Lawyers in Europe have asked how Begum's treatment complies with the UK's responsibilities to victims of trafficking. In 2015, as a 15-year-old schoolgirl, Begum left her east London home and travelled with two friends to live under territory held by Islamic State (IS). Campaigners and Begum's lawyers argue she was the victim of child trafficking. Begum, now 26, remains stateless in a Syrian refugee camp. A document published by the European court this month confirms that Begum is challenging Javid's decision under article 4 of the European convention on human rights – a prohibition of slavery and forced labour. Birnberg Peirce Solicitors, which is representing Begum, said the court's communication “presents an unprecedented opportunity” for the UK and Begum to “grapple with the significant considerations raised in her case and ignored, sidestepped or violated up to now by previous UK administrations”. “It has already been long conceded that the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, who took the precipitous decision in 2019 very publicly to deprive Ms Begum of citizenship, had failed entirely to consider the issues of grooming and trafficking of a school child in London and of the state's consequent duties.” A Home Office spokesperson said any decision made to protect national security would be robustly defended. That is why Shamima Begum – who posed a national security threat – had her British citizenship revoked and is unable to return to the UK.” Also on X, Richard Tice, Reform's deputy leader, wrote: “ECHR can jog on….none of their business …just another reason why we must leave this foreign court.”

If you value progressive media, please make a year-end donation today. The Trump administration is planning a massive propaganda campaign aimed at recruiting thousands of new federal immigration enforcement officers to carry out its mass deportation agenda. The propaganda blitz will be targeted at highly specific demographics, including “people who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts, or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear,” according to the Post. The ICE drive would also use an ad-targeting technique called “geofencing” to send recruitment ads to users' phone browsers if they are in the vicinity of certain locations, such as military bases, NASCAR races, college campuses, and gun shows. This rhetoric is similar to the language used in a recent ICE job post flagged by University of Wisconsin–Madison sociologist Jess Calarco. Calarco noted that the job post “reads like a video game ad,” which she said “is almost certainly by design.” The New Republic's Greg Sargent on Wednesday wrote that immigration arrests this year have fallen far short of the goal of 3,000 people per day set by top Trump aide Stephen Miller, and it seems highly unlikely that Miller will realize his dream of deporting 1 million people per year. Reichlin-Melnick also predicted that “there will still be millions of people here who are undocumented” after Trump leaves office in 2028, as the administration “will not be able to deport even the majority of undocumented immigrants in four years.” Thanks to a generous supporter, your one-time gift today will be matched immediately. We have just a few hours left to raise $15,000 and receive the full match. As Trump attempts to silence dissenting voices and oppositional nonprofits, reader support is our best defense against the right-wing agenda. Help Truthout confront Trump's fascism in 2026, and have your donation matched now! Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day. Thanks to a generous supporter, your one-time gift today will be matched immediately and your monthly donation will be matched for the whole first year.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information about the strike on Tuapse Oil Refinery from sources inside Ukraine's military intelligence. Ukraine carried out strikes on oil infrastructure inside Russia late on Dec. 30, sources inside Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent. The operation targeted Tuapse Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai on Russia's Black Sea coast, and struck transport pipelines, a sea terminal and other equipment, the sources said. Local authorities reported that a dock was damaged alongside equipment at the refinery, adding that five homes were damaged and two people were injured in the attack. "A fire at one of the docks was promptly extinguished. A fire was also put out at the refinery site in an area of 300 square meters," the Krasnodar Krai Operational Headquarters said in an announcement. While it was not immediately clear as to what weaponry was used in the reported strikes, Ukraine routinely launches deep strikes against military and industrial facilities in Russia and Russian-occupied territories, primarily relying on domestically developed drones. Kyiv continues to escalate its campaign against Russian oil and gas infrastructure, a key source of Moscow's revenues helping to fuel its all-out invasion of Ukraine. The coastal town is home to the Tuapse Oil Refinery, capable of refining approximately 12 million tons of crude oil per year. Photos and videos posted to social media and filmed by local residents appear to show large flames at the facility. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, speaking to Reuters, called the footage "laughable." The operation targeted a large oil depot in Rybinsk, a city 160 miles north of Moscow in Yaroslavl Oblast, the sources said. Over 170,000 people are without power after the attack, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Wednesday morning. Ukraine's military reportedly struck oil depots in the various Russian and Russian-occupied regions late on Dec. 30, Russian Telegram media channels reported. U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv has denied. "I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Trump said. "Where is their condemnation of the fact that our children are being bombed and people are being killed all this time? I don't hear India, frankly, nor the United Arab Emirates," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 30. "Each restoration requires significant time and resources, as the level of damage varies across regions," Deputy Energy Minister Olha Yukhymchuk said.

