Hezbollah’s acting leader declared Tuesday that the Lebanese militant group is focused on “hurting the enemy” by targeting Haifa and other parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv. Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hezbollah’s deputy chief, vowed in a televised speech to “defeat our enemies and drive them out of our lands.” It was his third appearance since Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut. The United Nations human rights office meanwhile called for an independent probe into an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment block in Aito in northern Lebanon, killing at least 23 people, including 12 women and two children. Israeli strikes continued in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 15 people overnight, including six children and two women, Palestinian medical officials said Tuesday. In northern Gaza, where Israel has been waging an air and ground campaign in Jabaliya for more than a week, residents said families were still trapped in their homes and shelters. It’s been more than a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people. In solidarity with Hamas, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel almost daily for the past year. Israel has escalated its campaign against the group in recent weeks. Israel assures US it won’t strike Iranian nuclear or oil sites, US officials say The Biden administration believes it has won assurances from Israel that it will not hit Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it considers retaliating to Iran’s missile barrage earlier this month, two U.S. officials say. The administration also believes that sending a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel and roughly 100 soldiers to operate it has eased some of Israel’s concerns about more Iranian strikes and general security issues. The Pentagon announced Sunday that the THAAD deployment was to help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October, saying it was authorized at the direction of President Joe Biden. However, the U.S. officials who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions, cautioned that the assurance is not iron-clad and that circumstances could change. The officials also noted that Israel’s track record on fulfilling assurances in the past is mixed and has often reflected domestic Israeli politics that have upended Washington’s expectations. Shelter in Syria struggles to help displaced Lebanese A shelter near Damascus established to house Syrians displaced by the country’s civil war is now housing more than 300 Lebanese families who fled the escalating war between Israel and Hezbollah in their country. Abdul-Nasser Khatib, the head of the shelter in Herjelleh, said Tuesday that Syria, which was already in the throes of an economic crisis, is struggling to meet the needs of the new arrivals. He says the center doesn’t have enough drinking water, food, baby milk and clothes, and “we are in urgent need of the assistance of international organizations.” A child playing with a make-believe train at the center chanted, “Toot toot, to Beirut,” a line from a popular song about Lebanon’s now-defunct railroad. Nour Murad, a Lebanese citizen from the eastern city of Baalbek, says she fled a “disastrous” situation and has been in Syria for eight days. Read: UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon are in the crosshairs of Israel’s war on Hezbollah “The destruction and blood were everywhere around us,” she said. “Displacement is nothing compared to those who have lost loved ones.” Murad said she plans to return to Lebanon “as soon as the situation calms down.” Lebanese border authorities say more than 326,000 Syrians and more than 124,000 Lebanese citizens have crossed into Syria from Lebanon since Sept. 23, when Israel began widespread attacks in Lebanon. US State Department dismisses Iranian claim that communications have broken down The U.S. State Department has dismissed remarks by Iran’s foreign minister who said Tehran shut down an indirect communication route between the two countries in Oman. Responding to a query from The Associated Press, the State Department said Tuesday: “We have direct and open lines of communication with Iran when it is in our interest.” “There is no misunderstanding in our position,” the State Department said. “Thus, there is no need at the current time for indirect talks in Oman or anywhere else.” On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state media in Muscat, Oman, that Iran has stopped indirect talks with the U.S. there. Iran remains braced for a possible retaliatory strike by Israel to Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel, its second direct attack on Israel amid the ongoing wars in the Middle East. UN human rights office urges independent probe into deadly airstrike in northern Lebanon The U.N. human rights office is calling for an independent probe into an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment block in northern Lebanon and left at least 23 people dead. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR ), says the agency has received reports that 12 women and two children were among those killed Monday in the airstrike on the village of Aito. “With these factors in mind, we have real concerns with respect to … the laws of war and principles of distinction, proportion and proportionality,” he told reporters in Geneva Tuesday. Laurence is calling for a “prompt, independent and thorough investigation into this incident.” Israel speeds up technology development to counter drone attacks The Israeli Defense Ministry says it is speeding up development of new technologies to counter drone attacks like the Hezbollah strike this week that killed four soldiers. Israel’s air defenses have performed well during a year of war against enemies across the region, particularly against rocket and missile attacks. But at times, they have struggled against drones, with unmanned aerial vehicles responsible for several deadly attacks. Read more: Israel says 4 soldiers killed by Hezbollah drone attack while Israeli strike in Gaza leaves 20 dead The Defense Ministry said it tested a number of technologies being developed by Israeli companies as part of an “expedited process” to find new solutions. It says it will analyze the results and select several technologies for further development with the aim of deploying them within months. US and Canada impose sanctions on a Palestinian organization The U.S. and Canada on Tuesday imposed sanctions on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, or “Samidoun,” a charity that serves as an alleged fundraiser for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine militant group. The group operates in Gaza and the West Bank and has been a designated foreign terrorist organization since 1997. Also designated is Khaled Barakat, a member of the group’s leadership. Acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said that organizations like Samidoun “masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups.” The penalties aim to block them from using the U.S. financial system and bar American citizens from dealing with them. Hezbollah's acting leader says the group is focused on ‘hurting the enemy’ Hezbollah’s deputy chief and acting leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, said in a televised speech Tuesday that the group is now focused on “hurting the enemy,” exemplified by targeting the Israeli city of Haifa and areas beyond it, including Tel Aviv. The pre-recorded speech marked his third appearance since Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27. “We will defeat our enemies and drive them out of our lands,” Kassem said. He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking