Five killed as Israeli strikes persist in Gaza despite ceasefire
Two people are reported killed in a drone strike at Maghazi camp in central Gaza while three others die in Rafah.
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Zelenskyy cautious on Russian bombing pause during extreme cold weather
Ukraine president says he will wait to see if Putin complies with Trump request to halt strikes on energy infrastructureUkraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he was waiting to see whether Russia would observe a proposed pause in strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, as Kyiv endures a spell of bitter winter cold.Donald Trump on Thursday claimed that Vladimir Putin had agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for a week after he issued a personal appeal to the Russian leader due to the extreme weather in Ukraine. Continue reading...
Ukraine will be ‘technically’ ready to join EU in 2027, Zelenskyy says – Europe live
Ukrainian president doubles down on target for accession despite pushback from some European leadersThe European Commission has just been asked about Zelenskyy’s comments on the 2027 EU accession target (9:58).The answer was pretty convoluted, but spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said that Ukraine “has made really steady progress” in the enlargement process, and it’s advancing “really well,” but didn’t address the 2027 point at all. Continue reading...
Ukraine sees quieter night as Trump says Putin will not attack its cities
Russia said the US president requested a pause in strikes on Kyiv until 1 February, a move Trump said was prompted by the cold weather.
Israel announces plan to reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing on Sunday
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China has lifted sanctions from six serving British MPs and peers, Starmer says
Starmer confirms immediate removal, but it is unclear if sanctions remain on former MP, academic and barristerChina has lifted the sanctions it imposed on serving British MPs and peers in a significant sign of warming relations after Keir Starmer travelled to Beijing for landmark talks with Xi Jinping.Nine UK citizens were banned from China in 2021, including five Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords, targeted for highlighting human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community. Continue reading...
A resignation and call to conscience at company owned by Maga billionaires
Uline employee says she can no longer work for people who helped ‘America descend into fascism’When Laura Wittmann decided this week to submit her resignation from Uline, the giant office supply company owned by two of the biggest donors to Donald Trump’s 2024 election and other Maga Republicans, she did not hold back.“As America descends rapidly into fascism,” Wittmann wrote in a two-page company-wide email sent on Wednesday, “I can no longer work to grow the personal fortunes of people who helped make it so.” Continue reading...
Saudi dissident awarded £3m damages threatens enforcement action if he is not paid
London-based satirist hails ‘amazing’ ruling that found Gulf state targeted and attacked him for his criticismA London-based Saudi dissident who a judge decided should receive more than £3m in damages from the kingdom for assault and the hacking of his phone has insisted that it must pay up or face enforcement action.Mr Justice Saini ruled that the Saudi government infected the phone of Ghanem al-Masarir with Pegasus spyware and, while surveillance was continuing, in 2018, its agents attacked him outside Harrods in central London. Continue reading...
Settler-only IDF units functioning as ‘vigilante militias’ in West Bank
‘Regional defence’ settler units are escalating violent displacement of Palestinians, Israeli reservists and activists sayIsrael’s army has become a vehicle for violent settlers to escalate their campaign against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, with reserve units drawn from settlements functioning as vigilante militias, according to Israeli soldiers and activists, and the United Nations.Hagmar, or regional defence units, were set up across the West Bank from October 2023, as conscripts and the standing army deployed there prepared to move to Gaza. Continue reading...
FBI raid an aggressive new front in Trump’s bid to sow election doubt
President’s obsession with 2020 Georgia election loss has not gone away, despite clear evidence there was no fraudThe FBI raid on the Fulton county election office Wednesday was an aggressive new front in Donald Trump’s effort to use his 2020 election loss to continue to sow doubt about American elections ahead of the 2026 midterms.As Trump sought to overturn the 2020 election, false claims of malfeasance during ballot-counting in Atlanta became a key part of the big lie about a stolen election. Misleading surveillance video showing ballots being retrieved from suitcases became the basis for a myth that fraudulent ballots were included in the tally. Rudy Giuliani, the president’s lawyer and a close ally at the time, was ordered to pay $148.1m to the election workers as part of a libel suit for spreading lies about them. He later settled. Continue reading...