breakfastmtn

At least 25 Palestinians have been killed, including 13 children, and another 30 wounded in a pre-dawn Israeli strike on a home in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza that has been under siege for weeks, Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Sunday.

A reporter for the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera posted footage of the bodies from the scene on X, saying at least 32 people had been killed and that the death toll was one of the biggest so far in Jabalia, where hundreds of people have been killed since the Israeli operation began last month.

Anas al-Sharif said the home belonged to the Aloush family and that no civil defence agencies or ambulances had been able to reach the area due to the Israeli siege and that locals were still searching for more victims.

It was not possible to independently verify the report as Israel does not allow foreign journalists into Gaza.

MBFC
Archive

Foreign leaders have rushed to ingratiate themselves with Donald J. Trump in recent days, nervously recalling the clashes, insults and feuds of his first presidency.

For months leading up to Mr. Trump’s political comeback — and in the heady days since his victory was confirmed — foreign leaders have rushed, once again, to ingratiate themselves with him. Their emissaries have cultivated people in Mr. Trump’s orbit or with think tanks expected to be influential in setting policies for a second Trump administration.

Some leaders, like President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, are drafting their pitches to appeal to Mr. Trump’s transactional nature; others, like Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, have deployed teams of officials to the United States to visit dozens of Republican leaders in the hope that they can moderate Mr. Trump’s most radical instincts on imposing tariffs.

History suggests that many of these bridge-building efforts will fail. By the end of his first term, Mr. Trump had soured on several leaders with whom he started off on good terms. His protectionist trade policy and aversion to alliances — coupled with a mercurial personality — fueled clashes that overrode the rapport that the leaders had labored to cultivate.

MBFC
Archive

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has destroyed over 1,000 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, including those under the protection of UNESCO, according to the Culture Ministry.

Moscow destroys cultural monuments not only with missile or drone strikes. Several historical monuments are under occupation, where Russian occupation authorties carry out so-called restorations, changing the authentic appearance of sites or destroying them completely, erasing all possible references to Ukrainian or Crimean Tatar culture.

As of Oct. 16, UNESCO confirmed the damage to 457 sites, including 143 religious sites, 231 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 32 museums, 33 monuments, 17 libraries, and one archive.

"It's not only the killing of children, elderly people, or soldiers, not only the occupation of our land and expropriation of our assets, but the destruction of our cultural heritage and built environment and immovable heritage," Jenia Gubkina, a Ukrainian architect and architectural historian from Kharkiv, told the Kyiv Independent.

MBFC
Archive

Russia will be able to produce 30% more artillery shells than all EU member states combined next year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said at a press conference in Kyiv on Nov. 9.

"According to Ukrainian intelligence, using the information we have, if there is no proper response or prevention, Russia will be able to produce 30% more artillery shells than all countries of the European Union combined," he said in comments reported by Ukrinform.

Sybiha called for international action to constrain Russia's industrial capacity.

MBFC
Archive

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggesting replacing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) with U.S. exports in a phone conversation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 8.

Von der Leyen spoke with Trump three days after his victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Replacing Europe's supplies of Russian LNG was "one of the topics" the two leaders discussed, von der Leyen told reporters in Budapest.

. . .

The European Union imposed its first major restrictions on Russian gas, including LNG, in its 14th sanctions package in June. Russia still remains Europe's second-largest importer of LNG, after the U.S.

MBFC
Archive

Residents had to dig through rubble in search of their neighbors after the main emergency service in Gaza said it had stopped operations in the north because it had come under Israeli attacks.

When an Israeli airstrike hit a home in northern Gaza early Thursday, residents said, there were no paramedics or emergency medical workers around to help pull out people trapped in the rubble.

Instead, Mazen Ahmed said he and other neighbors in Beit Lahia had to dig through the debris by themselves. They found at least one body.

“We went out to try to rescue on our own to the extent of our abilities,” Mr. Ahmed said on Thursday, speaking by voice message from a cemetery where those killed in the latest Israeli airstrikes were being buried. “There were no stretchers, there were no rescuers, there were no emergency responders.”

