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☆ US returns looted antiquities worth $10 million to India
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Karina Tsui | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The United States has returned more than 1,400 looted artifacts worth $10 million to India as part of an ongoing initiative to repatriate stolen art from countries across South and Southeast Asia, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced Wednesday. The trafficked goods recovered include items that, until recently, were on view at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The DA’s office obtained an arrest warrant for him in 2012though he remains in custody in India, pending his extradition to the US. Since its creation over a decade ago, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit –– a task force of lawyers, investigators and art experts –– has recovered 5,800 antiquities valued at almost $460 million. In July, the US and India signed an agreement to protect cultural property by preventing illegal trades and streamlining the process of returning stolen antiquities back to India.

Persons: Nancy Wiener, Subhash Kapoor, Alamy Kapoor, ” William Walker, – – Organizations: CNN, Manhattan District, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, Attorney’s, Metropolitan Museum of Art, federal Homeland Security Locations: United States, India, South, Southeast Asia, New, London, American, New York, Rajasthan, Tamil, Germany, 2012though, York

☆ Georgia’s president calls for rally to save ‘European future’ as thousands protest disputed election
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Central Election Commission (CEC) said it had secured nearly 54% of the vote. Asked why she is refusing to recognize the results of the election, Zourabichvili said Georgian Dream had used “all the instruments” at its disposal to rig the election and called for an international investigation. Giorgi Arjevanidze/AFP/Getty ImagesThe election commission told CNN it received 445 district-level complaints of irregularities on election day. European leaders criticized the bill and have since frozen Georgia’s accession process, just months after it was offered EU candidate status. The UNM was founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been jailed since 2021 for abuse of power while in office.

Persons: CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Zourabichvili, –, ’, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Giorgi Arjevanidze, ”, authoritarians, Matthew Miller, ” Zourabichvili, Vladimir Putin, Zurab, Nicoloz Samkharadze, “, Ivanishvili –, Soviet Union –, Mikheil Saakashvili Organizations: CNN, Election Commission, Getty, Georgian, European Union, EU, United National Movement, UNM Locations: Soviet, Europe, Tbilisi, Russia, AFP, United States, Soviet Union, Georgia

☆ Fantasy football feud leads to fake bomb threat, international investigation and federal charges, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Josh Campbell | Elizabeth Wolfe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Gabriel wrote that the fellow fantasy football player was “headed around Oslo and has a shooting planned with multiple people on his side involved. Law enforcement officers in Norway and the US dedicated five days and hundreds of hours to investigating the threat, prosecutors said. While investigating Gabriel for the international hoax in Norway, prosecutors said they learned that Gabriel emailed another fictitious threat earlier this year – this time to the University of Iowa. In March, Gabriel emailed the university indicating the same fantasy football group member was threatening to “blow up the school,” which Gabriel knew was untrue, prosecutors said. Romero warned in her statement that hoax threats are a crime.

Persons: Matthew Gabriel, Gabriel, “, ”, Jacqueline Romero, ” Gabriel, Romero, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, Philadelphia, US Justice Department, US, Office, Eastern, Eastern District of, Norwegian Police Security Service, FBI, University of Iowa, Eastern District of Pennsylvania Locations: Philadelphia, Eastern District, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Norway, Oslo

☆ MH17 passengers’ relatives mark 10 years since plane was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Story Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

AP —Relatives of passengers killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine gathered with officials at Australia’s Parliament House on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed 298 lives. So in that sense, I’m heartbroken that the conflict continues,” Paul Guard told Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC). Relatives of MH17 passengers join officials at Australia's Parliament House in Canberra. The investigation concluded the missile was driven into Ukraine from a Russian military base near the city of Kursk and returned there after the plane was shot down. Putin said through an interpreter that Ukrainians were all fascists, had brought down MH17 themselves and that Ukraine had no right to exist, Abbott said.

