Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is pictured on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shemetov via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that new changes to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday mean “the use of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia can prompt a nuclear response.”
Peskov’s remarks came shortly after three U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News that President Joe Biden had approved Ukraine’s use of the long-range American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System — colloquially known as the ATACMS — to hit targets in Russia’s western Kursk region.
The administration hasn’t publicly confirmed the policy change. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists at a Monday briefing he would not confirm or deny approval for ATACMS use inside Russia, but said the U.S. response to Russian and North Korean military cooperation in the war “would be firm.”
There are now some 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region intended for deployment to the battlefield, U.S. officials have said.
The changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine were unveiled several weeks ago but only signed by Putin on Tuesday, as officials in Moscow expressed anger at the U.S. decision to allow ATACMS use on Russian territory.
The doctrine now says Russia can launch a nuclear attack against a country assisting a non-nuclear country in aggression against Russia that critically threatens the country’s state integrity.
Moscow has repeatedly threatened nuclear weapon use against Ukraine and its Western partners throughout its full-scale invasion of the country.
Western leaders including President Joe Biden have said that avoiding a direct clash between Russia and NATO is a top priority given the danger of nuclear war.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Nearly 100 aid trucks looted: UNRWA
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday their aid convoy was “violently” looted over the weekend, one of the largest such cases of looting since the war began.
The 109-truck U.N. convoy was carrying food supplies to people in Gaza when it was looted on Saturday, UNRWA said.
“The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid,” UNRWA said in a statement.
UNRWA said the Israel Defense Forces made the convoy leave a day earlier than planned.
The IDF has not yet commented on this incident.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Israel’s October attack damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program: Netanyahu
Israel damaged some of Iran’s nuclear program in its October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.
Iran’s air defense, ballistic missile production and ability to produce “solid fuel” were impacted, Netanyahu said during remarks to Israel’s parliament.
“There is a certain element of their nuclear program that was damaged in this attack,” he said, though added that its ability to operate “has not yet been thwarted.”
Netanyahu said Iran’s nuclear threat must be dealt with.
“If we don’t deal with the nuclear program, then all the other problems will come back and resurface, both in the axis, and in armaments, and in other things,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also said Israel is “currently talking about possible negotiations for a settlement” to be reached between Israel and Lebanon, but added, “Even if there is a cease-fire, no one says it will last.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US envoy en route to Lebanon for cease-fire talks, official says
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is on his way to Lebanon for talks on a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.
Hochstein left from the U.S. for Lebanon on Monday, the official said.
Israel is getting close to being ready to agree to the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, which is very similar to the proposal that was floated by the U.S. at the end of September. The U.S. needs to see how Hezbollah feels about this proposal, which is what Hochstein aims to do during his trip, according to the official.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
4 killed in Israeli attack in Beirut: Health ministry
Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Monday.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
1 killed, 10 injured in strike on residential building in Israel: Officials
A woman was killed and 10 people injured after a Hezbollah rocket directly hit a residential building in northern Israel, Israeli emergency services said Monday.
Dozens of projectiles were fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israel Monday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces said. Not all of the projectiles were intercepted, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
US sanctions entity, 3 individuals tied to West Bank violence
The State Department said Monday it is sanctioning three individuals and one entity for allegedly undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.”
The department accuses the entity, Eyal Hari Yehuda Company LTD, of having supported Yinon Levi, an Israeli settler who was sanctioned by the Biden administration over accusations of attacks and harassment against Palestinians earlier this year.
The three impacted individuals are Itamar Levi, Shabtai Koshlevsky and Zohar Sabah, the State Department said. Itamar Levi, the brother of Yinon Levi, is being designated for his role as the owner of the aforementioned company, while Koshlevsky is accused of holding a leadership position at Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that provides material support to U.S.-designated outposts in the West Bank and was sanctioned in August of this year.
Sabah is accused of engaging “in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians, including in their homes” as well as “a pattern of destructiveness targeting the livestock, grazing lands and homes of local Palestinians to disrupt their means of support,” the State Department said in a press release.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Hamas denies that leaders relocated from Qatar to Turkey
Hamas denied reports in Israeli media that its leadership has relocated from Qatar to Turkey amid a breakdown in Doha-supported cease-fire talks earlier this month.
Hamas dismissed the news reports as “rumors” spread by Israeli authorities in a statement posted to its official website.
Qatar told Israel and Hamas earlier this month it could not continue to mediate cease-fire and hostage release talks “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith.”
Doha is under U.S. pressure to expel Hamas leaders. A senior administration official told ABC News earlier this month that the group’s “continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.”
