Fuck em.

Israel has conducted an airstrike on Beirut for the first time since signing a November ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Huge smoke plumes rose from the site of the attack in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh and residents reported hearing the explosion from the mountains surrounding the Lebanese capital.

The strike threatens to upset the fragile truce in place between Hezbollah and Israel since a ceasefire was signed on 27 November last year.

Summary

Ukrainian troops have reportedly entered Russia’s Belgorod region, engaging in battles despite losing ground in the Kursk region, which they partially occupied last year.

Russian military blogs reported heavy clashes in Belgorod, but Kyiv has not confirmed the incursion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hinted at actions to relieve pressure on Kursk. Analysts believe the incursion is a tactical move with limited strategic impact.

Russia recently reclaimed the village of Gogolevka in Kursk, while Ukraine still controls around 80 sq km of the region.

Summary

JD Vance criticized Denmark for failing to protect Greenland from Russian and Chinese incursions during a visit to the U.S. military base in Pituffik.

While pledging respect for Greenland's sovereignty, Vance announced increased U.S. naval presence without expanding ground forces.

Trump echoed the need for Greenland’s strategic importance to global security.

Greenland’s new prime minister condemned the visit as disrespectful, and public protests opposed U.S. influence. Trump’s administration continues to push for stronger U.S. involvement in the mineral-rich Arctic region.

Edited for Clarity

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tasked Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency with finding countries that would agree to receive large numbers of Palestinians ~~displaced~~ ethnically cleansed from the Gaza Strip, two Israeli officials tell Axios. Why it matters: President Trump's proposal to ~~remove~~ ethnically cleanse all two million Palestinians from Gaza to rebuild the enclave hasn't gone anywhere. But Netanyahu is also looking for ways to ~~relocate~~ ethnically cleanse large numbers of Palestinians, potentially to countries thousands of miles away. Behind the scenes: Talks have already taken place with Somalia and South Sudan — two poor conflict-plagued countries in East Africa — as well as other countries including Indonesia, according to the two Israeli officials and a former U.S. official. • Netanyahu gave Mossad the secret assignment several weeks ago, the Israeli officials say. • The Israeli Prime Minister's Office declined to comment. Driving the news: Israel is pushing this move and other measures to encourage the ~~removal~~ ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza, while at the same time resuming the ~~war~~ genocide and issuing ~~evacuation~~ ethnic cleansing orders for Palestinians from parts on the enclave. • Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have vowed to ~~occupy~~ ethnically cleanse more and more of Gaza if Hamas refuses to release the remaining hostages. • Israeli officials have discussed, but not yet ordered, a massive ground invasion of Gaza that would involve forcing most of the population into a small ~~"humanitarian area"~~ concentrated ethnic cleansing camp in the south of the Strip. The big picture: Around 90% of Gaza's residents have already been ~~displaced~~ ethnically cleansed by the ~~war~~ genocide, and over 50,000 have been killed according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. • Despite the horror they have endured, many Palestinians vehemently oppose any efforts to ~~remove~~ ethnically cleanse them from their homeland. • The Palestinian Authority, numerous Arab countries and most Western countries have long opposed the ~~displacement~~ ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. The latest: Israel's Cabinet this week approved the formation of a special directorate in the Ministry of Defense that will oversee the ~~"willful departure"~~ ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. • Despite the label, the ~~expulsion~~ ethnic cleansing policies pushed by officials like ultranationalist Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich can hardly be described as "willful."

• Speaking in in the Knesset last month, Smotrich spoke in vivid terms about the timeline for ~~expelling~~ ethnically cleansing the entire population of Gaza. "If ~~we take out~~ ethnically cleanse 10,000 a day it will take six months. If ~~we take out~~ ethnically cleanse 5,000 a day it will take a year," he said. • U.S. and Israeli Legal experts contend that such a massive ~~displacement~~ ethnic cleansing would be a war crime. Yes, but: While several countries have agreed to take small numbers of sick Palestinians, mainly children, from Gaza, no country has agreed to accept massive numbers of Palestinians from Gaza. • Egypt and Jordan have both strongly opposed Trump's plans to ~~relocate~~ ethnically cleanse large numbers of Palestinians to those countries. • Trump isn't actively pursuing his ~~displacement~~ ethnic cleansing plan at the moment, and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is totally focused on getting a new deal between Israel and Hamas that will secure the release of hostages and restore the ceasefire, two U.S. officials tell Axios.

