TV News LIES

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has approved the issuance of gun licences to Israelis in 18 additional illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, as the right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes to expand illegal outposts that undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

“The importance of the decision lies in the fact that these settlements will now be able to submit applications for a personal weapon licence,” Ben-Gvir, a far-right minister, wrote on Telegram on Wednesday, claiming that the efforts were to “enhance self-defence and increase personal security”.

Israeli settlers have been emboldened by a wide-scale armament programme spearheaded at the start of Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip by Ben-Gvir, and the near-total impunity they enjoy when carrying out attacks.

Israelis living illegally in the occupied West Bank have been armed with military-grade weapons ranging from US-made M16s to pistols and drones. Israeli authorities maintain that holding arms is necessary for their safety, but local and international organisations have long documented the organised, forced displacement of Palestinians from their ancestral lands.

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Air-defense sirens wailed and explosions shook Kyiv early Saturday as Russia launched one of its heaviest assaults in months – just hours after Ukrainian, Russian, and US negotiators convened in Abu Dhabi for peace talks.

Kyiv Post reporters who spent the night in shelters described the barrage as “very, very massive.”

One correspondent added grimly: “I assume the situation following this strike is going to be extremely tough.”

The timing was unmistakable.

“With negotiations underway, Moscow is sending a message written in fire,” said a senior European diplomat in Washington, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “This is how the Kremlin negotiates – with missiles.”

Meaghan Mobbs, daughter of former Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, echoed the sentiment in a pointed social media post: 

“With ongoing negotiations in Abu Dhabi, it’s hard not to read this as a signal of Russia’s intentions toward peace. I have stopped guessing at what point such behavior would so enrage POTUS that he decides to double down and give substantial aid to Ukraine.”

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For over four decades, Republican presidents have banned U.S. funds from going to groups that provide or promote abortion — and Democratic presidents have reversed the ban.

On Friday at the March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., Vice President JD Vance announced a major expansion of the policy. The Mexico City policy, named for where it was first unveiled, will now also bar funding to groups that promote "gender ideology" and diversity, equity and inclusion.

"We believe that every country in the world has the duty to protect life," said Vance. "We're expanding this policy to protect life, to combat DEI and the radical gender ideologies that prey on our children."

The administration is also expanding the policy beyond non-governmental charitable groups to larger organizations that cross country borders, like U.N. agencies.

Vance's announcement was met with cheers from the large crowd of March for Life participants gathered on the National Mall. Each year, anti-abortion advocates gather in D.C. for the rally.

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New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has received a baby box from the Scottish government after modelling part of his election campaign on Edinburgh’s example of providing each expectant mother with a set of essentials.

Scotland’s social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said it would help the city’s leader develop his own plans for a “baby basket”.

She said: “I read with interest that mayor Mamdani was considering a baby basket scheme in New York and hope that, by sending a Scottish example, it will provide inspiration to help him to refine and develop his exciting policy.

“Scots share much in common with the people of New York; not least our history and heritage – as celebrated every year during New York Tartan Week.

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At least 11 Palestinians killed in surge of Israeli attacks across Gaza: The bodies of 11 Palestinians arrived at hospitals in Gaza between this morning and 4:00pm local time, while six Palestinians were injured, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The Health ministry has not updated the total death toll recorded since October 7, 2023, which on Tuesday stood at 71,551 killed, with 171,372 injured.

Three journalists among those killed in Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday: Three Palestinian journalists—Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Samir Shaath, and Anas Ghanem—were killed in Israeli attacks on Wednesday. The journalists were targeted in a strike on their car, while filming for an Egyptian government humanitarian initiative in the central town of Zahraa. Footage of the aftermath of the strike showed the targeted vehicle clearly marked with the Egyptian Committee’s logo.

Over 260 journalists have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza. In separate Israeli attacks on Wednesday, a man and his 13-year-old son were killed in an Israeli drone strike, along with a 22-year-old man, while collecting firewood on the east side of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Associated Press. Another 13-year-old boy was shot and killed by the Israeli military in Bani Suhaila, eastern Khan Younis.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Davos, Switzerland, that the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia remains unresolved after his conversation with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday.

The forum’s agenda has been dominated by the diplomatic response to Trump’s threats to gain control of NATO ally Denmark’s mineral-rich Arctic territory, Greenland. But, after a false start on Wednesday, the two leaders finally held a “good” meeting – in Trump’s word – on Thursday.

“It’s all about the eastern part of our country. It’s all about the land. This is the issue which we [have) not solved yet,” Zelensky told reporters afterwards, as per AFP.

The US administration has been determinedly upbeat about the state of negotiations to end Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine since before Christmas – perhaps, as it turns out, with some merit. Zelensky also said that he and Trump had finalized the terms of US security guarantees for Ukraine – describing them as “done.”

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