Biden readies $725 million arms aid package for Ukraine, sources say
US President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing a $725 million weapons package for Ukraine, two US officials said on Wednesday, as the outgoing president seeks to bolster the government in Kyiv before leaving office in January. According to an official familiar with the plan, the Biden administration plans to provide a variety of anti-tank weapons from US stocks…
Israel names Yechiel Leiter, Netanyahu ally, as US ambassador
The Israeli government said Sunday it had approved the nomination of Yechiel Leiter, an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the country’s ambassador to the United States. The announcement comes after US President-elect Donald Trump named hard-line conservative Mike Huckabee as his choice for US ambassador to Israel under his incoming administration. “The government has unanimously…
UAE confirms murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi, says three arrested
The United Arab Emirates on Sunday confirmed the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan and said three suspects have been arrested, after what Israel called an antisemitic “terrorist attack.” “The Ministry of Interior announced that the UAE authorities have arrested in record time the three perpetrators involved in the murder” of Tzvi Kogan, a statement carried by the…
Hezbollah rocket lands near Tel Aviv after big Israeli strike on Beirut
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group fired heavy rocket barrages at Israel on Sunday, with Israeli media reporting that a building had been hit near Tel Aviv, after a powerful Israeli airstrike killed at least 29 people in Beirut the day before. Israel also struck Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, where intensified bombardment over the last two weeks has…
DHL cargo plane crashes into a house in Lithuania, killing at least 1
A DHL cargo plane crashed into a house Monday morning near the Lithuanian capital, killing at least one person. Lithuanian’s public broadcaster LRT, quoting an emergency official, said two people had been taken to the hospital after the crash, and one was later pronounced dead. LRT said the aircraft smashed into a two-story home near…
G7 foreign ministers to meet for talks on Middle East, Russia-Ukraine
G7 foreign ministers on Monday are meeting near Rome for two days of talks with regional counterparts on the Middle East, before turning to Russia and the war in Ukraine. The Group of Seven ministers will also discuss the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’s military chief, “and…
Russian forces capture British man fighting with Ukraine: RIA
Russian forces captured a British mercenary fighting with the Ukrainian army in Russia’s Kursk region, which is still partially controlled by Kyiv forces, a security source told Russia’s RIA state news agency. “A mercenary from Great Britain, who called himself James Scott Rhys Anderson, was captured. He is now giving evidence,” the Russian source told RIA…
Russia removes commander in Ukraine for misleading reports
Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war as Defense Minister Andrei Belousov tries to clear out poor commanders, pro-Russian war bloggers and Russian media said. Ahead of winter, Russian forces advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion,…
Russian strikes have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities, Zelenskyy says
Russian drone and missile attacks have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities since July last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. Twenty merchant ships belonging to other countries were also damaged by Russian strikes, he added. “Overall, Ukrainian food exports provide food for 400 million people in 100 countries around the world,” Zelenskyy said….
Trump’s FDA pick is surgeon and writer Martin Makary
US president-elect Donald Trump has nominated surgeon and writer Martin Makary to lead the Food and Drug Administration, the world’s most influential drug regulator with a more than $7 billion budget. Makary, a physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he is chief of islet transplant surgery, in interviews promoting his most recent book…
US says committed to ‘diplomatic resolution’ in Lebanon
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed that the United States was dedicated to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon and urged Israel to improve “dire” conditions in Gaza, in a call Saturday with his Israeli counterpart. Austin “reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return safely to their…
Pakistan seals off its capital Islamabad ahead of a planned rally by Imran Khan supporters
Pakistan has sealed off capital Islamabad ahead of a planned rally by supporters of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan. It’s the second time in as many months that authorities have imposed such measures to thwart tens of thousands of people from gathering in the city to demand Khan’s release. The rally is planned for Sunday….
Kurdistan PM hopeful for Trump presidency but warns against disorganized US withdrawal
Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has expressed cautious optimism about the return of Donald Trump to the White House, voicing hope for US leadership in stabilizing the Middle East but cautioning against the dangers of hasty or unilateral withdrawals from US bases, like that in his country. Speaking at the Middle East Peace and Security Conference in…
Kurdistan PM blasts Baghdad over $20 bln lost oil revenue
Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has laid bare the staggering financial toll on the semi-autonomous region of Iraq, as oil exports remain suspended. Barzani reports the region has lost over $20 billion in revenue as a result of stalled exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan pipeline, amid power struggles with Iraq’s central government. Speaking during a fiery…