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Gazans fear Israeli attack on their last refuge; US launches retaliatory strikes
The US strikes target Iran-backed militants that Washington blames for the drone attack in Jordan this week that killed three US troops.....»»
France Issues Arrest Warrant for Syrian President Assad
Title: France Issues Arrest Warrants for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over Alleged Chemical Weapon Use Date: [Current Date] [City], France – In a groundbreaking move,.....»»
Celebrated Syrian author Khaled Khalifa dead at 59
Syrian writer and veteran government critic Khaled Khalifa has died of cardiac arrest at the age of 59 at his home in Damascus, a close friend told AFP. Khalifa, who hailed from Maryamin in northwestern Aleppo province, was celebrated for his novels, television screenplays, and newspaper columns, and honored with several of the Arab world's top literary awards. He "died in his home alone in Damascus" on Saturday, said journalist Yaroub Aleesa, who had spent time with the author during his final days. "We called him repeatedly and he didn't respond. When we went to his home, we found him dead on the sofa." Doctors at the Abbassiyyin Hospital in Damascus said the cause of death was a heart attack. Khalifa gained fame as a writer of several popular Syrian TV series in the early 1990s. He was known as a staunch opponent of the ruling Baath party and his columns criticizing the authorities. But despite his well-known stance, he chose to remain in the country after the 2011 civil war broke out with the repression of protests against the government. "I am staying because this is my country," he said in a 2019 interview. "I was born here, I live here and I want to die here!" His 2006 novel "In Praise of Hatred" was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arab Fiction -- often dubbed the Arab Booker Prize -- and was translated into six languages. The novel recounts the story of a young Syrian woman from Aleppo who escapes her sequestered life by joining a jihadist organization. In 2013, his novel "No Knives in the Kitchens of this City" won the Naguib Mahfouz Literature Prize, Egypt's top accolade for writers. It focuses on the lives of Syrians under the rule of the Baath party headed by President Bashar al-Assad. The writer's death sparked a wave of condolences on social media from fellow writers and members of Syria's exiled opposition. "Goodbye, you kind man," wrote Syrian writer and academic Salam Kawakibi. Khalifa was expected to be buried later on Sunday in Damascus, though details of the funeral had yet to be disclosed. The post Celebrated Syrian author Khaled Khalifa dead at 59 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Key events in the war in Ukraine
From the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February last year to the armed rebellion Saturday of the pro-Kremlin Wagner paramilitary group, here is a timeline of the main events. The biggest attack on a European country since World War II has killed or wounded over 150,000 people, according to Western estimates. February 2022: invasion Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a "special military operation" in Ukraine on 24 February, saying he wants to demilitarise and "de-Nazify" the country as well as protect the predominantly Russian-speaking east from "genocide". A full-scale invasion starts, with missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities that sparks a refugee crisis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stays in the capital Kyiv to lead the resistance. The West imposes unprecedented sanctions on Russia and the European Union and United States send Ukraine weapons and aid. March: Russian advances Russian forces make gains in the south, seizing the city of Kherson, close to the Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula. Russian forces also attempt to surround Kyiv and take Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv in the northeast but meet fierce resistance. A month into the fighting, Russia withdraws from the north to focus on the eastern industrial Donbas region, partly held by Moscow-backed separatists, along with the south. April: war crimes revealed In early April, AFP discovers the bodies of at least 20 civilians lying on a single street in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha -- the first of several grisly discoveries in towns that Russian forces had occupied which spark an international outcry and war crimes investigations. May: Mariupol falls On 21 May, Russia announces the fall of the southeastern port city of Mariupol, which had been relentlessly bombed, after the last Ukrainian troops holding out at a steelworks surrender. Sweden and Finland request membership of NATO, fearing they could be future targets of Russian aggression. June: Donbas battle rages In June, Russia takes the Donbas city of Severodonetsk after one of the bloodiest battles of the war, followed soon after by the neighbouring city of Lysychansk. July: gas supplies cut On 22 July, Kyiv and Moscow sign a deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, in a bid to relieve a food crisis aggravated by Russia's blockade of the country's ports. Russian gas giant Gazprom slashes its supply to