Hundreds of protests at Tesla showrooms are planned across the US and internationally on Saturday. Organizers have dubbed it Tesla Takedown’s Global Day of Action, the latest and largest in a series of demonstrations that began shortly after Donald Trump was inaugurated. Organizers say the rallies will take place in front of more than 200 Tesla locations worldwide, including nearly 50 in California alone.

The protesters’ goal is to send a message to the Trump administration that they’re against what the Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is doing with the US federal government – laying off thousands of workers, cutting department budgets, giving fascist salutes and getting rid of entire agencies.

. . .

Tesla Takedown describes itself as a decentralized grassroots movement that will “protest Tesla for as long as Elon Musk continues to shred public services”. The group says on its organizing page that Musk is “destroying our democracy using the fortune he built at Tesla” and so, in turn, they are “taking action at Tesla”. Local organizers are planning their own demonstrations rather than coordinating with one national group.

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Israel’s role in supplying information that helped track the militant highlights the sensitivity of some disclosures in the texts and raises questions about the Trump administration’s contention that no classified information was shared on the Signal chat, a publicly available nongovernmental app.

The Biden administration sought last year to develop options to strike senior Houthi military and political leaders and approached the Israelis and Saudis for help, according to people familiar with the classified planning. It didn’t decide to carry out those strikes, but the work on those options appear to have given the Trump administration a start in developing targets for their March 15 strike on Houthis militants in Yemen.

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/143881

• Both countries agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture, nuclear energy, aviation and aerospace, while exploring innovative industries such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green hydrogen and biomanufacturing.
• “Our common goal is a rapid solution, allowing us to focus on future partnerships and investment,” Barrot said, noting EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic’s ongoing discussions in Beijing.

Summary

The UK Ministry of Defence is investigating after confidential military documents were found scattered on a Newcastle street.

The papers, linked to Catterick garrison regiments, contained details on soldier ranks, shift patterns, weapon issuance, and intruder detection systems.

A passerby discovered the documents spilling from a black bin bag on March 16. Some documents were marked "official – sensitive," indicating potential moderate damage if disclosed.

The papers have been handed to Northumbria police, and the MoD is examining the security breach.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has emerged as the deadliest war for journalists in modern history. Two Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks just this week, underscoring the extreme risks faced by reporters in the region. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 165 journalists have been killed since October 2023 — a staggering number that surpasses the total journalist fatalities during the entire span of World War II.

The conflict has escalated to a critical point, with Israel resuming strikes on Gaza after breaking a ceasefire with Hamas. Amid this humanitarian catastrophe, journalists persist in their crucial role, risking their lives to document the unfolding events and bring critical information to the world.

In response to attacks on Palestinian journalists, Forbidden Stories launched the Gaza Project — a collaboration bringing together over 40 journalists from 12 organizations, including the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism and The Intercept. Their mission: investigate and expose the unprecedented threats facing journalists in Gaza and the West Bank.

Summary

Trump nominated conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III as ambassador to South Africa, sparking controversy due to Bozell’s past opposition to the anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC).

In 1987, Bozell’s group joined a coalition against ANC “terrorism,” opposing militant resistance to apartheid and discouraging diplomatic meetings with ANC leader Oliver Tambo.

Bozell also criticized Nelson Mandela, calling coverage of his legacy overly positive.

The nomination comes amid strained US-South Africa relations, with Trump recently halting aid over alleged mistreatment of the white minority.

Kristian White was sentenced to 450 hours of community service and placed under the supervision of a corrections officer for two years for manslaughter.

“Mr. White made by what any measure was a terrible mistake,” Justice Ian Harrison said in the New South Wales state Supreme Court.

Prosecutors had called for a prison term in the killing of Clare Nowland, a great-grandmother who suffered dementia, but the judge said such a punishment was disproportionate.

“It is ... at the lower end of seriousness of crimes amounting to wrongful death,” Harrison said.

The Israeli military sent out an urgent evacuation order to residents of Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun travelled to Europe for the first time to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a rare meeting with heads of 40 multinational companies, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sought to strike a contrast with protectionist President Donald Trump.

“China was, is, and will be an ideal, safe, and promising investment destination for foreign investors,” Xi told the gathering, which included leaders from American businesses including Pfizer, FedEx and asset manager Blackstone. “Going with China is going with opportunities, believing in China is believing in tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future.”