a “new Middle East” aligned with Israeli and American interests. He urged Hezbollah supporters to remain steadfast amid Israeli attacks. “Our hope for victory is limitless,” he said. “I give you good news that we are the ones who will hold the enemy’s reins and return it to the fold.” Addressing Israelis, Kassem said that a cease-fire is the only solution to return residents of northern Israel to their homes. “We are not seeking a cease-fire because we are weak,” he said. If Israel continues its bombardment and ground invasion in Lebanon, he said that Hezbollah’s strikes will expand over a geographically wider area and “more than 2 million will be in danger.” Israeli officials have said the operation in Lebanon is intended to push back Hezbollah and return displaced Israelis to their homes. Kassem linked the ongoing conflict in Lebanon to the broader struggle of the Palestinians, and to the ongoing war in Gaza. “We cannot separate Lebanon from Palestine, or Palestine from the world,” he said. A team of US troops supporting a missile defense system arrives in Israel A team of American troops supporting a missile defense system in Israel has arrived in the country, the U.S. military said. A statement from Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced the team’s arrival in Israel on Monday. They’ll operate a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery there to defend against ballistic missile attacks from Iran. Tehran has launched two missile attacks on Israel as the wars in Gaza and Lebanon rage. “Over the coming days, additional U.S. military personnel and THAAD battery components will continue to arrive in Israel,” Ryder said. “The battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but for operations security reasons we will not discuss timelines.” Iran has warned U.S. troops would be in harm’s way if Iran launches another attack on Israel. Thousands vaccinated against polio in Gaza as the campaign enters a second phase The U.N. health agency says more than 92,000 children aged under 10 in central Gaza received doses of novel oral polio vaccine as a second phase of a vaccination campaign got underway. World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters Tuesday that the kick-off a day earlier to the second round of polio vaccinations was part of efforts to reach over 179,000 kids in central Gaza – and over 590,000 across the entire strip. Read more:UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon are in the crosshairs of Israel’s war on Hezbollah “What we have received from colleagues is that the vaccination went without major issues yesterday,” he told reporters at a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva. He expressed hopes that a “humanitarian pause” will be respected in north and south Gaza over the next six-to-eight days. Jasarevic said 92,821 children aged under 10 received the vaccine on Monday, the first day of the new phase of the vaccination campaign. “No one wants to see any child paralyzed (because of polio),” Jasarevic said. “But there are so many other problems that people in Gaza are facing, and we need sustained access.” A police officer killed and 4 civilians wounded in a shooting in central Israel Israeli police say one officer was killed and four civilians were wounded in a shooting Tuesday on a highway in central Israel. Police did not immediately provide the identity of the shooter, but police spokeswoman, Mirit Ben Mayor, said that it was a militant attack. Police said the attacker approached the highway and shot the officer before firing on civilians, wounding four. The attacker was then shot by a paramedic arriving on the scene, Israel’s rescue services said, without saying whether the attacker was killed. The shooting occurred on a two-lane highway near the city of Yavne, just south of Tel Aviv. Ohad Yehezkeli, a spokesperson for nearby Assuta Hospital, said the officer died on the way there and another civilian was being treated for moderate injuries. He said two more wounded people were being transported to the hospital. Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza. Israel has ramped up military operations in the occupied West Bank, killing more than 750 Palestinians. Most have been killed during gunbattles with the army or violent protests, but the dead also include civilian bystanders. Iran's general threatens Israelis at a funeral in Tehran A general in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard directly threatened the lives of Israelis during a funeral service in Tehran for a general slain alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The comment from Gen. Ali Fadavi, a deputy commander in chief of the Guard, comes as Iran awaits a threatened retaliation by Israel over its Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack. “That land is a small land. It’s not even as big as one of Iran’s small provinces,” Fadavi said. “If we will, we can obliterate all the Zionists.” Iranian officials routinely refer to Israelis as “Zionists.” The Guard’s leadership attended a funeral service for Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed alongside Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut. Guard leaders and others in Iran’s theocracy have threatened to destroy Israel in the past during the more than four decades since the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israeli police accuse Hamas operatives in Turkey for August attack in Tel Aviv Israeli police accused Hamas operatives in Turkey of directing a militant attack in August in Tel Aviv in which an explosive went off on a busy street, killing the attacker and wounding a bystander. There was no immediate comment from Turkey. Relations between the two countries have plunged since the start of the war in Gaza. Turkey has long provided political support for Hamas, including welcoming its top leaders on visits, but denies involvement in its military activities. The bomb appeared to have gone off before it was planned to, and it was unclear if the attacker had planned to carry out a suicide bombing or plant the explosives. Both Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the attack. Police said Tuesday that they filed indictments against eight suspects. They said the attacker was a militant from Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, who had been directed by an operative in Turkey. They said one of the attack planners had traveled to Turkey several times for explosives training, and that a raid in Nablus uncovered more bombs and funds transferred from Turkey. The police did not provide evidence. “The findings of this investigation clearly indicate the establishment of Hamas headquarters in Turkey and their extensive efforts abroad to incite violence and carry out bombings in Israel,” the police statement said. First responders recover 11 bodies from a destroyed home in northern Gaza Palestinian first responders say they recovered 11 bodies, nearly all women and children, from a home destroyed in an airstrike in northern Gaza, where Israel has been waging an air and ground operation for over a week. The Gaza Health Ministry’s ambulance service said the dead recovered Tuesday were all from the same family and included seven women and three children. Fares Abu Hamza, head of the emergency service, said ambulances were only able to reach the area in the Jabaliya refugee camp around 12 hours after the airstrike late Monday. He said funeral prayers for the dead, which included a medic killed in Jabaliya, were held Tuesday in the courtyard of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. First responders from the Civil Defense said its teams evacuated three families Tuesday who were stuck inside their homes in Jabaliya for several days because of heavy