Europe through the Nord Stream pipeline, fuelling fears of gas shortages in Europe. August: battle for Bakhmut Kyiv launches a major offensive to retake Kherson as a bitter battle begins for the eastern town of Bakhmut, spearheaded on the Russian side by the Wagner mercenary group. Wagner claims to have wrested total control of Bakhmut in May. September: annexation Ukraine retakes hundreds of towns and villages in a lightning counter-offensive around Kharkiv. Putin launches a partial draft of 300,000 reservists, sparking an exodus of young Russian men of military age. On 30 September, he formally annexes the Ukrainian regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. October: power supply hit On 8 October, an explosion causes major damage to a bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland -- a symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula. Putin blames Ukrainian secret services for the attack. Russian forces retaliate with a barrage of strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, leaving millions without power in what becomes its new modus operandi throughout the winter. November: retreat from Kherson On 9 November, Moscow orders its troops to retreat from Kherson in the face of advancing Ukrainian forces, marking a stunning defeat in one of the regions it annexed. Jubilant residents hail Ukrainian forces as liberators. December: Zelensky goes to Washington On 22 December, Zelensky visits Washington on his first overseas trip since the war began. He meets President Joe Biden and addresses Congress. January 2023: tanks on the way Russia suffers its biggest single loss of life since the invasion in a Ukrainian attack on a temporary base in the eastern town of Makiivka on 1 January. Moscow says 89 soldiers were killed in the hit. On 25 January, Germany finally agrees to send Ukraine some of its powerful Leopard tanks. The United States follows, announcing that it will provide 31 Abrams tanks. On 19 May, Biden authorises the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv. In April, Ukraine also receives anti-missile Patriot defence systems from Washington. 6 June: dam destroyed A blast at the Kakhovka dam in Russian-annexed Crimea inundates vast areas of the Kherson region, forcing thousands to flee and sparking fears of an environmental disaster. Kyiv accuses Moscow of blowing up the dam on the Dnipro River, while Russia blames Ukraine. June: Ukraine counter-offensive A long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive begins, aided by the supply of Western arms, according to analysts. Russia brands it a failure but Kyiv says it has retaken several areas. 24 June: Wagner rebellion Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, leading a mutiny to bring down Moscow's top brass, says his fighters have captured the army HQ in Russia's Rostov-on-Don "without firing a single shot" and claims to have the support of locals. Putin warns that treason against his rule threatens Russia with civil war and accuses the Wagner boss of a "stab in the back". The post Key events in the war in Ukraine appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
French minister demands Assad trial
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be put on trial following “hundreds of thousands of deaths” and “chemical arms use” during the country’s civil war, the French foreign minister said on Tuesday. Catherine Colonna’s call followed Assad’s appearance at a summit of the Arab League, a regional organization that had banned him and suspended his country for a decade. “We have to remember who Bashar al-Assad is. He’s a leader who has been the enemy of his own people for more than 10 years,” Colonna said, Agence France-Presse reported. A lifting of European Union sanctions on the Syrian regime was “certainly not” planned, she added. Comeback, legitimacy Several Arab capitals cut ties with Assad after the Damascus regime’s repression of anti-government protests sparked a civil war in 2011, with some supporting the opposition instead. The brutal war has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and devastated much of the country’s infrastructure and industry. States that once bet on Assad’s demise have warmed to him as he clung to power and clawed back territory with Iranian and Russian support. “There is relief on the Syrian street in general, and great optimism about the future,” Bassam Abu Abdallah, who heads the Damascus Center for Strategic Research and is close to the government, said. “We have turned a new page.” Arab outreach peaked after the deadly 6 February earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey. Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London, said Assad saw the Arab League return “as recognition that he has won the war and as formal acceptance of his legitimacy as president.” The opposition and rebels’ role in determining the country’s political future has vastly shrunk, Khatib added. Large parts of Syria’s north remain outside government control after 12 years of war that pulled in foreign powers and global jihadists. Though the frontlines have mostly quietened in recent years, Russian, Iranian, Turkish and United States forces are still present in Syria. Several rounds of United Nations-brokered talks in Geneva between the government and opposition groups, aimed at forging a new constitution, have failed, with no political solution in sight. The post French minister demands Assad trial appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