Muslim voters who backed Zohran Mamdani are now looking for him to follow through on his policy proposals. As we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation, your support is urgently needed. On January 1, New York City's first ever Muslim and South Asian mayor will take office, inheriting the largest police force in the United States while assuming responsibility for a city that's seen a rise in immigration raids and deportations ever since Donald Trump became president over the last year. His messaging was clear, consistent, and connected directly to the concerns of New York workers in every community across the city. The mayoral election saw the highest turnout in more than 50 years, thanks to Mamdani's success with a wide coalition of groups. The campaign also spoke directly to Muslim voters, many of whom were motivated to cast a ballot because of the surge of Islamophobia, both on a national level and specifically hurled against Mamdani, especially as the election drew closer. The attacks against Mamdani felt almost like outdated caricatures, reminiscent of a time when Muslim hate was much more bluntly spoken and acceptable across the political aisle. Systemic Islamophobia has long been normalized, but that more candid, virulent brand of hate was brought back into fashion with the rise of Donald Trump. And while the anti-Muslim rhetoric that dominated his 2016 campaign caused real harm, Trump was still generally regarded as extreme and outlandish, especially by Democrats. Now, Democrats, who'd long couched their harmful rhetoric and policies in flowery language and progressive aesthetics, jumped on the bandwagon, suggesting Mamdani's win would make the city unsafe. Mamdani's unequivocal stance against Israel's genocide and his solidarity with pro-Palestinian student protesters made him inseparable from that very same dehumanization. Tens of millions of dollars were spent attacking Mamdani, including on attacks that tried to paint him as a Muslim extremist. In one case, a pro-Cuomo group ran a video ad showing Mamdani smiling while the Twin Towers burned in the background. Mamdani was forced by media, in interviews, on talk shows, and from his own opponents, to repeatedly respond to accusations of antisemitism for his criticisms of Israel — allegations that are also rooted in anti-Muslim sentiment, suggesting any Muslim who condemns the genocide in Gaza must harbor hatred against Jews. Addressing New York City's roughly 1 million Muslims, Mamdani doubled down on his Muslim-ness and invited the rest of us to do the same. He challenged the casual racism and dehumanization of Muslims that has become so acceptable in this country, to the point that repeatedly questioning a Muslim about Jewish safety has been framed as not only reasonable, but in the public's best interest. Members of this generation might have been too young to understand the shifting geopolitics of the time as the country would soon begin an endless war in the Middle East, but they were old enough to know that their place in this country, their sense of belonging, was being questioned. They heard the stories that swirled around campuses about FBI and New York City Police Department (NYPD) informants in Muslim student organizations. They learned, along with their elders, that the NYPD had been spying on our communities, mosques and campuses, surveilling young Muslims under the guise of public safety. They share a perspective similar to the one he shared during the campaign: the understanding that being a Muslim New Yorker after 9/11 meant becoming familiar with the anti-Muslim hate and fearmongering that has become embedded in our institutions, along with an urgent desire to make such hate politically toxic. Political leaders on both sides have historically used anti-Muslim hate to further their own agendas. Obama then left office with a legacy of deporting more immigrants than any other president in U.S. history and carrying out more drone strikes on largely Muslim-majority countries in his first year than his predecessor Bush did in his entire tenure. They reluctantly turned out for Obama's former vice president, Joe Biden, who then facilitated and funded a horrific genocide in Gaza that killed more than 70,000 people. Islamophobia is still being used by politicians to garner support. In the same state, a Republican running for Congress has made anti-Muslim hate a focal point of her campaign, calling Muslims “terrorists” and promising to expel them from Texas if elected. Far right, anti-immigrant rhetoric like this has only increased under a Trump administration that has made immigrants the target of baseless attacks and often aggressive violence. Aber Kawas, a community organizer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, like Mamdani, announced her run for New York State Assembly in Queens in early December after receiving the endorsement from the socialist group. In a post announcing her run, Kawas wrote, “I never planned to run for office, but in the last two years, there has been a massive political shift that has called for all of us to reexamine who should hold power,” citing similar issues around affordability that were the focal point of Mamdani's campaign. Especially not after more than two years of an ongoing genocide in Gaza funded by our own tax dollars, it's not enough for elected officials to simply come from marginalized identities. They must be willing to upend a status quo in which people struggle to afford even the most basic necessities while their government spends billions of dollars a year to support mass slaughter in Gaza instead. Muslim voters who backed Mamdani are now looking for