fighting. Since the start of the war, the Israeli military has carried out several large operations in Jabaliya — a densely populated urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation — only to return months later after saying militants had regrouped there. Israel launched a large operation there on Oct. 6. Top leaders are among those mourning an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general The funeral of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah drew the largest crowd of top leaders in the paramilitary organization together Tuesday for the first time since Tehran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel. The Guard’s leadership hasn’t been as visible in the two weeks since Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel. The Guard is the main power behind Iran’s theocracy and oversees its arsenal of ballistic missiles — which would be crucial in any future attack on Israel. At the funeral in Tehran for Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, the Guard’s chief commander, Gen. Hossein Salami, attended alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the country’s judiciary. Other Guard generals also attended, including Gen. Esmail Qaani of the Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force, about whom rumors had circulated for days regarding his status after the strike that killed Nasrallah. At least two prominent Guard generals were not on hand: Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Guard’s aerospace division that oversees its missile program, and Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, commander of the Guard’s navy, did not attend. Iran offered no explanation for their absence, though Israel has threatened to carry out a serious retaliatory strike against Iran. Israeli strikes on south Gaza kill at least 15 overnight Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 15 people overnight, including six children and two women, Palestinian medical officials said Tuesday. A strike early Tuesday hit a house in the southern town of Beni Suhaila, killing at least 10 people from one extended family, according to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis. The dead include three children and one woman, according to hospital records. An Associated Press camera operator at the hospital counted the bodies. In the nearby town of Fakhari, a strike hit a house early Tuesday, killing five people, including three children and a woman, according to the European Hospital, where the casualties were taken. The Israeli military rarely comments on individual strikes. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of sheltering in civilian areas. Israeli bombardment around Jabaliya leaves family trapped In northern Gaza, where Israel has been waging an air and ground campaign in Jabaliya for more than a week, residents said families were still trapped in their homes and shelters Tuesday. Adel al-Deqes said his relatives tried to move to another place in Jabaliya in the morning, but the military shelled them. “We don’t know who died and who is still alive,” he said. Ahmed Awda, another Jabaliya resident, said they heard “constant bombing and gunfire” overnight and Tuesday morning. He said the military destroyed many buildings in the eastern and northern parts of the camp, which dates back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation. “They bombed many buildings; some of them empty buildings,” he said. Iranian paramilitary leader whose status was in question is shown on state TV The head of the expeditionary arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has appeared in television footage aired Tuesday by Iranian state television. Rumors circulated for weeks over Gen. Esmail Qaani’s status in the time since an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in late September. But Qaani, the head of the Quds Force, was seen in a black bomber jacket, wiping away tears at an event early Tuesday morning at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport. While Iranian state television did not acknowledge the rumors, it made a point to film Qaani for over a minute and later share the footage from the airport ceremony online. Qaani was on hand for the repatriation to Iran of the body of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, 58, who was killed in the airstrike. Australia puts sanctions and travel bans on 5 Iranians  Australia’s government has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on five Iranians contributing to the country’s missile defense program, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday. Iran’s launch of at least 180 ballistic missiles against Israel on Oct. 1 was “a dangerous escalation that increased the risk of a wider regional war,” Wong said in a statement. The fresh sanctions target two directors and a senior official in Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization, the director of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, and the commercial director of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group. The decision brings to 200 the number of Iran-linked individuals and entities now sanctioned by Australia. “Australia will continue to hold Iran to account for its reckless and destabilizing actions,” Wong said.

Russia fired more missiles and self-exploding drones at nearly a dozen Ukrainian provinces early Thursday, causing the first war-related death in Kyiv this year and killing at least 11 people overall, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks adhered to Russia's recent pattern of striking power plants and other critical infrastructure about every two weeks. However, the latest onslaught came after Germany and the United States upped the ante in Russia's 11-month war by promising Wednesday to send high-tech battle tanks to Ukraine and green-lighting other allies to do the same. Read more: Ukraine reports more Russian drone attacks The spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, said that in addition to the dead at least 11 people were wounded. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was killed during the attacks, the city’s first such death since New Year’s Eve. Two others were injured, he said. The head of the Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 cruise missiles heading to the area. The regional prosecutor’s office in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia province said three people were killed and seven injured in a strike on an energy facility. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine's armed forces, said Thursday's volley involved a total of 55 missiles, of which 47 were intercepted. Self-exploding drones swept in overnight before the missile strikes. As air raid sirens echoed across the country, civilians, some tugging pet dogs on leashes, poured into subway stations, underground parking lots and basements to seek shelter. It was the first such barrage of Russian firepower across the country since Jan. 14. Russia has carried out massive strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities since early October, part of a strategy to try to hamper Ukrainian forces and to keep civilians in the cold and dark this winter before what many experts predict could be a springtime offensive as more conscripts reach the battlefields. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko acknowledged that some sites were hit, resulting in emergency power outages. In Kyiv’s southern Holosiivsky district, Arkadii Kuritsyn, 53, said he heard a loud explosion that blew out windows of several trucks parked next to his scrap metal business and snapped several trees in a nearby wooded area in half. But the strikes did not reach what appeared to be the intended target: a nearby district power plant. The industrial area has witnessed several missile attacks already, due to its proximity to the power station, said Andrii Tarasenko, 36, who works in a factory nearby. “I am not surprised it was targeted again," he said. "We’ve gotten used to it.” In Hlevakha, an urban area about 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) southwest of the capital, a barrage of missiles followed a drone attack that damaged the two-story home of Halyna Panasian. The damage included a deep crater in the courtyard, a large hole in the roof and pieces of debris scattered about the house. “I was in my bedroom when the house was hit. I had to crawl out through the destroyed walls,” Panasian, 59, said of the blast at about 2 a.m. “Such grief: What can I say? How can I have a happy life now? I can’t. I’m so sad. My life is broken.” The attacks came a day after Germany said it would supply 14 high-tech Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine and authorize other European countries to send up to 88 more. The U.S. said it planned to ship 31 Abrams M1 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Along with Germany and the U.S., Britain, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden are among the nations that have sent or announced plans to supply hundreds of tanks and heavy armored vehicles to fortify Ukraine as it enters a new phase of the war and tries to break through entrenched Russian lines. Gian Gentile, a U.S. Army veteran and senior historian with the Rand think tank, said the M1 Abrams and the Leopards would give Ukraine a “mechanized armored punching force.” The British government said Thursday it would start training Ukrainian troops next week on how to use and fix Challenger 2 tanks. The U.K. is giving 14 of the tanks to Ukraine’s forces, and Defense Minister Alex Chalk said they should arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Ukrainian crews will start their training in Germany in coming days on German-made Marders, which are infantry fighting vehicles, while training on the heavier Leopard 2 tanks would start “a little later.” “In any case, the aim with the Leopards is to have the first company in Ukraine by the end of March, beginning of April,” he added. “I can’t say the precise day.” Read more: Russian attacks on Ukraine reported; tank training to start NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declined to speculate on the timing of the tanks' arrival but told Britain's Sky News the “allies are extremely focused on the importance of speed.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move to provide Ukraine with modern tanks reflected the West’s growing involvement in the conflict. “Both European capitals and Washington keep saying that the delivery of various kinds of weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine, absolutely does not mean the involvement of these countries or the alliance in the hostilities ongoing in Ukraine,” Peskov told reporters. “We categorically disagree with that." “Moscow views everything that has been done by the alliance and the capitals I have mentioned as direct involvement in the conflict,” he added. "We can see it growing.” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who happened to be in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa on Thursday, in part to meet with Ukraine's foreign minister. told France’s LCI television that Thursday's attacks went beyond retaliation. “What we saw this morning — that is, new strikes on civilian installations — that is not making war. It is making war crimes.”

From Washington to Berlin to Kyiv, a Western decision to send battle tanks to Ukraine was hailed enthusiastically. Moscow sought to downplay it. The Kremlin has previously warned that such tank deliveries would be a dangerous escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, and it has strongly denounced the watershed move by Germany and the United States to send the heavy weaponry to its foe. But it insists the new armor won't stop Russia from achieving its goals in Ukraine. “The potential it gives to the Ukrainian armed forces is clearly exaggerated,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Those tanks will burn just like any others.” Moscow played down the move in an apparent attempt to save face as the West raised the stakes in Ukraine. Some Russian experts also emphasized that the supply of the deadly armor will be relatively limited and could take months to reach the front. On Thursday, Russia launched a new wave of missile and self-exploding drone attacks across Ukraine. The attack initially appeared to be a continuation of previous attacks rather than retaliation for the announcements on the tanks. President Vladimir Putin, his diplomats and military leaders have repeatedly warned the West that supplying long-range weapons capable of striking deep inside Russia would mark a red line and trigger a massive retaliation. While other weapons like tanks and certain air defense systems have drawn warnings from Russian officials, the wording has been deliberately vague, perhaps to allow the Kremlin to avoid getting cornered by making specific threats. Poland, the Czech Republic and other NATO allies have provided Ukraine with hundreds of smaller Soviet-made tanks from the Cold War era when they were part of the Soviet bloc. Ukrainian armed forces, who have used similar aging weaponry, needed no extra training to use them. They played an important role on the battlefield, helping Ukraine reclaim broad swaths of territory in 11 months of fighting. Read more: Germany says it won't block Poland giving Ukraine tanks As Ukraine's armored units suffered attrition and stockpiles of the old T-72 tanks ran dry in the arsenals of its allies in Central and Eastern Europe, Kyiv has increasingly pushed for delivery of German-made Leopard 2 and U.S. M1 Abrams tanks. After weeks of hesitation, Germany said Wednesday it will provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard 2 tanks and allow other allies willing to follow suit to deliver 88 Leopards to form two tank battalions. The U.S. announced it will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his officials, who long have said the country needs hundreds of tanks to counter a foe with a far superior number as well as other weapons, greeted the Western decision as a major breakthrough, voicing hope that more supplies will follow. “The deliveries of Leopard 2 will take our ground forces to a qualitatively new level,” Ukrainian military expert Oleh Zhdanov told The Associated Press. Even though Leopard 2s are heavier than Soviet-designed tanks, they have a strong edge in firepower and survivability. “One Leopard 2 could be equivalent to three or five Russian tanks,” Zhdanov said. But he noted that the promised number of Western tanks represents only the minimum that Ukraine needs to repel a likely offensive by Moscow, adding that Russia has thousands of armored vehicles. “Kyiv is preparing for a defensive operation, and its outcome will determine the future course of the conflict,” Zhdanov said. Russian military analysts were more skeptical about the Western tanks, arguing that while Abrams proved clearly superior to older models of Soviet-built tanks during the war in Iraq, newer Russian models are more closely matched. They also charged that Leopard 2 tanks used by the Turkish army against the Kurds in Syria proved vulnerable to Soviet-era anti-tank weapons. Some Russian online media quickly posted diagrams of the vulnerable points of the Leopard 2. “Hit Leopard as your grandfather hit Tiger and Panther!” one headline said, referring to Nazi tanks in World War II. Andrei Kartapolov, a retired general who heads the defense affairs committee in the lower house of