Persons: Paul, Roger, Jill Guard, ” Paul, fatefully, MH17, Mick Tsikas, Penny Wong, ”, “, ” Wong, recommit, Mark Dreyfus, we’ve, ” Dreyfus, Pierre Crom, Tony Abbott, Abbott, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Abbott, Russia Organizations: Malaysia Airlines, Paul Guard, ” Paul Guard, Australian Broadcasting Corp, Boeing, European, of Human, International Civil Aviation Organization Council, House, Australian, “, Australian Attorney, Australia, . Security, Aircraft Missile Brigade, Economic Cooperation, ABC Locations: Ukraine, Australia’s, Toowoomba, Russia, Soviet, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian, Netherlands, Australia, Australia's, Canberra, Schiphol, Malaysian, Kuala Lumpur, Grabovo, Malaysia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Philippines, Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam, Israel, Italy, Romania, United States, South Africa, Kursk, Asia, Beijing, Australian

☆ Israel’s Netzah Yehuda: How an army unit deemed abusive by the US is shaping the fight in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( Cnn S International Investigations Team | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +25 min

In this 2014 photo, Israeli soldiers in the Netzah Yehuda battalion are seen taking part in training in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, near the Syrian border. While he was in Netzah Yehuda, he said, the battalion’s commanders played a key role in perpetuating a culture of violence, both by standing by as it happened and promoting it. The findings by the expert panel would have been enough to disqualify a military unit from any other country, the officials said. Lt. Col. Nitai Okashi oversaw the Netzah Yehuda battalion from 2018 to 2020. Lt. Col. Uri Levy was in charge of Netzah Yehuda from 2014 to 2016.

Persons: Yehuda, Menahem Kahana, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony Blinken, Mike Johnson, Israel “, Blinken, Netzah Yehuda, –, ” Charles Blaha, they’re, ”, “, Biden, Israel, Netzah, Ahmad Jamil Fahd, Sanad, Shin Bet, Gil Cohen, Josh Paul, Paul, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Amanpour, ” Paul, Eyad Baba, Joe Biden, Leahy, Sen, Patrick Leahy, Charles Blaha, Blaha, Omar Assad, Assad, Netzah Yehuda –, Mati Shevach, Nasser Nasser, ” Blaha, Shevach, Nitai Okashi, Okashi, Der Spiegel, , Uri Levy, Levy, Johnson, don’t, ” Netzah Yehuda, Col, Shlomo Shiran, Katie Polglase, Benjamin Brown, Barbara Arvanitidis, Alex Platt, Mark Baron, Augusta Anthony, Alberto Mier, Toby Hancock, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Laura Smith, Eliza Mackintosh, Dan Wright, Matt Wells Ami Kaufman, Jennifer Hansler Organizations: CNN, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, US State Department, State Department, Getty, IDF, State Department’s Office, Security, Human Rights CNN, Congress, Department, Israel Border Police, Internal Security Forces, ” CNN, Israeli Air Force Base, Magen, State, Human, Kfir Brigade, AP, Netzah, Urban Warfare Training Center, CBS, Battalion, Kfir Infantry Brigade, West Bank ., Jerusalem Brigade, Britain’s Guardian, Okashi, Israeli, Augusta Anthony Visual Locations: Israeli, United States, Gaza, Golan, Syrian, AFP, Palestinian, Israel, Ramallah, Rahat, Jerusalem, Jiljilya, Col, West Bank, Jiljiliya, Beit Hanoun

☆ Is Gaza your top issue? Here's a guide to each 2024 candidate's stance.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewIsrael's ongoing war in Gaza — and President Joe Biden's continued support for it — has become a major issue in the 2024 election. After Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in its October 7 attack, Israel launched a counteroffensive aimed at eliminating the group. Here's a guide to where President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump stand on Israel — and why some are threatening to stay home or cast protest votes in November. I mean, moving shots of bombs being dropped into buildings in Gaza… it's a very bad picture for the world." For these voters — some of whom may have even had family members killed in Gaza — they argue that the war outweighs all other considerations.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, That's, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Israel —, Biden, he's, Nathan Howard, Israel Trump, Israel, Israel Hayom, Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Doug Mills, Syria —, we're, Biden's, it's, Abdullah Hammoud, Jill Stein, Cornel West Organizations: Service, Business, UN, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, GOP, Israeli, Washington Post, Muslim, Democratic, Biden, Trump, Green Party Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Syria, Biden's Israel, Dearborn, Michigan