him to follow through on his policy proposals, from affordable housing to universal child care to raising the minimum wage — things that will actually make a real difference in their lives. Mamdani has advocated for reforms to policing, proposing a Department of Community Safety which would limit the role of police in responding to 911 calls concerning mental health and homelessness. Muslims have been exploited by both parties for so long, used as political pawns to incite fear and garner support for foreign policy objectives. Like any elected official, Mamdani will face scrutiny as mayor over how well he makes good on his promises. His actions can also set the precedent for how Muslims are reflected in policy and governance for years to come. Thanks to a generous supporter, your one-time gift today will be matched immediately. We have just a few hours left to raise $15,000 and receive the full match. As Trump attempts to silence dissenting voices and oppositional nonprofits, reader support is our best defense against the right-wing agenda. Help Truthout confront Trump's fascism in 2026, and have your donation matched now! This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), and you are free to share and republish under the following terms: Nour Saudi is a New York City-based writer and audio journalist. Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day. Thanks to a generous supporter, your one-time gift today will be matched immediately and your monthly donation will be matched for the whole first year. Take advantage of this match — please give before midnight tonight!

Reunification ‘is unstoppable', says Chinese president, a day after the conclusion of intense military drills China claims Taiwan, a self-governing island, as part of its territory and has long vowed to annex it, using force if necessary. US intelligence is increasingly concerned about the advancing capabilities of China's armed forces to launch such an attack if Xi decides the time is right. On Monday and Tuesday, China's People's Liberation Army launched live-fire military drills around Taiwan, simulating a blockade of main ports and sending its navy, air force, rocket force and coastguard to encircle Taiwan's main island. The drills, called “Justice Mission 2025”, came closer to Taiwan than previous exercises, and involved at least 89 warplanes, the highest tally for more than a year. Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday evening, Xi said China “embraced the world with open arms” and highlighted several multilateral conferences hosted by Beijing this year, including the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in August, when world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin, India's Narendra Modi and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, gathered in Tianjin, a port city near Beijing. The broadcast of Xi's speech on Chinese state media was interspersed with several shots of China's largest ever military parade, which was held in September to mark 80 years since the end of the second world war. During the parade, which was viewed as an unbridled display of military force, Xi, Putin and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, stood side by side in Beijing – a geopolitical alignment that has been called the “axis of upheaval”. Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, gave a punchy speech this year comparing Taiwan to European democracies in the 1930s that faced a threat from Nazi Germany. Xi's speech also praised China's progress in hi-tech development this year, mentioning kickboxing robots and Tianwen-2, a comet exploration mission that launched in May. Earlier in the day, Xi addressed a meeting of top Chinese Communist party officials and said that China was on track to meet its 5% GDP growth target.

Romania and Croatia will join a NATO program to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine's defense, President Zelensky said in a Telegram post. "I thank Romania and Croatia for joining PURL (the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) and announcing their first contributions to the program," Zelensky wrote on Dec. 31. Ukraine has repeatedly stressed the importance and sometimes irreplaceable nature of certain American technologies, such as Patriot systems for intercepting ballistic missile strikes. "Romania's contribution to PURL will support the achievement of a lasting peace in (Ukraine) by strengthening Ukraine's capabilities," Romanian Foreign Minister Toiu Oana said in a tweet late on Dec. 30. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, speaking to Reuters, called the footage "laughable." The operation targeted a large oil depot in Rybinsk, a city 160 miles north of Moscow in Yaroslavl Oblast, the sources said. Over 170,000 people are without power after the attack, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Wednesday morning. Ukraine's military reportedly struck oil depots in the various Russian and Russian-occupied regions late on Dec. 30, Russian Telegram media channels reported. U.S. President Donald Trump said Dec. 29 that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's residence, an allegation Kyiv has denied. "I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it," Trump said. "Where is their condemnation of the fact that our children are being bombed and people are being killed all this time? I don't hear India, frankly, nor the United Arab Emirates," President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 30. "Each restoration requires significant time and resources, as the level of damage varies across regions," Deputy Energy Minister Olha Yukhymchuk said.