the Russian parliament, argued that both Leopard 2 and Abrams are inferior to Russia's T-90, a modified version of the T-72. Read more: Top US general visits training site for Ukrainian soldiers The latest Russian tank, the T-14 Armata, has been manufactured only in small numbers and so far hasn’t been used in the war. The British Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update that Russia has worked to prepare a small batch of T-14s for deployment in Ukraine, but said it had engine and other problems. Russian observers, meanwhile, noted it could take a significant time for the Western tanks to reach Ukraine, adding that training Ukrainians to use them and properly maintain them would add to the challenge. “It likely means that the Ukrainian military will probably receive a few small batches of tanks that could be incompatible with each other,” Moscow-based defense analyst Ilya Kramnik said in a commentary. Zhdanov, the Ukrainian military analyst, argued that by agreeing to provide Ukraine with tanks, the West crossed an important psychological barrier and could eventually follow up by supplying even more deadly weapons. “Handing over Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine marks a major change in the policy of Western allies, who stopped fearing escalation and are now ready to challenge Russia in the war of resources,” he said. “The West is forced to more widely open the doors to its military arsenals to Ukraine.” Speaking in a video address late Wednesday, Zelenskyy hailed the creation of what he called a “tank coalition” and said Ukraine now will seek more artillery and push for unlocking supplies of long-range missiles and, ultimately, warplanes. Ukrainian officials long have expressed hope for getting U.S. F-16 fighter jets and long-range rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, to hit targets far behind the front lines. Such desires drew ominous remarks from Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov, similar to the kind voiced earlier by Putin and others. “If Washington and NATO give Kyiv weapons to strike peaceful cities deep inside Russia and try to seize the territories that constitutionally belong to Russia, it will force Moscow to take harsh retaliatory action,” Gavrilov told a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “Don’t tell us then that we haven’t warned you.”

Ukraine braced for what President Volodymr Zelenskyy warned could be especially brutal Russian attacks Wednesday as the country observed its Independence Day — and marked the war’s six-month point — under conditions considered too dangerous to allow any major public celebrations in the capital. Residents of Kyiv, which has been largely spared in recent months, woke up to air raid sirens, but no immediate strikes followed. As the day wore on, Russian bombardment was reported in the country’s east, south and west, but the attacks did not appear heavier than usual. Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson marked the holiday with a visit to Kyiv — his third since the war broke out — and other European leaders used the occasion to pledge unwavering support for Ukraine, locked in a battle that was widely expected to be a lightning conquest by Moscow but has turned into a grinding war of attrition. The U.S. announced a major new military aid package totaling nearly $3 billion to help Ukrainian forces fight for years to come. Independence Day commemorates Ukraine’s 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. Kyiv authorities banned large gatherings in the capital through Thursday, fearing the national holiday might bring particularly heavy Russian missile strikes. Read: 100 days of Russia-Ukraine conflict – no quick end in sight “Russian provocations and brutal strikes are a possibility,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Please strictly follow the safety rules. Please observe the curfew. Pay attention to the air sirens. Pay attention to official announcements.” Nevertheless, a festive atmosphere prevailed at Kyiv’s Maidan square as thousands of residents posed for pictures next to burned-out Russian tanks put on display. Folk singers set up, and many revelers — ignoring the sirens — were out and about in traditionally embroidered dresses and shirts. Others were fearful. “I can’t sleep at night because of what I see and hear about what is being done in Ukraine,” said a retiree who gave only her first name, Tetyana, her voice shaking with emotion. “This is not a war. It is the destruction of the Ukrainian people.” In a holiday message to the country, Zelenskyy exulted over Ukraine’s success in fending off Moscow’s forces since the invasion, saying: “On Feb. 24, we were told: You have no chance. On Aug. 24, we say: Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!” Zelenskyy also addressed the U.N. Security Council via video over Russia’s objections and said the “security of the entire world” is at stake in Ukraine’s battle against Moscow’s “insane aggression.” U.S. President Joe Biden said the latest American aid package will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense and artillery systems and other weapons. “I know this Independence Day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden said. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened Ukrainians’ pride in themselves, in their country, and in their 31 years of independence.” Britain’s Johnson urged Western allies to stand by Ukraine through the winter. “This is not the time to put forward flimsy negotiating proposals,” he said. “You can’t negotiate with a bear when it’s eating your leg or with a street robber when he has you pinned to the floor.” In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rebuked the Kremlin for its “backward imperialism” and declared that Ukraine “will drive away the dark shadow of war because it is strong and brave, because it has friends in Europe and all over the world.” A car bombing outside Moscow that killed the 29-year-old daughter of right-wing Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin on Saturday also heightened fears that Russia might intensify attacks on Ukraine this week. Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for the death of Darya Dugina, a pro-Kremlin TV commentator. Ukraine has denied any involvement. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have encountered unexpectedly stiff Ukrainian resistance in their invasion and abandoned their effort to storm the capital in the spring. The fighting has turned into a slog that has reduced neighborhoods to rubble and sent shock waves through the world economy. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of his counterparts from a security organization dominated by Russia and China, claimed the slow pace of Moscow’s military action was due to what he said was an effort to spare civilians. Russian forces have repeatedly targeted civilian areas in cities, including hospitals and a Mariupol theater where hundreds of people were taking shelter. But Shoigu said Russia is carrying out strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian military targets, and “everything is done to avoid civilian casualties.” “Undoubtedly, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately,” he said. He also criticized the U.S. and its allies for “continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine,” saying the aid is dragging out the conflict and increasing casualties. On the battlefield, Russian forces struck several towns and villages in Donetsk province in the east over 24 hours, killing one person, authorities said. A building materials superstore in the city of Donetsk was hit by a shell and erupted in flames, the mayor said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries. In the Dnipropetrovsk region on the southern front, the Russians again shelled the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, damaging several buildings and wounding two people, authorities said. Russian troops also shelled the city of Zaporizhzhia, but no casualties were reported. Also, Russian rockets struck unspecified targets in the Khmelnytskyi region, about 