5 facts on North Korea’s solid-fuel ICBM
SEOUL (AFP) — North Korea said Friday that it had successfully tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, marking a major breakthrough in Kim Jong Un’s banned weapons programs. But what exactly is a solid-fuel missile and why does it matter that Pyongyang now has one? AFP takes a look at what we know: What is a solid-fuel missile? With this type of missile, the propellant — the fuel that powers it — is made of a solid chemical mixture, which is combusted to create exhaust. “This propellant is cast into the missile’s airframe when the missile is built: imagine a firecracker rocket, ready to go,” Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told AFP. In contrast, liquid-fueled missiles typically require that fuel and an oxidizer be inserted into the missile before they can be fired — a slower and more cumbersome process. Why is it better? Preparing a liquid-fuel missile for launch “takes time just like pumping gasoline to your car,” said Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute. A solid-fuel missile can be thought of more like a “portable battery” which gives the user much greater flexibility, he said. Moreover, once a liquid-fuel missile is prepared, “it has to be fired within a short period of time — which is not something you have to worry about with solid-fuel missiles,” he added. Solid-fuel missiles need to be stored, maintained and handled carefully, and if this isn’t done, the quality of the missile can degrade over time which could cause it to fail, Panda said. But they are generally quicker to deploy and launch during a war compared to liquid-fueled missiles. This “makes solid fuel missiles very attractive for a number of military applications,” Panda added. So North Korea’s definitely got one now? In state media images, it is possible to see the missile’s exhaust plume, which is “consistent with a dirty, smoky solid propellant at work,” Panda said. “Everything looks consistent with a successful solid-fuel ICBM test,” he added. But even if the North Koreans have pulled off one successful test of the new weapons system, it will still “be likely some way from credible deployment in any meaningful numbers,” said Joseph Dempsey, a defense researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. With North Korea’s main liquid-fueled ICBMs, which have been tested repeatedly — but only on a lofted trajectory, which is not how they would be used in a real-life situation — key questions remain over whether they are effectively operational. But as North Korea’s “threshold for what is effectively fielded is likely different from others,” the new weapon may be considered operational even if other militaries would require more testing. South Korea’s defense ministry said they believed the Thursday launch was simply an early test and that developing the Hwasong-18 properly “would need additional time and effort.” “Pyongyang still faces many technical hurdles and resource constraints to actually deploy the missile forces it advertises in state media,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University, told AFP. Who else has solid-fuel missiles? Most militaries “first start off with liquid fuel missile technology but soon strive to acquire solid-fuel missiles, which require more advanced technology,” said the Sejong Institute’s Cheong. However, not all advanced militaries exclusively deploy solid-fuel missiles. “The United States does deploy all solid-fuel ICBMs and SLBMs, but Russia and China both still operate large liquid-fueled missiles,” Panda said. South Korea, for its part, has the technical capacity for solid-fuel missiles, and even has some in its arsenal “but their range is limited to cover the Korean peninsula,” Kim Jong-dae of the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies told AFP. Is this a game-changer? North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un claims the Hwasong-18 solid fuel ICBM will “radically promote” the country’s nuclear counter-attack capabilities, and experts say it could indeed change the security situation on the peninsula. South Korea’s self-defense plan relies in part on a so-called Kill Chain preemptive strike system, which allows Seoul to launch a preemptive attack if there are signs of an imminent North Korean attack. The Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM would be far harder to detect, which could upend this preemptive strike formula — although Seoul’s defense ministry on Friday dismissed this fear as “excessive worry.” But if North Korea were to deploy solid-fuel ICBMs, it would “signal a game changer in possible warfare with them,” the Yonsei Institute’s Kim told AFP. The post 5 facts on North Korea’s solid-fuel ICBM appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israel blames Iran for attack on oil tanker
An attack on the Liberian-flagged Campo Square was confirmed on February 18 by the ship's captain, who said it was lightly damaged by an airborne object on February 10 while sailing through the Arabian Sea.....»»