Australia's Predictive Discovery said on Wednesday shareholders of Robex Resources RBX-X approved a US$1.45-billion merger, paving the way to create ‍a ​mid-tier gold producer in West Africa. Post-merger, Robex shareholders would own around 46 per cent of the combined entity. The tie-up would create a more diversified gold producer in West Africa, combining Predictive's Bankan project with Robex's Kiniero mine, which has recently ‌commenced commissioning activities. These ‍assets, located just 30 kilometres apart in Guinea, offer ‍significant operational synergies. The merged entity would have a ‌market capitalization of around US$2.4-billion, as per LSEG ⁠data. “Investors sell on uncertainty, not headlines,” said Greg Boland, market strategy consultant at Moomoo Australia, adding that the drop in the share price reflects integration and execution risks, dilution concerns, as ​well as profit-taking after a strong rally in gold prices. Predictive, headquartered in Western Australia, was once at the centre of a potential bidding war with fellow miner Perseus Mining circling the firm as well. The deal comes at a time of surging gold prices, repeatedly hitting record highs. The bullion has gained over 60 per cent this year and was set to log its best ‌year since 1979. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Finland has detained a ship and its crew after a critical undersea telecommunication cable connecting the country to Estonia was damaged Wednesday, Finnish authorities said. Finnish police said in a statement that the vessel suspected of causing the damage was found with its anchor chain lowered into the sea in Finland's waters, while the damage site itself was in Estonia's waters. The Finnish National Police Commissioner Ilkka Koskimäki said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon that all 14 members of the ship's crew have been detained, adding that the crew are citizens of Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Incidents like this have become more frequent in recent years, raising suspicions they are the result of sabotage and prompting NATO to launch a project earlier this year specifically aimed at strengthening the protection of critical undersea infrastructure. According to MarineTraffic, which tracks ship movements, the Fitburg departed the Russian port of St. Petersburg on Tuesday and was headed to Haifa in Israel. After the damage was reported, Finnish authorities instructed the ship to stop and raise its anchor, and then took control of it, the police said. Finnish media reported that the ship was seized by special forces police and the coast guard from helicopters. Finland's President Alexander Stubb said that the government was monitoring the situation closely and that Finland was “prepared for security challenges of various kinds.” The police said they were investigating the incident as aggravated criminal damage, attempted aggravated criminal damage, and aggravated interference with telecommunications. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he spoke to his Estonian counterpart Kristen Michal about the situation, adding that the two countries were cooperating on the issue. Estonia's Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs said in a statement that the country's connections remained sufficiently backed up through other sea and land cables, ensuring the continuity of all services. The ministry said that a second cable, owned by the Swedish company Arelion, was also damaged. At least 10 undersea cables have been cut or damaged in the Baltic Sea since 2023. Russia has consistently denied involvement, but some of the ships that have caused damage to the undersea infrastructure in the past were found to have links to Russia. Last year, a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables were damaged after a Cook Islands-registered vessel dragged its anchor through the seabed for more than 50 miles. Finnish and European officials said the ship, Eagle-S, was part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers, and Finland later charged members of its crew. However, a court in Helsinki dismissed the case in October, saying Finland did not have jurisdiction over the issue.