Accusing the government of unleashing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) against Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), BNP senior leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain on Friday warned that the consequences of the attacks will not be good. "Those who (AL leaders) are letting loose their student leaders and workers (BCL) and providing them with arms, sticks, and support to attack Chhatra Dal on Dhaka University campus should think of their consequences, " he said. Also read:Not Padma Bridge, massive plundering causes BNP’s heartburn: Fakhrul Speaking at a rally, the BNP leader said the Awami League government has been indulging in terrorist activities as it has become isolated internationally. “They have no support internationally and the people of the country have rejected them. They have now no choice as their ways all around are blocked. ” He said no party can stay in power for a long time by resorting to hooliganism and terrorism when it loses public support and the earth beneath its feet. BNP’s Dhaka north and south city units arranged the rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club in protest against the attacks on JCD on Dhaka University campus. Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee member, also warned the BCL leaders and activists that they will have to face the same fate as the attackers of Biswajit and Abrar Fahad for attacking the JCD leaders and activists. He said the JCD has launched a street movement for the restoration of democracy through their protests programmes at DU. "We would like to say that the leaders and workers of Chhatra Dal are the children of the people of this country. Their parents are also getting ready to resist you. All those are involved with BNP and its all associate bodies are brothers or guardians of Chhatra Dal. So, no one of these guardians will remain sit idle,” he said. Also read: BCL’s attacks on female JCD leaders cowardly: BNP The BNP leader said all the democratic forces and patriots will get united to make the ongoing movement a success. He urged the government to quit power immediately by dissolving parliament and handing over power to a non-party neutral government to avoid the consequences of the ruling party leaders of Sri Lanka. Once a neutral government takes power, Mosharraf said it will take steps for creating a proper atmosphere in the country for holding a credible election. "EVMs won’t be allowed in the election to be held under a neutral government. The country’s people will elect their representatives by giving votes in their own hands (through ballot paper),” the BNP leader said.

Ukrainian troops solidified their positions around the nation’s second-largest city Saturday as Russian forces delivered more punishing attacks on an embattled steelworks in a bid to complete their conquest of the southern port of Mariupol in time for Victory Day celebrations. As Monday’s holiday commemorating the Soviet Union’s World War II victory over Nazi Germany approached, cities across Ukraine prepared for an expected increase in Russian attacks. Officials urged residents numbed by more than 10 weeks of war to heed air raid warnings. “These symbolic dates are to the Russian aggressor like red to a bull,” Ukraine’s first deputy interior minister, Yevhen Yenin, said. “While the entire civilized world remembers the victims of terrible wars on these days, the Russian Federation wants parades and is preparing to dance over bones in Mariupol." The most intense fighting in recent days has befallen eastern Ukraine, where the two sides are entrenched in a fierce race to capture territory not under their control. Western military analysts said a Ukrainian counter-offensive was advancing around the northeastern city of Kharkiv while the Russians made minor gains in Luhansk, an area where Moscow-backed separatists have fought since 2014. Against that backdrop, Ukrainian fighters were making a final stand to prevent a complete takeover of Mariupol. Securing the strategically important Sea of Azov port that would give Moscow a land bridge to the Crimea Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine during a 2014 invasion. Also read: 7.7 million people displaced inside Ukraine New satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed vast devastation at a sprawling seaside steel mill that is the last corner of Ukrainian resistance in the city. Buildings at the Azovstal plant, including one under which hundreds of fighters and civilians are likely hiding, had large, gaping holes in the roof, according to the images shot Friday by Planet Labs PBC. The bombardment of the steel mill intensified in recent days despite a Russian pledge for a temporary cease-fire to allow civilians inside to escape. Russia has used mortars, artillery, truck-mounted rocket systems, aerial bombardment and shelling from sea to target the facility. Rescuers sought to evacuate more civilians on Saturday after a week of on-and-off convoys to get people out of Mariupol. Dozens of civilians were delivered Friday to the care of United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross representatives, Russian and Ukrainian officials confirmed. The Russian military said the group of 50 included 11 children. The latest evacuees followed roughly 500 others who were allowed to leave the plant and other parts of the city in recent days. The Ukrainian government has called on international organizations to also help evacuate the fighters defending the plant. By Russia’s most recent estimate, roughly 2,000 Ukrainian fighters remained at the Azovstal steelworks. They have repeatedly refused to surrender. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “influential states” were involved in efforts to rescue the soldiers, although he did not mention any by name. “We are also working on diplomatic options to save our troops who are still at Azovstal,” he said in his nightly video address early Saturday. While they pounded away at the plant, Russian forces struggled to make significant gains elsewhere nearly 2 1/2 months into a ruinous war that has killed thousands of people, forced millions to flee Ukraine and flattened large swaths of some cities. Kharkiv, which was the first Soviet capital in Ukraine, remained a key target of Russian shelling, the Ukrainian military said. The Ukrainian army said it made progress around the hotly contested city with a pre-war population of about 1.4 million, recapturing five villages and part of a sixth. A Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said in its most recent assessment that Ukraine’s military may be able to push Russian forces “out of artillery range of Kharkiv in the coming days,” providing a respite for the city and an opportunity to build the defenders’ momentum “into a successful, broader counteroffensive.” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that the “extraordinary strength of the Ukrainian position” lies in all the countries of the free world understanding what is at stake in the ruinous war. Also read: Defenders inside Ukrainian steel mill refuse to surrender “We are defending ourselves against an onslaught of tyranny that wants to destroy everything that freedom gives to people and states,” the Ukrainian leader said. “And such a struggle, for freedom and against tyranny, is fully comprehensible for any society, in any corner of the globe.”