CNN spoke to three Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the Sde Teiman desert camp, which holds Palestinians detained during Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Reports of abuse at Sde Teiman have already surfaced in Israeli and Arab media after an outcry from Israeli and Palestinian rights groups over conditions there. CNN has requested permission from the Israeli military to access the Sde Teiman base. The account tallied with details of a letter authored by a doctor working at Sde Teiman published by Ha’aretz in April. The structure, which resembles an animal pen, is located in the central area of the Sde Teiman compound.

Persons: Sde Teiman, ”, “, –, Ofer, Patrick Gallagher, Adnan al, Bursh –, Mohammed al, Ran, ” Dr, Mohammed Al, Shawish, abasement, “ You’d, Teiman, Ha’aretz, Israel, Ray, Tal Steiner, ” Steiner, – Ofer, West Bank –, Ibrahim Yassine, Abu Salah, Al, Barbara Arvanitidis, Tamara Qiblawi, Matthew Chance OSINT, Allegra Goodwin, Alex Platt, Abeer Salman, Ami Kaufman, Kareem Khadder, Mohammad Al Sawalhi, Carlotta Dotto, Lou Robinson, Mark Oliver, Tom James, Sarah Tilotta, Mark Baron, Julie Zink, Augusta Anthony Motion, Yukari Schrickel, Laura Smith, Eliza Mackintosh, Dan Wright, Matt Wells Editor’s, Matthew Chance, Al Hilou Organizations: Israel CNN —, CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Military, IDF, West Bank, Bosnian, Ahli Baptist Hospital, Social Media, CNN Al, “, Ha’aretz, for Human Rights, Nasser Hospital, Planet Labs PBC Planet, Planet Labs, Palestinian Red Crescent Society Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Al, Ahli, Israel’s, “, London, Sde, Jerusalem

☆ US says Russia used choking agents against Ukrainian troops, breaching chemical weapons ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident, and is probably driven by Russian forces’ desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and achieve tactical gains on the battlefield,” it said. Russia has previously denied using chemical weapons. The US has previously warned Russia against chemical warfare in Ukraine; in March 2022, a month after the invasion began, President Joe Biden said that NATO would respond if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine. The use of chemical weapons is banned by international law. Russia has signed those treaties and claims it doesn’t have chemical weapons, but the country has already been linked to the use of nerve agents against critics in recent years.

Persons: Ukraine’s, Chloropicrin, Joe Biden, Mallory Stewart, Sergei Skripal, Alexey Navalny –, Vladimir Putin, Navalny Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Ukrainian, Chemical Weapons Convention, CWC, Russian Embassy, CDC, State Department, United, United Arab Emirates, US, NATO Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Netherlands, China, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkey, United Arab, Moscow, Ukrainian, Siberia

☆ World Central Kitchen Will Resume Operations in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The World Central Kitchen said on Sunday that it would resume operations in Gaza with a local team of Palestinian aid workers, nearly a month after the Israeli military killed seven of the organization’s workers in targeted drone strikes on their convoy. Israeli military officials have said the attack was a “grave mistake” and cited a series of failures, including a breakdown in communication and violations of the military’s operating procedures. The Washington-based aid group said that it was still calling for an independent, international investigation into the April 1 attack and that it had received “no concrete assurances” that the Israeli military’s operational procedures had changed. But the “humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire,” the aid group’s chief operating officer, Erin Gore, said in a statement. “We are restarting our operation with the same energy, dignity, and focus on feeding as many people as possible,” she said.