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Shannon K. Kingston and Somayeh Malekian
Gaza death toll nears 44,000, health officials say
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 43,922 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 104,000 more injured.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 96 people and wounded at least 60 in Gaza through the weekend, officials said. The dead included 72 people in north Gaza and more than 20 from other areas of the strip.
Most of those killed were displaced women and children sheltering in residential buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
Beit Lahiya is at the heart of the Israel Defense Forces’ recent northern offensive, which has been accompanied with sweeping evacuation orders and spiking civilian casualties.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Hezbollah positive on US cease-fire proposal, reports say
Hezbollah responded positively to the U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Monday.
U.S. special envoy for Lebanon Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before heading to Israel to speak with leaders there.
The proposal is reportedly based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 that sought to end the last major cross-border conflict in 2006.
That deal ordered Hezbollah to withdraw all military units and weapons north of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. The resolution also prohibited Israeli ground and air forces from crossing into Lebanese territory.
Israeli leaders have demanded open-ended freedom to act against threats in Lebanon, a stipulation reportedly opposed by Hezbollah and Lebanese leaders.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Khamenei meets with ambassador injured in pager attacks
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as the latter continues his recovery from injuries sustained during Israel’s detonation of Hezbollah communication devices in September.
Khamenei’s official X account posted a short video of their interaction on Monday, in which Amani told the Iranian leader he lost around half of the vision in his right eye in the attack.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah media relations chief killed in Israeli strike
Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, Hezbollah confirmed.
The strike on central Beirut partially collapsed a building and injured three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed Afif’s death. In a statement, the IDF said he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and went on to become a “central and veteran figure in the organization who greatly influenced Hezbollah’s military activity.”
Citing one particular incident, the statement claimed that he had played a key role in the drone attack on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea in October.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Pope calls for investigation to determine whether Israeli attacks on Gaza are ‘genocide’
Pope Francis, in an upcoming book to be released ahead of his 2025 jubilee, called for an investigation to determine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to the Vatican.
“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” he wrote in a passage released by the Vatican.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope wrote. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”
(PORTLAND, Or.) — A teenager who was seriously injured in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war has arrived in the United States for treatment.
Diaa Al-Haqq, 15, was injured when an alleged Israeli missile attack hit a café in Gaza, the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) — the nongovernmental organization that arranged his evacuation — told Portland, Oregon, ABC affiliate KATU. Diaa’s arms were severely injured and he had amputations on both arms below his elbows.
Diaa and his sister, Aya, arrived at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Saturday, the local PCRF chapter in Portland said in a post on Instagram. After a brief layover, Diaa arrived in Portland, where he will be receiving medical care, on Sunday, according to the chapter.
Videos shared to social media showed Diaa, sitting in a wheelchair, arrive to a cheering crowd waving Palestinian flags.
“We’re really excited that he’s able to come here for treatment and be safely hosted within the Portland community in the coming months,” Niyyah Ruschaer-Haqq, a nurse practitioner in Portland, told KATU.
The PCRF said it worked with several organizations — including the World Health Organization and the nonprofits Human Concern International and FAJR Scientific — to evacuate eight critically injured children, including Diaa, and their companions from Gaza to Jordan. The children were then taken to the U.S. for medical care.
Diaa is one of two children whose medical care will be supported by the PCRF, while the remaining six children will have their medical care supported by other organizations, the PCRF said.
The organization said Diaa dreamed of becoming a professional photographer and loved documenting nature, according to KATU. It’s unclear how long Diaa will remain in the U.S. receiving care.
The PCRF did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, at least 12,000 children have been injured, equating to almost 70 every day, according to UNICEF. They are “disproportionately wearing the scars of the war in Gaza,” according to the humanitarian aid organization.
Last month, UNICEF said that between Jan. 1 and May 7 of this year, an average of 296 children were being medically evacuated from Gaza each month. However, since the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed on May 7 after Israeli forces launched a ground operation, just 22 children have been medically evacuated every month.
“As a result, children in Gaza are dying — not just from the bombs, bullets and shells that strike them — but because, even when ‘miracles happen,’ even when the bombs go off and the homes collapse and the casualties mount, but the children survive, they are then prevented from leaving Gaza to receive the urgent care that would save their lives,” UNICEF said in an October press release.
Since Hamas launched its surprise terrorist attack on Israel, and Israel responded by declaring war, at least 43,800 people have been killed in Gaza and at least 103,700 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. About 1,700 Israelis have been killed and about 8,700 have been injured, according to Israeli officials.
(NEW YORK) — The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it’s happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heatwaves are reshaping our way of life.
The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future.