Iranian held in Germany suspected of chemical terror plot
BERLIN — An Iranian man has been arrested in western Germany suspected of preparing an “Islamist attack” using cyanide and ricin, police and prosecutors said Sunday. Munster police and the Dusseldorf prosecutors’ office said in a press release that officers searched a residence in the town of Castrop-Rauxel for “toxic substances” intended to carry out […] The post Iranian held in Germany suspected of chemical terror plot appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
DoJ chief blames insurgency for dismal HR situation
First, the repeated denials: “Extrajudicial killing is not state policy; no state policy to attack, harass or intimidate human rights defenders, including environmental rights defenders, lawyers and other practitioners of the legal profession and the media; claims of a shrinking civic and media space are unfounded.”.....»»
Paramilitary destroys Lumad school; leader blames Duterte for the attack
BY RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA A paramilitary group destroyed an indigenous people’s school in Bukidnon Province last Wednesday, August 26, the Save Our Schools (SOS) Network reported. The Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc. (MISFI) Academy in Sitio Laburon, Brgy. Matupe, San Fernando was attacked and destroyed by around 50 members of paramilitary group ‘Bagani’, the network… The post Paramilitary destroys Lumad school; leader blames Duterte for the attack appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Numerous Individuals and Businesses Profit from Trump Media Stock
Former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, had a successful first official trading session on the Nasdaq, with shares surging and approaching.....»»
Trending tickers: Trump Media, Tesla, Bitcoin and DS Smith
Former US president Donald Trump’s media firm, Trump Media & Technology Group, had a successful stock market debut in New York, with shares soaring past.....»»
Jihadists
For his own purposes, Vladimir Putin has been trying to link the deadly terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow to Ukraine. The casualty figure for that attack has now risen t.....»»
Russian Spy Chief Makes Bizarre Claim of US, UK, and Ukraine Involvement in Moscow Attack
In a recent development, the director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has made startling accusations against Ukraine, the US, and the UK, claiming they.....»»
Philippines lodges strong protest with China over water cannon attack in disputed South China Sea
Manila [Philippines], March 25 (ANI): In the wake of accusation by the Philippines that the Chinese Coast Guard wounded three of its soldiers during a water cannon attack in the disputed South China Sea, Manila on Monday summoned Beijing's envoy to lodge its strong protest, Al Jazeera reported. The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, in a statement said that Manila conveyed its "strong protest against the aggressiv.....»»
2 hurt in another gun attack in Cotabato City
Two local residents were wounded in another ambush incident in this city at about 11:00 p.m. Monday......»»
Russian Media Accuses Ukraine of Moscow Concert Hall Attack – The Daily Guardia
In a shocking turn of events, President Putin has attributed the recent concert hall assault in Moscow to radical Islamists for the first time. However,.....»»
Trump to face jurors in April before facing US voters in November
Republican strategists say voters have grown accustomed to Donald Trump's norm-shattering behavior, but a guilty verdict could hurt his ability to win over swing voters who decide elections.....»»
Philippines lodges strong protest with China over water cannon attack in disputed South China Sea
Manila [Philippines], March 25 (ANI): In the wake of accusation by the Philippines that the Chinese Coast Guard wounded three of its soldiers during a water cannon attack in the disputed South China Sea, Manila on Monday summoned Beijing's envoy to lodge its strong protest, Al Jazeera reported. The Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, in a statement said that Manila conveyed its "strong protest against the aggressiv.....»»
Kyiv, Lviv under Russian air attack; missile violates Polish airspace
'The object entered Polish space near the town of Oserdow and stayed there for 39 seconds,' Poland's armed forces says on the social media platform X.....»»