When Greg Pryer served in the Marine Corps three decades ago and then worked as a New York City police officer who experienced the trauma of September 11, alcohol was his go-to coping mechanism. After retiring from the NYPD in 2015, his drinking habit only worsened, he said. “I went from being a veteran and being in law enforcement, over 20 years of really having an obvious purpose, and retirement somewhat stripped me of my identity,” said Pryer, who retired as a sergeant. “All I had, in a way, was my alcohol to deal with it.” With liquor running his life, Pryer was arrested in 2019 on weapons and driving while intoxicated charges, and again in 2022 on similar weapons charges, in New York's Suffolk County, on Long Island. He had been in courtrooms plenty of times as a cop. Because of his military service, Pryer was eligible to have his cases transferred to the Suffolk County Veterans Treatment Court. A specialized part of the local court system, vets court helps troubled service members get into drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and mental health counseling in lieu of doing jail time. “Yes, it'll help out your legal situation, but it's also a chance to work on yourself, whatever that underlying issue that brought you into the legal system to begin with,” Pryer said. “It's really a blessing that the court picked me up.” For 15 years, hundreds of struggling vets like Pryer have received a lifeline through Suffolk's veterans treatment court, run by those who served just like they did. Today, nearly 750 similar programs are found in 49 states, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data. Like so many fellow veterans, Pryer was not aware of the treatment court's existence until he wound up in the criminal justice system. “I had to learn the hard way,” Pryer said. The idea was so new it had no set guidelines or rules, providing Toomey and company freedom to develop their operation from scratch. Toomey, a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, set a casual tone: He didn't wear a robe on the bench, knew veteran defendants by name, and talked with their families about life at home. Toomey said they could have gone through the regular court system, served a few months of jail time and gone right back to what they were doing before their arrest. The court accepts vets arrested for a gamut of crimes, including driving while intoxicated, misdemeanor and felony drug charges, robbery and criminal possession of weapons. A small team of prosecutors who either served in the military or have a deep understanding of veterans' issues review criminal and combat history and other factors to assess whether they're a good fit for the program, according to a spokesperson for the DA's office. Varying in length depending on the charges, they include mental health and addiction counseling administered by the VA, with treatments managed by a VA counselor. They're also required to make regular court appearances so the judge can monitor their progress and adjust the individual's program as needed. Toomey left in 2018, and today Judge Pierce F. Cohalan presides. An Army reservist with a high-and-tight haircut, Cohalan keeps proceedings in the small, gray courtroom informal and personal, routinely asking defendants how he can help them. Like his predecessor, he doesn't wear a robe. For Cohalan, the program is about progress, not perfection. If participants make mistakes or relapse, they're not kicked out. Pryer, for example, first entered the program in 2019 following an arrest for criminal possession of a weapon and driving while intoxicated, then re-entered it after he was arrested on similar weapons charges in 2022. He was sentenced to three years of probation in April after completing veterans court, according to a court system spokesperson. Navigating sobriety, court appearances, therapy and lawyers can be overwhelming. A volunteer group of vets uniformed in kelly green bomber jackets is there to help. Volunteer Grace Mehl, a 20-year veteran of the Navy, explained how shared experiences in combat or in the court allows participants to trust them, and, ultimately, to succeed. Melissa, who asked for her last name not to be used, is a great example of how it works. She was just all over the place,” Mehl said. After she was arrested for violating that protection order, Melissa said, she reluctantly accepted transferring to vets court, but wanted nothing to do with anyone in it. “They just directed me toward where I was supposed to be. As of November, Melissa said, she was two years sober and reconnected with her mother, whom she talks with daily. Frank D'Aversa, a Green Jackets founding member, has been with the court since its inception. Being shunned by World War II and Korean War veterans when he returned from Vietnam propelled him to get involved. His group operates on a simple conviction: “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” D'Aversa said. For Pryer, 18 months sober and a two-time graduate of vets court, it's an opportunity to give back the gift he got in the program, to help vets through the system he's seen as both a lawman and a defendant. “I am honored to do it today,” he said.