That’s why the ABC News Climate and Weather Unit is cutting through the noise by curating what you need to know to keep the people and places you care about safe. We are dedicated to providing clarity amid the chaos, giving you the facts and insights necessary to navigate the climate realities of today — and tomorrow.
Hundreds of US counties lack sufficient air quality monitoring
Cities, counties and government agencies use air quality monitors to measure the pollutants and particulates that can cause significant health problems. However, according to a new report, hundreds of counties across the United States lack these essential measurement tools.
According to the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air report, more than two-thirds of U.S. counties do not have official ground-based air quality monitoring stations. As a result, dangerous levels of pollution are going undetected and unaddressed.
The association used satellite data to estimate that 300 of the 2,700 U.S. counties with incomplete or no air monitoring data had potentially failing grade levels of fine particulate matter between 2020 and 2022.
Lexi Popovici, lead report author and a senior manager of the American Lung Association, said satellite data could help fill the data gap left by the missing air monitors and help people and officials, particularly in rural areas, take protective measures. She said the technology could also supplement existing ground monitors and ultimately create a more comprehensive air quality monitoring system.
“Using satellite data actually helps fill in those gaps to identify pollution in places that might otherwise go undetected, and this can help millions of Americans understand what air quality they are breathing,” Popovici said.
Fine particulate pollution is a mix of solid or liquid particles suspended in the air – smaller than a strand of human hair – that can be present even in air that looks clean, according to the EPA. These pollutants are considered the most dangerous forms of air pollution and are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease, and other respiratory health issues.
Popovici said subsequent reports will focus more on the potential of community air quality resources and ways to mitigate environmental injustices.
(LONDON) — Residents of Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog, prompting the city to cancel in-person classes, halt construction and limit traffic, as the Indian capital city’s air-pollution levels surged past 60 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum.
Government officials warned the 33 million residents of Delhi to stay inside and use air purifiers as the smog increased in severity. The city implemented GRAP 4, the highest stage of pollution-related emergency measures, which kick into effect during “severe” air pollution.
GRAP 4 forbids trucks — except those carrying essential goods — from entering the city and bans construction and demolition projects. The government may also consider programs where only vehicles with license plates ending in odd or even numbers may drive on a given day.
Last week, Delhi’s environment minister announced the addition of over 100 more buses to the city’s fleet in response to the worsening pollution. The Delhi metro also announced it will run 60 extra trips as the city tries to minimize the number of cars on the road.
Most students will attend remote classes, and only half of employees will go into offices. Children and those with respiratory illnesses were advised to minimize any time outdoors.
Delhi’s air-quality index, or AQI, shot up past 1,000 on Monday, more than five times higher than Sarajevo, the second most-polluted major city, according to the Swiss air monitoring company IQAir.
The WHO estimates that air pollution kills 7 million people annually. IQAir has consistently ranked Delhi amongst the world’s most-polluted cities.
Toxic smog in the region gets worse every year as winter sets in and smog from crop-burning, brick kilns and heavy traffic settles for extended periods due to the cold, dense air.
Atishi Marlena Singh, the chief minister of Delhi, blamed the deadly pollution on the national government’s insufficient measures.
“The Central Government is sitting idle. Today, all of north India has been pushed into a medical emergency,” she said at a press conference.
Forecasts predict the air pollution will continue throughout this week.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Hamas denies that leaders relocated from Qatar to Turkey
Hamas denied reports in Israeli media that its leadership has relocated from Qatar to Turkey amid a breakdown in Doha-supported cease-fire talks earlier this month.
Hamas dismissed the news reports as “rumors” spread by Israeli authorities in a statement posted to its official website.
Qatar told Israel and Hamas earlier this month it could not continue to mediate cease-fire and hostage release talks “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith.”
Doha is under U.S. pressure to expel Hamas leaders. A senior administration official told ABC News earlier this month that the group’s “continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.”
-ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Shannon K. Kingston and Somayeh Malekian
Gaza death toll nears 44,000, health officials say
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that 43,922 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023, with nearly 104,000 more injured.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 96 people and wounded at least 60 in Gaza through the weekend, officials said. The dead included 72 people in north Gaza and more than 20 from other areas of the strip.
Most of those killed were displaced women and children sheltering in residential buildings in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.
Beit Lahiya is at the heart of the Israel Defense Forces’ recent northern offensive, which has been accompanied with sweeping evacuation orders and spiking civilian casualties.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Joe Simonetti
Hezbollah positive on US cease-fire proposal, reports say
Hezbollah responded positively to the U.S.-proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Monday.
U.S. special envoy for Lebanon Amos Hochstein is expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to discuss the proposal before heading to Israel to speak with leaders there.
The proposal is reportedly based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1701 that sought to end the last major cross-border conflict in 2006.
