursday, the governments of the UK and Mauritius jointly announced that full sovereignty of the Chagos, a remote group of more than 60 islands, would again belong to Mauritius in exchange for...

At least 70 people killed in gang attack on Haitian town, says UN

(Al Jazeera Media Network) At least 70 people have been killed and 3,000 forced to flee when armed men belonging to the Gran Grif gang attacked a town in central Haiti. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday that the attack occurred on Thursday in Pont-Sonde, 100 km northwest of Port-au-Prince. The UN added that at least 16 people were seriously injured in the attack, including two gang members...

U.S. warships and planes strike Houthi targets in Yemen

(BBC News) The US military says it has launched strikes on the Iranian-backed Houthi group in Yemen, hitting 15 targets. The Pentagon said it used aircrafts and warships to launch the attacks in order "to protect freedom of navigation." Several explosions were reported in some of Yemen’s main cities, including the capital Sanaa. Since November, the Houthis have launched attacks on around 100 ships in the Red Sea, sinking two vessels in the global conduit for $1...

Iran warns of ‘unconventional response’ in case of new Israeli attack

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Iran has told the United States via an intermediary that any Israeli attack against Iran would meet an “unconventional response” that includes targeting Israeli infrastructure. In exclusive remarks to Al Jazeera, an Iranian official said on Thursday that his country has sent a message to the US, via Qatar, addressing rising regional tensions after Iran’s missile attack on Israel. In the message, Tehran told Washington that “the phase of unilateral self-restraint has...

Russians claim key city of Vuhledar in Ukraine’s east

(BBC News) Russian troops have taken complete control of the eastern city of Vuhledar, which Ukrainian forces have been defending since the beginning of Moscow’s full-scale invasion two and a half years ago. Ukraine's eastern military command confirmed on Wednesday that they had told the troops still fighting in parts of Vuhledar to pull back to avoid becoming surrounded. For more than two years, Russia has been trying to take this city in order to advance further...

US says helped Israel thwart Iranian attack, reasserts ‘ironclad’ support

The United States has said it helped Israel thwart an Iranian ballistic missile attack, with a senior White House official telling reporters that the US military “coordinated closely” with its Israeli counterparts to shoot down the projectiles. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that “US naval destroyers joined Israeli air defence units in firing interceptors to shoot down in-bound missiles”. “In short, based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been...

UN extends Haiti security mission for another year as violence continues

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of a multinational police mission to Haiti for another year, as the Caribbean nation struggles to stem a surge in gang violence and instability. The resolution, adopted unanimously on Monday, expressed “deep concern about the situation in Haiti including violence, criminal activities and mass displacement.” It extended the Kenyan-led policing mission, which is seeking to assist the Haitian National Police in taking back control of...