Persons: ”, Erin Gore Locations: Gaza, Washington

The Gaza Civil Defense acknowledged that around 100 bodies were buried in graves at the Nasser hospital before the IDF operation there. Al Mighayyer said at the news conference that the Palestinian Gaza Civil Defense in Gaza “discovered torture marks on [some] bodies.” CNN cannot independently verify these claims. Shoshani wrote in the post: “Misinformation is circulating regarding a mass grave that was discovered at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza called on the United Nations to form an international committee to investigate the mass graves at the Nasser complex. Amnesty International has also called for an investigation into the mass graves at the two Gaza hospitals.

Persons: Khan Younis, Mohammed Al Mighayyer, Nasser, Al Mighayyer, Civil Defense “, “, He’s, ”, Gaza “, Nadav Shoshani, Shoshani, Gazans —, Gazans, Israel, Stephane Dujarric, General Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Palestinian Civil Defense, Nasser, Israel Defense Forces, Gaza Civil Defense, Civil Defense, Getty, Palestinian Gaza Civil Defense, Israel’s Defense Forces, IDF, Nasser Hospital, Israel, United, UN, “, Amnesty Locations: Gaza, Khan, Rafah, AFP, Palestinian, Khan Yunis, Israel, United Nations, New York, Nasser

Palestinian officials in Gaza on Thursday increased the tally of bodies discovered in a mass grave on the grounds of a hospital to 392 from 283, amid conflicting accounts between Israel and the Gazan authorities over how and when some of the bodies were buried. “This is the biggest mass grave since the beginning of the war,” Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense, a search and rescue department within the Hamas-controlled territory, said Thursday before calling for an international investigation. Gazan authorities say that mass graves had been dug on the hospital grounds before an Israeli raid there in February but accuse Israel of later opening the site to add bodies. It was not clear how those who were buried at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, had died or exactly when. While The Times could not determine the cause of death for individual people, the initial burials took place amid a weekslong Israeli offensive in the city that began in mid-February.

Persons: Mahmoud Basal, Israel, Khan Younis Organizations: Gaza’s Civil Defense, New York Times, Nasser Locations: Gaza, Israel, Khan

☆ A $20m mansion home was built on top of a 400ft skyscraper. The tycoon owner may never get to live in it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A $20-million sky mansion sits on top of a 33-story luxury apartment complex in India. The spectacular home was designed for businessman Vijay Mallya. AdvertisementVijay Mallya might never get to live in the mansionThere's a real possibility that Mallya won't ever get to live in the sky mansion. Indian businessman Vijay Mallya arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, February 2020. On the list were defense dealer Sanjay Bhandari, diamond trader Nirav Modi, and Vijay Mallya.

Persons: Vijay Mallya, Mallya, —, Vijay, instagram Irfan Razac, superrich, Ambani, Ashwin, Tom Tugendhat, Sanjay Bhandari, Nirav Modi Organizations: Service, Prestige Estates, Business, Kingfisher, Financial Times, Royal, of Justice, Reuters, of State Security, Press Trust of, The, India's Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency Locations: India, Bengaluru, Mumbai, London, Reuters India, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, British, Press Trust of India, The Times

☆ Ukraine and Russia Exchange Hundreds of Prisoners of War
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia and Ukraine announced the exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war on Wednesday, resuming the carefully choreographed trading of captives only a week after Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting down a Russian military transport plane that it said was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war on their way to be exchanged. The cause of the crash, which occurred in Russia’s Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine last week, remains unknown. Ukrainian officials have neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, have called for an international investigation and said that the Russians had offered no conclusive evidence that prisoners were on the flight. After the crash, families of Ukrainian prisoners worried publicly that the episode might imperil one of the few diplomatic channels left between the two countries, making it less likely that they would see their loved ones again. But the process of exchanging prisoners, while at times slowed down, has endured even during the most trying moments of a war that has stretched on for nearly two years.

Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia’s Belgorod

☆ Ukraine says there's no evidence for Russia's claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that missiles fired from across the border brought down the transport plane that it said was taking the POWs back to Ukraine. Local authorities in Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, said the crash killed all 74 people onboard, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen. Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed a Russian military transport plane that day, and Russia's claim that the crash killed Ukrainian POWs could not be independently verified. An International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson in Ukraine urged Russia on Friday night to return the bodies of any POWs who might have died in the plane crash. While Ukraine and Russia regularly exchange the bodies of dead soldiers, each trade has required considerable preparation, Vlasenko said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Moscow, Kyrylo, Budanov, Mykola Oleshchuk, Oleksandr Vlasenko, Vlasenko, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Russian, Wednesday, Ukraine's, Staff, Kyiv, Russian Defense Ministry, Local, Social, International Committee, Red Cross, U.S, Free, Radio Liberty, Red Cross Media Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Russia's Belgorod, Belgorod, Russian, Kyiv, Moscow, Free Europe, thoughtlessness, St . Petersburg

I don’t know whether they did it on purpose or by mistake, through thoughtlessness,” Putin said of Ukraine at a meeting with students. Putin offered no details to support the allegation that Ukraine was to blame, which other Russian officials have also made. Ukrainian officials have not said whether their military shot down the plane, but they called for an international investigation. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesBoth sides in Russia's 23-month-long war in Ukraine have often used accusations to sway opinion at home and abroad. Ukrainian officials confirmed that a prisoner exchange was due to happen Wednesday but said it was called off.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Putin, Mykola Oleshchuk, “, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Authorities Locations: Russia’s Belgorod, thoughtlessness, Ukraine, Belgorod, Moscow, russia, ukraine

☆ Russia Says It Finds Ukraine IDs, Tattooed Body Parts at Plane Crash Site
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday it had recovered Ukrainian identity documents and tattooed body parts from the site where a Russian military plane that Moscow says was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed two days earlier near the Ukrainian border. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed the plane and said there is no proof of who was on board. On Thursday the Investigative Committee said preliminary findings showed the plane was struck by a surface-to-air missile fired from Ukraine. Ukraine has rejected a Russian assertion that it was forewarned that a plane carrying Ukrainian POWs would be flying over Belgorod region at that time. Russia state media said the black boxes from the plane had been delivered to a special defence ministry laboratory in Moscow and investigators were already working on them.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Mark Trevelyan, Alison Williams Organizations: Russian, Federal Penitentiary Service, . Security, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian, Russia's Belgorod, Ukraine, Belgorod

CNN —Ukraine says it has intelligence suggesting only five bodies were delivered from the crash site of a Russian military transport plane to a nearby morgue, a Ukraine military intelligence official told CNN, casting doubt on Moscow’s claim that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed in the explosion. Moscow says the plane was transporting Ukrainian prisoners of war, while Kyiv says it was carrying Russian missiles to be used in further strikes on Ukraine. Ukraine’s military command said it regarded Russian military aircraft approaching Belgorod as legitimate target, but did not confirm it had fired at the plane. Traffic officers block off a road near the crash site of the IL-76 plane outside the village of Yablonovo, Russia, January 24, 2024. Russia has not yet provided evidence that dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board the plane that crashed.

Persons: Andriy Yusov, ”, –, Yusov, Stringer, Dmytro Lubinets, Mykola Oleschuk, Reuters Lubinets, Cross, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, “ Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Russian Aerospace Forces, Russian, Reuters, Ukraine, UN, International Committee, Ukraine’s Security Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Russia’s Belgorod, Kyiv, Yablonovo, Russia, Belgorod, Belgorod city, Ukrainian, Kharkiv

☆ Ukraine floats the theory it may have been tricked into shooting down the plane Russia says was full of Ukrainian POWs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia accused Ukraine of shooting it down, killing 74 people on board, including prisoners of war. AdvertisementUkraine has suggested that it may have been tricked into shooting down a plane that Russia claims was carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia said there were no survivors after an Il-76 plane crashed near Yablonovo, 44 miles southeast of the Belgorod border region of Russia. Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said that Russia was seeking to undermine Ukraine's international support by exploiting the plane crash. AdvertisementUkraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for an international investigation into the incident and accused Russia of "playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners."

