Wednesday, January 15, 2025

BIG Wrap

Israel says air force targeted Hezbollah positions in Lebanon

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Israeli army says its Air Force launched attacks on Hezbollah’s “launch positions” and infrastructure. It said the attacks came “in response to” launches toward Israel. Israel said earlier that it had hit a Hezbollah weapons depot in Lebanese territory and several locations “towards the Tel Hai area and Kiryat Shmona” in Lebanon.   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/5/israel-hamas-war-live-israeli-attacks-on-southern-gaza-reach-new-depths?update=2534362

Israeli ground forces push into south Gaza

(BBC News) Israeli ground forces are pushing into southern Gaza, after three days of heavy bombardment. Initial reports from Israeli army radio effectively confirmed Israel has launched a ground operation to the north of Khan Younis. The head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later told troops the IDF was fighting "strongly and thoroughly" in south Gaza. Lt General Herzi Halevi was speaking to reservists from the Gaza division about military objectives and the IDF's killing of Hamas...

India’s ruling party wins three of four state polls months before national election

(Al Jazeera Media Network) India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party has won three out of four key state elections, according to the election commission’s website. The polls pitted India’s opposition against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the vital national vote, scheduled in less than six months. Ballot counting on Sunday showed the BJP wrested control of the heartland states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan from the Indian National Congress, India’s main opposition...

Israel bombs hundreds of targets in Gaza as truce talks continue

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Israel’s attacks on Gaza have stretched into a second day after a seven-day truce with Hamas ended, as talks continue with the Palestinian group to renew a pause in hostilities under the mediation of Qatar and Egypt. The city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where thousands of civilians moved from the north of the enclave, came under intense bombardment on Friday, when the weeklong truce expired, and intensified on Saturday. Clouds of grey smoke...

Santos expelled from Congress in historic vote

(BBC News) The U.S. House of Representatives has expelled congressman George Santos, following a damning ethics report and dozens of criminal charges. "To hell with this place," Santos told reporters as he left the Capitol. The New York Republican is only the sixth lawmaker in history to be removed from the lower chamber of Congress, and the first since 2002. His tenure was marked by multiple lies about his past and allegations of fraud – all revealed...

Why has the Gaza ceasefire come to an end?

(BBC News) Fighting resumed between Israel and Hamas on Friday morning, ending a seven-day ceasefire between the two sides that had seen hostages and prisoners released, and humanitarian assistance reaching the Gaza Strip. An hour before the ceasefire was due to end at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT), the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that sirens were sounding for communities close to the Gaza Strip – it then said it had intercepted a rocket fired from...

U.S. says Indian government official directed plot to assassinate Sikh activist

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Authorities in the United States have said that an Indian government official directed a failed plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, as they announced charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors said that Nikhil Gupta, a 52-year-old Indian man, had worked with an Indian government intelligence and security worker in a clandestine effort to kill a Sikh activist in New York. Prosecutors did not name...

Musk outburst targets advertisers

(BBC News) In a profanity-laced outburst, Elon Musk has slammed advertisers that have left X, warning they will kill the social media platform. At an event in New York, he accused companies that have joined an ad boycott of the site formerly known as Twitter of trying to blackmail him. "Go yourself," the billionaire said in an interview. Some firms have paused advertising on X amid concerns over antisemitism, including a post from Musk. The Tesla and...

Sierra Leone attacks were failed coup attempt, officials say

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A series of attacks on military barracks and prisons in Sierra Leone over the weekend was a failed coup attempt, according to police and government officials in the West African country. Information Minister Chernor Bah said that 13 military officers and one civilian have been arrested following the incident. “The incident was a failed attempted coup. The intention was to illegally subvert and overthrow a democratically elected government,” Bah said on Tuesday. “The attempt failed, and...

More prisoners released as intelligence agencies converge in Doha

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Israeli prison service freed 30 Palestinian prisoners after 10 Israelis and two foreigners were handed over by Hamas in Gaza. Meanwhile, the heads of the U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies have arrived in Doha for talks with Qatari officials; the Egyptian spy chief is also in the Qatari capital.   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/28/israel-hamas-war-live-33-more-palestinian-prisoners-released-by-israel