That deal ordered Hezbollah to withdraw all military units and weapons north of the Litani River, which is around 18 miles north of the Israeli border. The resolution also prohibited Israeli ground and air forces from crossing into Lebanese territory.
Israeli leaders have demanded open-ended freedom to act against threats in Lebanon, a stipulation reportedly opposed by Hezbollah and Lebanese leaders.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Khamenei meets with ambassador injured in pager attacks
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as the latter continues his recovery from injuries sustained during Israel’s detonation of Hezbollah communication devices in September.
Khamenei’s official X account posted a short video of their interaction on Monday, in which Amani told the Iranian leader he lost around half of the vision in his right eye in the attack.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah media relations chief killed in Israeli strike
Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday, Hezbollah confirmed.
The strike on central Beirut partially collapsed a building and injured three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces also confirmed Afif’s death. In a statement, the IDF said he joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and went on to become a “central and veteran figure in the organization who greatly influenced Hezbollah’s military activity.”
Citing one particular incident, the statement claimed that he had played a key role in the drone attack on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea in October.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Pope calls for investigation to determine whether Israeli attacks on Gaza are ‘genocide’
Pope Francis, in an upcoming book to be released ahead of his 2025 jubilee, called for an investigation to determine whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to the Vatican.
“In the Middle East, where the open doors of nations like Jordan or Lebanon continue to be a salvation for millions of people fleeing conflicts in the region: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” he wrote in a passage released by the Vatican.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope wrote. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”
(LONDON) — Russia would consider the White House’s authorization for Ukraine to use U.S.-made longer-range weapons within Russia to be a “qualitatively new round of tensions” between Moscow and Washington, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday.
“Allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, if such permission has actually been given, will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said at his daily briefing.
President Joe Biden authorized the use of the weapons, ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, within the Russian Kursk region, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Sunday. The missiles have a range of about 190 miles.
Ukraine had not as of Monday morning used the weapons against Russian forces within Russia, a senior defense official said.
Officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had been calling for months for authorization to use such weapons within Russia. Kyiv has previously used the ATACMS to strike Russian bases within occupied Ukraine.
But the Biden administration had held back, even as Zelenskyy requested the authorization as he traveled to the White House for an official visit in September.
Peskov on Monday painted the change in policy as an “obvious” signal that the Biden administration in its final months intends to “continue to add fuel to the fire.”
He added that Moscow viewed the move as a way for the White House to “continue to provoke further escalation of tension around this conflict.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Shannon K. Kingston and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
Tanya Dzafarowa/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Sunday targeting power plants and energy infrastructure across the country.
The barrage was the largest attack on Ukraine since late August and the third largest so far this year. Missiles and drones targeted cities including the capital Kyiv, forcing people into basements, subway stations and other underground shelters.
Ukrainian authorities reported that at least five people were killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram early Sunday that the “massive strike” targeted areas in “all regions of Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy said around 120 missiles and 90 drones were fired into the country, with Ukrainian air defenses downing more than 140 targets.
Ukraine’s air force said that at least eight Kinzhal hypersonic missiles — among Moscow’s most advanced weapons — were among the projectiles used in the attack. So too were one Zircon hypersonic cruise missile and more than 100 Kalibr cruise missiles.
The air force said Ukrainian defenders downed 144 targets — 102 missiles and 42 drones. The Russian aircraft involved in the assault included Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers, the air force said, as well as Su-34, Su-27 and MiG-31 jets.
“We are grateful to all our air defense,” the president said, noting that American-made F-16 fighter jets were involved in the defense.
Strikes and explosions were reported in Kyiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro and in western Ukraine. The Black Sea port city of Odesa was reportedly left without power following the strikes.
Zelenskyy said a drone impact in the southern city of Mykolaiv killed two people and injured six others, including two children.
Poland’s military, meanwhile, said the Russian missile barrage prompted it to scramble fighter jets to protect its skies.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko confirmed in a post to social media that the strikes were targeting Ukraine’s grid. The attack prompted authorities to impose emergency energy shutdowns in Kyiv and at least one other region.
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s grid as winter looms. The country’s centralized heating systems having been turned on in the past couple of weeks as temperatures drop below freezing. The strikes threaten to leave millions without power.
Moscow has launched missile and drone barrages against Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war in February 2022. Russia has generally expanded long-range strikes as winters approach hoping to collapse the Ukrainian energy grid.
This year appears no different, with recent months bringing an intensification of drone and missile attacks across the country as the change in U.S. administration prompts talk of renewed peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy told Radio Ukraine on Saturday that Kyiv expects Russia to “continue combined strikes” through the winter period. “We need to prepare for everything,” he added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “true response” to recent conversations with world leaders — an apparent jab at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who spoke with Putin Friday for the first time in two years, against Ukraine’s objections.