Persons: —, GUR, Mykola Oleshchuk, Oleshchuk, Ukrainska, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Dmitry Peskov, Zelenskyy, We've, we're, John Kirby Organizations: Service, Russian Federation, Air, Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainska Pravda, Associated Press, National Security Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Yablonovo, Belgorod, Russian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Lyptsi, Kharkiv, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine Searches for Answers on Russian Plane Crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Andrew E. Kramer | More About Andrew E. Kramer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian officials searched for answers on Thursday to the circumstances of a deadly plane crash over the border in Russia, asking for patience from citizens while they investigated Moscow’s claims that Ukraine had shot down a Russian military aircraft carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war. The plane went down in the Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, killing all onboard, the Russian Ministry of Defense and the regional governor said on Wednesday. The ministry said that the plane had been carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be released in a prisoner exchange. The cause of the crash remains unknown, though Ukrainian officials have not denied shooting down the aircraft. They say they cannot confirm that Ukrainian soldiers on their way to a prisoner exchange were aboard the plane.

Persons: Moscow’s, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Belgorod

☆ Israel Accuses Hamas of Planning to Attack Its Embassy in Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel accused Hamas on Saturday of planning to attack its embassy in Sweden as part of an expansion by the Palestinian Islamist militant group into Europe, where authorities announced the arrests of several suspects last month. In a statement following up on the arrests announced by Danish, German and Swedish authorities, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency named an alleged Hamas network member in Sweden, without specifying whether he was also in custody. The Foreign Ministry in Stockholm declined to comment on the specific security of Israel's embassy, but said: "Sweden takes its commitments under the Vienna Convention to protect foreign missions very seriously." The Mossad statement said a multi-national investigation received information that the Hamas network took orders from a group command post in Lebanon and had "intent to attack the Israeli embassy in Sweden, to procure paragliders and to activate members of criminal groups in Europe". Hamas used paragliders as part of its shock multi-pronged attack on Israel on Oct. 7 which triggered the Gaza war.

Persons: Dan Williams, Marie Mannes, Mark Potter Organizations: West Bank, Foreign Ministry, Vienna Convention, Hamas Locations: JERUSALEM, Israel, Sweden, Palestinian, Europe, Gaza, Stockholm, Vienna, Lebanon

Mendes' account is one of seven given to Reuters by first responders or others dealing with the dead that attest to alleged sexual violence. VICTIMS DEAD, TRAUMATIZEDIn Israeli criminal law, sexual violence includes rape, but also indecent acts, harrassment and sexually demeaning a person – including forced nudity – among other offences. Some of those purporting to show sexual violence could not be authenticated – one seen by Reuters appeared to date to 2021. The news agency verified the locations of two other videos that suggest sexual violence, shared on social media within a day of the attack. Israeli lawyers say its evidentiary requirements on sexual violence are less challenging than Israel's.

Persons: Ronen, Shari Mendes, Mendes, It's, Deen al, Beeri, Taher al, Nono, Orit Soliciano, Neubach, Shelly Harush, Chen Kugel, Kugel, Dana Pugach, Rabbi Israel Weiss, Nachman Dyksztejn, Rami Shmuel, Shani Louk, Yael Vias Gvirsman, Vias Gvirsman, Geert, Jan Knoops, Israel, Peter Hirschberg, Anthony Deutsch, Stephanie Van Den Berg, Edmund Blair, Sara Ledwith, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Nova Festival, REUTERS, Rights, Shura, Reuters, Israel's Association, Association, Authorities, Israel National Center of Forensic Medicine, Ono Academic, Zaka, Police, Criminal Court, ICC, Israel's, Israeli Defence Force, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel's, Israel, Israeli, The Hague, Tel Aviv, Shura, Amsterdam, London

