International
Rockets strike Ukraine’s Lviv as Biden says Putin ‘cannot remain in power’
U.S. President Joe Biden described Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a butcher who “cannot remain in power” after meeting Ukrainian refugees in Poland, as Kremlin forces stepped up attacks across Ukraine, including the western city of Lviv.
Biden’s comments, an escalation of U.S. rhetoric towards Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, were not a call for regime change in Russia, a White House official said later, but meant to prepare the world’s democracies for an extended conflict.
Just before he spoke outside Warsaw’s castle on Saturday, four missiles hit the outskirts of Lviv, just 60 km (40 miles) from the Polish border, local officials said.
Another strike significantly damaged Lviv’s infrastructure but caused no reported deaths.
As the fight since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour drags on, a visibly irritated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again demanded Western nations send military hardware.
He asked whether they were intimidated by Moscow, saying, “We’ve already been waiting 31 days.”
Biden, in a fiery speech ending a European trip aimed at bolstering Western resolve, framed the war as part of a historic struggle for democratic freedoms.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said. The Kremlin dismissed the comment, saying it was “not for Biden to decide”.
Biden, after meeting refugees in Poland, called Putin a “butcher”.
“We need to be clear-eyed. This battle will not be won in days or months,” he said. “We need to steel ourselves for a long fight ahead.”
Moscow says the goals for what Putin calls a “special military operation” include demilitarizing and “denazifying” its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies calls this a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.
Russia has failed to seize any major Ukrainian city and the conflict has killed thousands of people, sent nearly 3.8 million abroad and driven more than half of Ukraine’s children from their homes, according to the United Nations.
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FIGHTING, BOMBING NATIONWIDE
Western intelligence officials say Russian forces now rely on indiscriminate bombardments rather than risking large-scale ground operations, a tactic that could limit Russian military casualties but would harm more civilians.
Russian forces seized Slavutych, a town where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live, and the mayor said three people were killed, Interfax Ukraine news agency said.
Ukrainian staff have continued to work at Chernobyl after the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident was seized by Russian forces. The International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed alarm about the situation.
Russian forces fired at a nuclear research facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s parliament said.
In the encircled southern port of Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said the situation remained critical, with street fighting in the centre. Mariupol has been devastated by weeks of Russian fire.
Reuters could not independently verify the accounts of fighting throughout Ukraine.
UKRAINE WAITS
The United States, which has pledged billions in aid, promised an additional $100 million for field gear and civilian security assistance for Ukraine’s border guard and police.
Zelenskiy compared Mariupol’s devastation to the destruction inflicted on the Syrian city of Aleppo by Syrian and Russian forces in Syria’s civil war.
He warned of dire consequence if Ukraine – one of the world’s major grain producers – could not export its foodstuffs and urged energy-producing countries to boost output so Russia cannot use its oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations.
The U.N. has confirmed 1,104 civilian deaths and 1,754 injuries in Ukraine and says the real toll is likely higher. Ukraine says 136 children have been killed.
Russia’s defence ministry said 1,351 Russian soldiers had been killed and 3,825 wounded, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday. Ukraine says 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.
Reuters
International
Relief as Israel agrees to ceasefire with Lebanon
Relief as Israel agrees to ceasefire with Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will bring a US-brokered proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon to his government for approval as soon as Tuesday evening.
He said in a televised address that he would put “a ceasefire outline” to ministers “this evening”.
He however did not say how long the truce would last, noting “the length of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon”.
But it later learnt that the ceasefire would is for 60 days.
During the period, Hezbollah fighters are expected to retreat 40 kilometres from Israel’s border, with Israeli ground forces withdrawing from Lebanese territory.
“If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike,” Netanyahu warned.
Key Israel backer the United States has led ceasefire efforts for Lebanon alongside France.
US President Joe Biden is optimistic the deal will lead to a “permanent cessation of hostilities”.
Biden added that the US would lead another push for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“In full coordination with the United States, we are maintaining full military freedom of action,” Netanyahu said, outlining the seven-front war Israel says it faces in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran.
Even as Netanyahu spoke about the ceasefire, the Israeli military carried out multiple strikes on heart of Beirut while the army said some 15 projectiles had entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.
Demonstrators raise placards and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the Israeli Defence Ministry in the coastal city Tel Aviv on November 26, 2024, against a possible ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. – Israel’s security cabinet has started discussing a proposed ceasefire deal in its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, an Israeli official confirmed to AFP on November 26. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
The war in Lebanon escalated after nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah, which said it was acting in support of Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
The war has killed at least 3,823 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.
On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say.
Netanyahu said the ceasefire would allow Israel to focus on “the Iranian threat” and ramp up its fight against Hamas in Gaza.
“With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own,” he said.
“We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages.”
During last year’s Hamas attack, militants took 251 hostages, of whom 97 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the army has declared dead.
International
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
BEIRUT: Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
A strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning and killed at least one person, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a preliminary toll.
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Minutes later, at least 10 Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs. They began approximately 30 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, the largest such warning yet.
As the strikes were under way, Israel’s military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
ARAB NEWS
International
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the legal cases brought against him, calling them “empty and lawless”.
He accused Democrats of weaponising the judicial system to target him as a political opponent.
In a strongly worded statement, Trump alleged that over $100 million in taxpayer money had been wasted in what he described as a politically driven effort to undermine his influence.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” he said, pointing to high-profile prosecutors, including Georgia’s Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as key figures in what he called a “political hijacking.”
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Trump also accused Willis of colluding with Nathan Wade, whom he described as “her lover” and lacking the experience to handle such cases.
He claimed Wade was paid “millions,” allegedly enabling lavish trips and cruises.
Letitia James, who is pursuing a civil fraud case against Trump, was also criticised.
He claimed she had campaigned on a promise to “get Trump” in her bid for office, an action he labelled “unethical” and “probably illegal.”
Trump also mentioned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, alleging that Bragg initially resisted prosecuting him but was pressured into action by the Justice Department and the Democratic Party.
Describing the series of legal actions as a “low point in the history of our Country,” Trump maintained his resolve, declaring: “I persevered, against all odds, and WON.”
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
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