Friday, December 27, 2024

BIG Wrap

Hezbollah fires ‘340 missiles’ at Israel, hitting Ashdod naval base, Tel Aviv

(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...

What we know about Russia’s Oreshnik missile

(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...

Judge delays Trump sentencing, lets him seek dismissal of New York conviction

(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...

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas commander over alleged war crimes

(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...

Trump loyalist Matt Gaetz withdraws from US attorney general consideration

(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...

U.S. vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The United States has vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian territory continues. The US voted down the measure on Wednesday morning while the 14 other members of the council voted in favour. While the resolution called for the release of captives held in Gaza, Washington had voiced opposition to its demand for an...

Germany suspects sabotage behind severed undersea cables

(BBC News) German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea looks like an act of sabotage and a "hybrid action", without knowing who is to blame. A 1,170-km telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany was severed in the early hours of Monday, while a 218-km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden's Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday. The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia,...

Ukraine fires U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles into Russia

(BBC News) Ukraine has fired US-supplied longer-range missiles at Russian territory for the first time, the Russian government said, a day after Washington gave its permission for such attacks. US officials confirmed use of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to CBS news, the BBC's US partner. Ukraine has not commented. Russia's defence ministry said the strike targeted the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine to the north on Tuesday morning. Five missiles were shot down and one damaged,...

Putin approves changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine

(BBC News) Vladimir Putin has approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal. The doctrine now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia. The update was proposed in September and rubber stamped on Tuesday, the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine. It follows Washington’s decision on Monday to allow Ukraine to fire...

New Zealand’s capital prepares for huge Maori protests

(BBC News) Thousands of people are gathering to take the final steps in a march on New Zealand’s parliament to demonstrate against a controversial bill seeking to overhaul the country's founding document between British colonizers and Māori people. Hotels are sold out in the capital Wellington – up to 30,000 people are expected to attend Tuesday’s rally outside parliament. The demonstration marks the end of a nine-day hīkoi, or peaceful protest, that has been making its...