☆ Human Rights Watch says rocket misfire likely cause of deadly Gaza hospital blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A satellite image shows Al-Ahli hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza November 7, 2023. The explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital triggered outrage across the Arab world. Palestinians blamed an Israeli air strike, while Israel said it was caused by a misfiring Palestinian rocket launch. The Al-Ahli hospital blast was one of the most fiercely disputed incidents in a war marked by accusations from both sides of disinformation and war crimes. Palestinians accuse Israel of targeting hospitals and schools, while Israel says Hamas uses ordinary Gazans as human shields by placing military positions in civilian buildings.

Persons: Israel, Basem Naim, Emmanuel Nahshon, Naim, Ida Sawyer, Emma Farge, Nick Macfie, Giles Elgood, Alexander Smith Organizations: Hamas, Maxar Technologies, REUTERS, Rights, Rights Watch, Al, Ahli Arab Hospital, HRW, Israel's Foreign Ministry, Authorities, Hospitals, Thomson Locations: Ahli, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Al

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/NEW DELHI, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The United States is treating a reported plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil with utmost seriousness and has raised the issue with the Indian government "at the senior-most levels," the White House said on Wednesday. The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources, that U.S. authorities thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved. It stated he threatened in video messages to not let Air India operate anywhere in the world. The case comes against the historical backdrop of a bombing in 1985 of an Air India aircraft flying from Canada to India that killed 329, and for which Sikh militants were blamed. Pannun told Reuters on Tuesday that his message was to "boycott Air India not bomb."

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Evelyn Hockstein, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Pannun, Adrienne Watson, Biden, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Hardeep Singh, Shivam Patel, Krishn Kaushik, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Andrew Goudsward, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, Alistair Bell Organizations: India's, White, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Financial Times, Air India, Indian, Washington, FBI, U.S . Justice, India's National Investigation Agency, Sikh, Reuters, Air, Justice, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, DELHI, United States, India, New Delhi, Canada, Vancouver, U.S, New York, Air India

☆ UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for independent investigation into Al-Shifa hospitals claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Andrew Carey | David Shortell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN cannot independently verify the claim by Israel that the image is of a Hamas tunnel. The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Israel to grant independent investigators access to Gaza to probe the competing claims. “This is precisely where you need an independent international investigation, because we have different narratives,” said Türk on Thursday. The IDF on Thursday released an image of what it said were weapons recovered from inside Al-Shifa hospital. On Wednesday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reiterated previous statements from the White House saying the US had intelligence that Hamas was operating in Al-Shifa Hospital.

Persons: Daniel Hagari, Volker Türk, ”, Türk, “, –, Israel of, Israel, Yehudit Weiss, Noa Marciano, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, Al Jazeera, Abu Salmiya, Hagari, Rantisi, Mohammed Zarqout, John Kirby, ” Kirby Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Human, IDF, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Rantisi, Al, US National Security, Shifa Locations: Israel, Gaza City, Gaza, IDF, Ramallah, Israel of Gaza, United States, Al

☆ What we know about what Israel has found at Al-Shifa
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, has become a flashpoint in the conflict that began when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people. CNN has not verified the claims of either Israel or Hamas. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from tunnels beneath the vast complex of Al-Shifa hospital. The IDF also published an “intelligence-based” illustrated video of what it claims the Hamas headquarters under Al-Shifa looks like. The White House has backed Israel’s claims, saying that Hamas was storing weapons and operating a command node from the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, citing US intelligence.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Volker Türk, Daniel Hagari, Israel’s, Medhat Abbas, Israel, ” Israel, – Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, UN, Human Rights, IDF, Al, Senior, Hamas Locations: Al, Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Israeli

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