(Al Jazeera Media Network) Nine Russian and Ukrainian children will be returned to their families this week in the latest humanitarian exchange between Kyiv and Moscow mediated by Qatar.
Russian Commissioner for Children, Maria Lvova-Belova, told reporters on Thursday that seven children, aged six to 16, will be sent from Russia to live with close relatives in Ukraine.
Lvova-Belova said the children had been living in Russia under varying circumstances. Most were living with a grandparent,...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States on Tuesday provided the first official confirmation that its long-range Army Tactical Missiles (ATACMS) were in use in Russia, as Europe absorbed the ramifications of Russia’s retaliatory response with an intermediate ballistic missile that could strike “anywhere in Europe”.
As the question of strategic escalation swirled around NATO capitals and Moscow, Russian forces continued a dogged advance through Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, seizing more villages.
“Right now, they are able to...
(BBC News) President Joe Biden has said the US will make another push with regional powers for a ceasefire in Gaza, involving the release of hostages and the removal of Hamas from power.
His remarks on X came just hours after a ceasefire came into force in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, ending nearly 14 months of conflict.
Hamas said it hoped for a similar deal in Gaza but continues to reject Israel's demands, which it perceives...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United Nations has ordered the evacuation of its staff from Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince as clashes between armed gangs, the police, and civilians armed with machetes intensified in recent days.
A UN helicopter on Monday ferried evacuees – 14 at a time – from the capital to the northern city of Cap-Haitien, with some scheduled to take flights out of the country. This comes after the main international airport in Port-au-Prince was closed...
(BBC News) Pakistani authorities say they have negotiated a seven-day ceasefire after more than 80 people were killed in renewed sectarian violence in the northwest of the country.
Another 156 are said to have been wounded in three days of fighting in the tribal district of Kurram, near the Afghan border.
The violence began on Thursday, when gunmen attacked convoys of Shia Muslims travelling through the area under police escort. More than 40 died in that incident, which...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Hezbollah says it targeted the Ashdod naval base in southern Israel “for the first time”, adding that it conducted an operation against a “military target” in Tel Aviv using advanced missiles and strike drones.
The Israeli military reported air raid sirens in central and northern areas, including the Tel Aviv suburbs. The military said it intercepted a number of the projectiles fired at northern Israel, and that 250 projectiles had been fired...
(BBC News) On Thursday, the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was hit by a Russian air strike which eyewitnesses described as unusual, triggering explosions that went on for three hours.
The attack included a strike by a missile so powerful that in the aftermath Ukrainian officials said it bore the characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Western officials were quick to deny this, saying that such a strike would have triggered a nuclear alert in the...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) A New York judge has delayed the sentencing in Donald Trump’s hush money case and allowed the United States president-elect to argue to dismiss the conviction before he takes office on January 20.
Judge Juan Merchan on Friday cancelled a sentencing hearing set for Tuesday without setting a new date.
Both prosecutors and defence lawyers have sought to pause proceedings in the case to deal with the unprecedented legal situation: sentencing an incoming president...
(BBC News) Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister, as well as the military commander of Hamas.
A statement said a pre-trial chamber had rejected Israel’s challenges to the court’s jurisdiction and issued warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
A warrant was also issued for Mohammed Deif of Hamas, although Israel has said he was killed in an air strike in Gaza in...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) US conservative firebrand Matt Gaetz has announced that he is withdrawing from consideration for United States attorney general following renewed focus on sexual misconduct allegations against him.
In a statement on social media on Thursday, just over one week after President-elect Donald Trump named Gaetz as his pick for the position of top federal prosecutor, the former Florida congressman said that he had become a “distraction”.
Gaetz, a divisive figure even within Trump’s Republican Party, faced...