A leading American bourbon maker is being walloped by waning Canadian demand for its products in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's illogical trade war. Jim Beam announced last week that it is halting production at one of its Kentucky distilleries in 2026. Its Clermont facility is a victim of the White House's short-term thinking on tariffs. Naturally, U.S. tariffs sparked a boycott of American products in Canada this year. The liquor boards of other provinces followed suit in solidarity. That's because a slew of interprovincial trade barriers prevent them from seamlessly selling their products to consumers in other provinces. It is a quintessential example of how persistent provincial protectionism scuttles national goals – even when there is widespread public support for expanding internal trade. “When American liquor products were pulled from stores' shelves across Canada as a response to U.S. tariffs, it opened shelf space that could – and should – have been filled by Canadian producers,” states a research report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, a small-business lobby group. “Instead, rigid interprovincial rules and excessive red tape have left small businesses unable to expand beyond their home provinces, leaving significant growth potential untapped.” Aptly titled “Bottled Up: Small business barriers to interprovincial alcohol trade,” the report from November argues that U.S. tariffs highlight the need to strengthen our domestic markets. The federal agency, which noted that prices of alcoholic beverages increased by 2.5 per cent, pointed to a “historic drop” in the volume of alcohol sales during that fiscal year (a reduction of 3.8 per cent to 2.98 billion litres). By contrast, there were increased sales of ciders, coolers and cannabis. Those shifting trends stem, in part, from price sensitivity (Statscan points to a link between higher incomes and increased consumption) and changing consumer preferences. “For small producers, this means navigating a patchwork of rules and duplicative paperwork, paying multiple fees, and often waiting months for approval to enter a new province.” The Canadian Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2017, deliberately excluded alcohol to fortify provincial control. Although all provinces (and one territory) have since signed memoranda of understanding to allow direct-to-consumer alcohol sales by May, 2026, the CFIB is right to be critical of the slow pace of change and the potential for more red tape. Small producers already face differing provincial rules for labelling, product registration, reporting obligations, markup rates and even laboratory testing. One CFIB member quoted in the report, a representative from an unidentified Ontario distillery, said it best: “Liquor boards aren't there to try and help you, they're there to stop you.” Internal trade barriers also hurt consumers by stifling competition, inflating prices and limiting choice. CFIB makes sensible recommendations to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers, including by simplifying licensing and distribution processes. Paternalism over alcohol sales ought to be a relic of the past. After all, Mr. Trump's tariffs underscore the folly of Canadian provinces waging a trade war against themselves. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Moscow's Defense Ministry has released a map showing the route of the Ukrainian long-range drones that targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence in Novgorod Region early on Monday. According to Moscow, Kiev launched 91 UAVs at the compound on the night of December 28-29. The map released by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday shows the flight path of the UAVs, which were launched from several locations in Ukraine and flew north towards Russia's Novgorod Region through Bryansk, Smolensk and Tver regions. According to the map, Russian air defenses shot down 49 drones above Bryansk Region, one above Smolensk Region and another 41 above Novgorod Region as they approached Putin's residence. The ministry said in a statement that it has “presented irrefutable evidence of a terrorist attack planned by the Kiev regime on the Russian President's residence.” The intentions of the Ukrainian government are confirmed by “fragments of drones shot down in Novgorod region, including those with warheads equipped with special striking elements designed to kill people,” the statement read. The local eyewitness accounts of those who observed Russian air defenses at work “refute all attempts by Western and anti-Russian media outlets” to argue that there was “no evidence of a terrorist attack by the Kiev regime,” it said. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, who denies the drone raid on Putin's residence took place, is “either unaware of the actual situation or is simply lying as he usually does,” the ministry argued. The Kremlin noted previously that the drone attack was targeted not only against Putin, but also “against [US] President [Donald] Trump's efforts to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.” Read RT Privacy policy to find out more.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Iran is currently restoring its production of ballistic missiles. During a Fox News interview, the Jewish state's leader was asked on how he estimates the Islamic Republic's progress in restoring its ballistic and nuclear programs. "We set them back considerably in both areas, but, you know, they'll try," he fold Fox News in an interview. Netanyahu claimed that after the Fordow nuclear facility was "obliterated," Tehran may try to restore its nuclear program at "other sites." "They also are trying to recover their missile, ballistic missile production facility," Netanyahu said, adding that the Iranians "are going back to production." Overnight into June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Nine days later, in the early hours of June 22, US jets targeted three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, effectively entering the conflict. According to US officials, there were no casualties or significant damage. Trump later announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. The truce took effect on June 24.

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. It's too early to say that the Russian-EU dialogue is lost forever, because relations may change under a new European Commission, Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry, has told the Izvestia newspaper. "I don't think that the Russia-EU dialogue is lost forever. The European Commission is always elected for a particular term. And the current European Commission also has its term, and a new commission will be elected when it expires," the diplomat said. "I wish the EU finally realize that, in fact, they are the ones to suffer from their policy of sanctions against Russia," he continued. "Sooner or later they will have to review their approach, because Russia will forever remain their neighbor on the [Eurasian] continent.".