Hamas says Israeli killing of commander endangers fragile cease-fire

Hamas says Israel’s assassination of a senior commander has imperiled Gaza’s fragile ceasefire, urging U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Israel to abide by the truce terms as rival factions maneuver over the enclave’s future security architecture. The group identified the slain commander as Raed Saed, killed alongside three associates. Thousands of supporters massed in central Gaza City for Saed’s funeral, chanting “Martyrs are dear to God” as coffins draped in green Hamas flags moved through one of the largest public…

Ukraine war accelerates Europe’s shift back to compulsory military service

Europe is bringing back the citizen-soldier. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a growing number of European governments have moved to reintroduce conscription or expand voluntary national service, reversing three decades of reliance on smaller, professional armies. Germany and France are the latest to join the shift, betting that wider training for young adults is the fastest way to rebuild reserves, harden deterrence and prepare for a long era of insecurity. The trend marks a significant recalibration.…

Kim Jong Un confirms North Korean troops cleared landmines for Russia

North Korea has acknowledged deploying troops to Russia’s Kursk region to clear land mines, with leader Kim Jong Un praising an engineering regiment for “mass heroism” during a ceremony in Pyongyang, according to state media. The remarks, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), mark a rare public admission by Pyongyang about the dangerous frontline duties assigned to its soldiers in Russia as the war in Ukraine nears its fourth year. KCNA said Kim hailed the unit’s return and awarded state honors to fallen soldiers…

Two arrested after shots fired at Sydney’s Bondi Beach

SYDNEY — Two people were taken into custody after reports of gunfire and injuries at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, New South Wales Police said Saturday, as officers urged the public to avoid the area during an ongoing operation. Emergency services said eight people were transported to hospitals following the incident at the popular beachfront in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Authorities did not immediately provide details on the nature of their injuries or whether there were any fatalities. “The police operation is ongoing and we…

Trump shrugs off newly released Jeffrey Epstein photos as trivial

Trump dismisses newly released Jeffrey Epstein photos as ‘no big deal’ WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday brushed off the release of new photos showing him with Jeffrey Epstein, telling reporters the images were “no big deal” and insisting the late financier appeared in countless pictures with prominent people long before his 2019 death. “Everybody knew this man,” Trump said at the White House. “He was all over Palm Beach. He has photos with everybody. I mean, almost — there are hundreds and hundreds of people…

Brown University shooting leaves two dead, mayor says

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Two people were killed and eight others were critically injured in a shooting at Brown University on Friday, prompting a campuswide shelter-in-place order as police launched a manhunt for the gunman, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. Shots were fired inside Barus and Holley, Brown’s main engineering building on College Hill, while exams were underway. The university issued an emergency alert at 4:22 p.m. local time reporting an “active shooter near Barus and Holley Engineering,” and urged students,…

Cambodia seals Thailand border crossings as deadly fighting flares

Cambodia shuts border crossings with Thailand as Bangkok denies Trump claim of ceasefire Cambodia has closed all official crossings with Thailand amid days of cross-border clashes, hours after Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul contradicted former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that the two countries had agreed to halt fighting. The Interior Ministry in Phnom Penh said it would “suspend all entry and exit movements at all Cambodia-Thailand border crossings” effective immediately, following new fatalities along…

ISIS ambush in Syria kills two U.S. service members

Two U.S. service members and an interpreter were killed in central Syria when an alleged Islamic State gunman opened fire on a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol near Palmyra, U.S. Central Command said, marking a deadly escalation as Washington and Damascus deepen military coordination against ISIS remnants. CENTCOM announced the deaths on X, adding that three additional troops were wounded in what it described as “an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman.” The attacker “was engaged and killed,” the command said. Officials said the identities…

UK police won’t investigate allegations involving Andrew’s bodyguard

Met Police decline criminal probe into report Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked bodyguard to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre The Metropolitan Police will not launch a criminal investigation into reports that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor asked a taxpayer-funded bodyguard to obtain personal information about Virginia Giuffre, the woman who has accused him of sexual abuse, a senior officer said. Central Specialist Crime Commander Ella Marriott said the force has completed an assessment of the claims, which were reported in October…

Belarus releases Nobel Prize winner as U.S. lifts additional sanctions

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners — including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava — after two days of talks with an envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a U.S. statement. In return, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash, a critical fertilizer ingredient that the former Soviet state produces in large volumes for global markets. The release is the largest announced by Lukashenko since Trump’s administration…