More than two weeks ago, Gaza’s Civil Defense, the main emergency service in the Palestinian territory, said it was forced to cease rescue operations in the north because of attacks by the Israeli military on its members and destruction of its equipment.

MBFC
Archive

There is a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas” of the northern Gaza Strip, a committee of global food security experts warned on Friday, as Israel claims to be pursuing a military offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the area.

“Immediate action, within days not weeks, is required from all actors who are directly taking part in the conflict, or have influence on its conduct, to avert and alleviate this catastrophic situation,” the independent Famine Review Committee (FRC) said in a rare alert.

The warning comes just days ahead of a US deadline for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which the UN said almost a year ago had been made “uninhabitable” by Israeli attacks, or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

MBFC
Archive

Ukraine’s relationship with the UK has “got worse” since the Labour government took power in July, officials in Kyiv have told the Guardian, voicing frustration over Britain’s failure to supply additional long-range missiles.

The UK prime minister is yet to visit Ukraine four months after taking office and a frustrated Kyiv has said that a trip would be worthless unless Keir Starmer committed to replenishing stocks of the sought-after long-range Storm Shadow system.

. . .

Ukraine is growing increasingly unhappy with London as Russian troops advance in the east of the country at their fastest rate since 2022, with US officials concluding that the frontlines can no longer be considered static. Ukrainian commanders said they were heavily outgunned.

MBFC
Archive

U.S. President Joe Biden this week became a "lame duck," entering the period between White House administrations traditionally seen as one of waning influence, increasing irrelevance, and menial administrative preparation for the successor.

But it can also be a period of opportunity — relatively unburdened by responsibility and accountability, many lame-duck presidents take advantage of the time to take actions they may not have gotten away with before an election, controversial pardons being one of the most popular.

And as Jessica Berlin, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), said in a post on social media after the election result was called, Biden does have an opportunity to be "the least-lame duck in history."

"Whatever can go to Ukraine needs to go now," she added.

MBFC
Archive

Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a hardline supporter of the war in Gaza and longtime backer of settlements in the West Bank as his ambassador to the US as Israel prepares for the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

Yechiel Leiter, an American-born rightwing publicist and former government aide who immigrated to Israel four decades ago, was announced as Israel’s next ambassador to Washington on Friday. His son, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, was killed in fighting in northern Gaza last year.

Leiter is a “highly talented diplomat, an eloquent speaker, who has a deep understanding of American culture and politics”, Netanyahu said in a statement announcing the appointment. “I am convinced that Yechiel will represent the state of Israel in the best possible way, and I wish him success in his position.”

Leiter will replace the current ambassador Michael Herzog, whose term will end on 20 January.

MBFC
Archive

Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US election, and expressed admiration for the way Trump reacted to an assassination attempt during the campaign. He also said he was ready for dialogue with Trump, a prospect which will cause disquiet in Kyiv and many other European capitals.

Putin gave his first public remarks on Trump’s win on Thursday evening during a discussion forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. His words seemed calibrated to appeal to the president-elect’s well-documented fondness for flattery.

. . .

Putin also claimed Trump had been “hounded by all sides” during the campaign, another line that is likely to resonate well with Trump, and offered his congratulations on the victory. He highlighted Trump’s remarks on Ukraine and Russia. “What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” said Putin.

MBFC
Archive

In anticipation of a Trump victory, there have already been efforts to try to ensure continued support for Ukraine, continuity in NATO and to craft a response should Mr. Trump make good on his threat to apply blanket tariffs on goods imported into the United States.

But the Europeans have a long way to go. A second Trump presidency could serve as a catalyst for Europe to fortify itself in the face of a more undependable America. But it is far from clear the continent is prepared to seize that moment.

. . .

“A Trump victory is very painful for Europeans, as it confronts them with a question they’ve tried hard to hide from: ‘How do we deal with a United States that sees us more as a competitor and a nuisance than a friend to work with?’” said Georgina Wright, deputy director for International Studies at the Institut Montaigne in Paris. “It should unite Europe, but that does not mean Europe necessarily will unite.”

MBFC
Archive