The Executive Committee of the Crime Reporters Association of Bangladesh (CRAB) has strongly condemned the barbaric attacks on journalists who were performing their professional duties at great risk anyway during the horrifying clashes between students of Dhaka College and traders in the  New Market area since late Monday night. CRAB members  Asif Sumit, senior reporter of Dipta TV, and Jasim Mihir, Staff Reporter of Dhaka Post, were among those who came under attack.  The association's president, Mirza Mehdi Tamal, and general secretary Asaduzzaman Biku in a statement demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the attackers.  Journalists were attacked in front of Dhaka College when they went there to collect news of clashes between students and businessmen. Among others, cameraperson of the Dipta TV Imran Hossain Lipu, MyTV reporter Danny Drong, SA TV reporter Tuhin, cameraperson Kabir Hossain, RTV cameraperson Sumon Dey, Daily Star photojournalist Prabir and the daily Aajker Kagoj 's reporter Alamin Raju were also injured while performing their professional duties during the attack.  In a statement, the leaders of CRAB said that those who attacked journalists while performing their professional duties, regardless of their identity, were terrorists. These terrorists are the enemies of the country and the nation, they said. READ: Mobile internet services suspended in New Market area CRAB leaders demanded that those involved in the incident be immediately identified and brought under the law. Besides, they also called upon the law enforcement agencies to be more vigilant in providing security to the journalists.  Over 30 people including journalists and students were injured on Tuesday as students of Dhaka College locked into a series of clashes again with traders of New Market at Nilkhet intersection in the city.   The whole area turned into a scene from a warzone after a fresh clash erupted between them around 10 am as a sequel to Monday night's events. 

A Russian attack severely damaged a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukraine said Wednesday, and citizens trying to escape shelling on the outskirts of Kyiv streamed toward the capital amid warnings from the West that Moscow’s invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter that there were “people, children under the wreckage” of the hospital and called the strike an “atrocity.” Authorities said they were trying to establish how many people had been killed or wounded. Video shared by Zelenskyy showed cheerfully painted hallways strewn with twisted metal and room after room with blown-out windows. Floors were covered in wreckage. Outside, mangled cars burned, in a video provided by the Mariupol city council, with heavy damage to at least three two-story buildings. Much of the front of one building had been ripped away. The council said the damage was “colossal.” “There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenseless," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be held “to account for his terrible crimes.” READ: Russia-Ukraine war: Chernobyl site knocked off power grid Authorities, meanwhile, announced new cease-fires Wednesday morning to allow thousands of civilians to escape from towns around Kyiv as well as the southern cities of Mariupol, Enerhodar and Volnovakha, Izyum in the east and Sumy in the northeast. Previous attempts to establish safe evacuation corridors largely failed because of what the Ukrainians said were Russian attacks. But Putin, in a telephone call with Germany's chancellor, accused militant Ukrainian nationalists of hampering the evacuations. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was able to leave other cities on Wednesday, but people streamed out of Kyiv’s suburbs, many headed for the city center, even as explosions were heard in the capital and air raid sirens sounded repeatedly. From there, the evacuees planned to board trains bound for western Ukrainian regions not under attack. Civilians leaving the Kyiv suburb of Irpin were forced to make their way across the slippery wooden planks of a makeshift bridge, because the Ukrainians blew up the concrete span to Kyiv days ago to slow the Russian advance. With sporadic gunfire echoing behind them, firefighters dragged an elderly man to safety in a wheelbarrow, a child gripped the hand of a helping soldier, and a woman inched her way along cradling a fluffy cat inside her winter coat. They trudged past a crashed van with the words “Our Ukraine” written in the dust coating its windows. “We have a short window of time at the moment,’’ said Yevhen Nyshchuk, a member of Ukraine’s territorial defense forces. “Even if there is a cease-fire right now, there is a high risk of shells falling at any moment.” In Mariupol, local authorities hurried to bury the dead in a mass grave. City workers dug a trench some 25 meters (yards) long at one of the city’s old cemeteries and made the sign of the cross as they pushed bodies wrapped in carpets or bags over the edge. Nationwide, thousands are thought to have been killed, both civilians and soldiers, in the two weeks of fighting since Putin’s forces invaded. The U.N. estimates more than 2 million people have fled the country, the biggest exodus of refugees in Europe since the end of World War II. READ: Russia-Ukraine war: Shelling and evacuation efforts ongoing The fighting knocked out power to the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant, raising fears about the spent fuel that is stored at the site and must be kept cool. But the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said it saw “no critical impact on safety” from the loss of power. The crisis is likely to get worse as Moscow's forces step up their bombardment of cities in response to what appear to be stronger Ukrainian resistance and heavier Russian losses than anticipated. Echoing the director of the CIA, British Defense Secretary said Russia’s assault will get “more brutal and more indiscriminate” as Putin tries to regain momentum. Britain’s Defense Ministry said fighting continued northwest of Kyiv. The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol were being heavily shelled and remained encircled by Russian forces. Russian forces are placing military equipment on farms and amid residential buildings in the northern city of Chernihiv, Ukraine’s military said. In the south, Russians in civilian clothes are advancing on the city of Mykolaiv, a Black Sea shipbuilding center of a half-million people, it said. