Russia arrests US dual national over alleged $51 Ukrainian charity donation (www.theguardian.com)
Israel says it will launch Rafah assault if hostages not freed by Ramadan (www.theguardian.com)
A member of Israel’s war cabinet has said the country will launch its threatened ground offensive against Rafah, the last place of relative safety in Gaza, if Hamas does not release its remaining Israeli hostages by the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in just under three weeks....
Estonia Says Russia Is Preparing For A Military Confrontation With The West (www.rferl.org)
Financial Times: “Russia intends to double the number of its troops stationed along its border with the Baltic states and Finland as it prepares for a potential military conflict with NATO within the next decade, according to Estonia’s foreign intelligence service.”
Biden criticises Israel military campaign in Gaza as ‘over the top’ (www.theguardian.com)
US President Joe Biden has suggested that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been “over the top” and said he is seeking a “sustained pause in the fighting” to help ailing Palestinian civilians....
US approves plan to strike Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials say (www.bbc.com)
Hamas rejects hostage deal amid Qatari, US optimism (www.jpost.com)
Hamas rejected a hostage deal drafted in Paris over the weekend because it did not include a permanent ceasefire.
Theodore Luhaka: Aspiring footballer left with 'serious anal injuries' - French police officers given suspended sentences (news.sky.com)
Iran says attacks by its allies won’t stop until Israel’s war in Gaza ends (www.cnn.com)
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside a morgue in Rafah, southern Gaza, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Austrian heiress giving away $36.6M because the government won't tax her inheritance (www.cbc.ca)
Marlene Engelhorn says that when she inherited her grandmother’s multimillion-dollar fortune in 2022, she “wanted to be happy about it.”...
The US failed to track more than $1 billion in military gear given Ukraine, Pentagon watchdog says (apnews.com)
Israel hits Bethlehem in Christmas raids on occupied West Bank (www.aljazeera.com)
Israeli bulldozers run over pregnant women in Gaza (www.siasat.com)
What Palestinian Children Face in Israeli Prisons (time.com)
Russia Claims Google Hosts ‘Extremist’ LGBTQ Content—Levies $50 Million Fine (www.forbes.com)
Asylum Hostel Torched As Anti-Immigrant Unrest Spirals in Ireland (www.vice.com)
Three Thousand Russians Were Killed Or Wounded For Every Square Mile They Captured Around Avdiivka (www.forbes.com)
One Russian soldier fighting near Avdiivka recently said his unit started their assault with 70 people—and lost 56 of them.
Hamas envisioned deeper attacks, aiming to provoke an Israeli war (www.washingtonpost.com)
“Hamas’s broader plan [was] one that analysts say was intended not just to kill and capture Israelis, but to spark a conflagration that would sweep the region and lead to a wider conflict.”
Powerful underwater volcano forms new island off the coast of Japan (globalnews.ca)
Amazon Let Its Drivers’ Urine Be Sold as an Energy Drink (www.wired.com)
Reuters videographer killed in southern Lebanon [by Israeli strike], other journalists injured (www.politico.com)
The Associated Press reported that an Israeli shell landed among a group of international journalists killing the Reuters journalist and injuring six others.
France wins suit over history-making shipwreck off US coast (news.yahoo.com)
Five European countries boycott UEFA football tournament over Russian participation (euromaidanpress.com)
Russian soldiers say they dream of conquering Ukrainian cities and moving their families there in haunting recruitment ad (www.yahoo.com)
An Australian journalist has called her baby Methamphetamine Rules (www.stuff.co.nz)
Just some lighter news to break up the doom a bit
Ukraine says it has manufactured and fired a long-range missile (www.washingtonpost.com)
Ukrainian officials say their military is now using a long-range missile that was designed and manufactured domestically and can reach targets inside Russia