“Russia launched one of the largest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure,” Sybiha said. “This is war criminal Putin’s true response to all those who called and visited him recently. We need peace through strength, not appeasement.”
On Thursday, as a National Geographic expedition was exploring the waters around the Solomon Islands, its members spotted something that looked like a shipwreck underwater. Intrigued, they sent a diver down to investigate. The diver came back to the surface with extraordinary news: the object was not a shipwreck but a massive coral – soon confirmed as the biggest coral in the world. Image via National Geographic
(LONDON) — On Thursday, as a National Geographic expedition was exploring the waters around the Solomon Islands, its members spotted something that looked like a shipwreck underwater. Intrigued, they sent a diver down to investigate.
The diver came back to the surface with extraordinary news.
The object was not a shipwreck but a massive coral — soon confirmed as the biggest coral in the world. The gigantic coral, which is visible from space and believed to be about 300 years old, stores an invaluable historical record of ocean conditions from past centuries.
“Just when we think there is nothing left to discover on planet earth, we find a massive coral made of nearly 1 billion little polyps, pulsing with life and color,” said Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and founder of Pristine Seas, the expedition that made the serendipitous discovery.
The coral is three times bigger than the previous record holder, which is known as “Big Momma” and located in American Samoa. While “Big Momma” is as tall as a giraffe, the new coral is the size of a blue whale.
The Solomon Islands, a cluster of hundreds of islands in the South Pacific and fittingly bordered by the Coral Sea, hosts the second highest coral diversity on the planet, boasting more than 490 known species.
“What many people don’t realize is that corals, though appearing as simple rocks, are actually living creatures that build these incredible habitats,” said Ronnie Posala, Fisheries officer at the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
He added that corals are critical defenses against the effects of climate change, saying that they “act as the first line of defense for coastal communities, buffering against powerful waves and storms.”
Corals and coral reefs are endangered due to global warming, which results in coral bleaching. According to UNESCO, the coral reefs in all 29 reef-containing World Heritage sites would cease to exist by the end of this century if human-created processes continue to emit the current level of greenhouse gasses.
“Despite its remote location, this coral is not safe from global warming and other human threats,” said Sala.
But the newly discovered reef also brings optimism, according to Eric Brown, a coral scientist on the National Geographic expedition.
“While the nearby shallow reefs were degraded due to warmer seas,” said Brown, “witnessing this large healthy coral oasis in slightly deeper waters is a beacon of hope.”
(WELLINGTON, New Zealand) — Māori lawmakers interrupted a New Zealand parliamentary vote with a Haka on Thursday to protest a proposed law that critics say would erode the land and cultural rights of Indigenous New Zealanders.
When asked how her party’s representatives would vote during the session, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of New Zealand’s Māori party stood up and began a soaring Haka, a ceremonial Māori dance that demonstrates pride, strength and unity through a series of intricate movements and facial expressions. She ripped a copy of the bill in half as she did the Haka.
About half of the lawmakers present, including members of the Labour and Green parties, joined in, along with members of the public seated in the gallery, their chants echoing through the chamber.
Gerry Brownlee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, appeared to roll his eyes as the Haka began. Unable to regain control of the room, he later suspended the House and ordered the gallery to be cleared.
He suspended Maipi-Clarke for one day. Earlier in the session, he ejected veteran Māori lawmaker Willie Jackson for yelling “Shame! Shame!” at the representative who proposed the controversial law.
The Treaty Principles Bill proposes reinterpreting the Treaty of Waitangi, an 1840 agreement guaranteeing the Māori certain land and cultural rights in exchange for allowing the British to govern.
Critics of the bill said it will eliminate dedicated land, government seats, health care initiatives and cultural preservation efforts granted to the Maori people under the Treaty of Waitangi. Together for Te Tiriti, a group that advocates for Maori people, said the bill “clears the way for politicians and corporations to have greater control over our communities.”
David Seymour, a Māori lawmaker who authored the Treaty Principles Bill, argued that the existing laws grant Māori people “different rights from other New Zealanders.”
Under the Treaty of Waitangi, lawmakers set up programs to revitalize the Māori language and tackle poor health metrics through a Māori Health Authority.
Although the Treaty Principles Bill is unlikely to pass, leaders, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, voted for it in the first stage as part of a political coalition deal, promising they would not allow it to pass any further.
Thousands of New Zealanders marched toward Wellington on Monday to protest the Treaty Principles Bill. The protest is expected to be the biggest race relations march in the country’s history.