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, is building up defenses in cities in the north, south and east, and forces around Kyiv are “holding the line” against the Russian offensive, authorities said. In Irpin, a town of 60,000, police officers and soldiers helped elderly residents from their homes. One man was hoisted out of a damaged structure on a makeshift stretcher, while another was pushed toward Kyiv in a shopping cart. Fleeing residents said they had been without power and water for the past four days. Regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba said the crisis for civilians is deepening in and around Kyiv, with the situation particularly dire in the suburbs. “Russia is artificially creating a humanitarian crisis in the Kyiv region, frustrating the evacuation of people and continuing shelling and bombing small communities,” he said. The situation is even worse in Mariupol, a strategic city of 430,000 people on the Sea of Azov that has been encircled by Russian forces for the past week. Efforts to evacuate residents and deliver badly needed food, water and medicine failed Tuesday because of what the Ukrainians said were continued Russian attacks. The city took advantage of a lull in the shelling Wednesday to hurriedly bury 70 people. Some were soldiers, but most were civilians. The work was conducted efficiently and without ceremony. No mourners were present, no families to say their goodbyes. One woman stood at the gates of the cemetery to ask whether her mother was among those being buried. She was. END/AP/UNB

Bangladesh has strongly condemned the Houthi militias’ hijacking of a UAE flag-bearing cargo ship called “Rawabi” off the coast of Al Hudayah Governorate engaged in medical equipment for a Saudi Field Hospital in the Island.   This latest heinous attack obstructs humanitarian and relief work in the war- affected area of Yemen and is morally unjustifiable and shows utter lack of respect for international norms and values, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. Bangladesh is "concerned" that such "insensible and illegal acts" are being deliberately repeated and directed against the humanitarian and relief activities being conducted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners. READ: Bangladesh lambasts Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia's Jazan Bangladesh particularly condemned that the hijacking of the ship which is ill-motivated and illegal and constitutes a terrorist act and piracy against the ship and its crew.   "This act is also a gross violation of international humanitarian law," MoFA said. Bangladesh called upon the criminals who carried out this attack and hijacking to take urgent action to release the ship and evacuate from it. Bangladesh in principle underscored the need to ensure safety and security of the international maritime laws along all maritime routes including the Southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden as well as the Arabian Sea. READ: Bangladesh strongly condemns Houthi attack on Saudi Airport   Bangladesh reiterated its firm solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its brotherly people against any threats to its security and stability. Bangladesh also remains "steadfast" in its commitment towards the regional efforts for maintenance of peace and stability in the region.

At least 200 people in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state have been killed in a wave of vicious attacks by armed militants, residents say. The attacks are believed to be in response to military air strikes that killed more than 100 fighters on Monday and forced others from forest hideouts, reports BBC. Gunmen burnt homes and mutilated the bodies of their victims in the assault. A resident of one of the villages told the Reuters news agency the militants were shooting "anyone on sight". The attacks are the latest in a wave of violent attacks in northwest Nigeria, where the central government has long been at war with a number of local criminal groups it has described as bandits. On Friday it was initially reported that more than 100 people had been killed by suspected "bandit" militants in the region, after some 300 gunmen on motorbikes arrived in as many as nine communities between Tuesday and Thursday night. READ: Nigeria building collapse deaths climb to 36, dozens missing Idi Musa, a resident of another village, told AFP that the attackers also stole "around 2,000 cattle". Meanwhile, local media has reported that armed groups appear to be abandoning hideouts in forested areas in response to sustained government attacks, instead moving towards the western part of Zamfara state. In a statement issued on Saturday, Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, pledged that the government would not relent in its battle with the militants. "Let me reassure these besieged communities and other Nigerians that this government will not abandon them to their fate because we are more than ever determined to get rid of these outlaws," Mr Buhari said. "The latest attacks on innocent people by the bandits is an act of desperation by mass murderers, now under relentless pressure from our military forces." On Wednesday, the Nigerian government officially labelled bandits as terrorists, allowing security forces to impose tougher sanctions on the groups and their supporters. Nigeria's armed forces said this week they had killed 537 "armed bandits and other criminal elements" in the region and arrested 374 others since May last year. READ: 30 killed as gunmen attack rural area in Nigeria's northwest Thousands of Nigerian troops have been deployed to fight the armed groups, a sophisticated networks of criminals who operate across large swathes of territory, often stealing animals, kidnapping for ransom and killing those who confront them.