Ƶ

Russia launches missiles, drones as Putin’s Easter ceasefire ends, Ukraine says

Russia launches missiles, drones as Putin’s Easter ceasefire ends, Ukraine says
People walk past residential buildings heavily damaged by air attacks in Kostyantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, on April 20, 2025. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 21 April 2025

Russia launches missiles, drones as Putin’s Easter ceasefire ends, Ukraine says

Russia launches missiles, drones as Putin’s Easter ceasefire ends, Ukraine says
  • Both Kyiv and Moscow had accused each other of thousands of attacks that violated the Easter truce

Russia launched missiles and drones targeting Ukraine early on Monday, waking up Kyiv and the eastern half of the country, hours after the one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin came to an end.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damages from the attacks, regional Ukrainian officials said on social media. The scale of the attack was not immediately clear.
Both Kyiv and Moscow had accused each other of thousands of attacks that violated the truce that the Kremlin indicated on Sunday would not be extended.
Washington said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated several times Ukraine’s willingness to pause strikes for 30 days in the war.
But Putin, who launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and who ordered on Saturday the halt in all military activity along the front line until midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT) on Sunday, did not give orders to extend it.
“There were no other commands,” Russia’s TASS state news agency cited Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying when asked whether the ceasefire could be prolonged.
While eastern Ukraine was placed under air raid alerts starting minutes after midnight on Monday that are yet to be called off, according to data from the Ukrainian air force, Kyiv and the central regions were placed on alert for about an hour, starting at 0140 GMT.
There were no reports of strikes on the Ukrainian capital, but officials in the port city of Mykolaiv said that it had been hit by Russian missiles. There were no immediate reports of damages.
Russia’s Voronezh region that borders Ukraine was also under air raid alerts for two hours overnight, and the borders regions of Kursk and parts of Belgorod were briefly under missile threat as well, regional officials said.
While there were no air raid alerts in Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported nearly 3,000 violations of Russia’s own ceasefire with the heaviest attacks and shelling seen along the Pokrovsk part of the frontline, Zelensky said earlier on Monday.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times and said it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, saying also that there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
US President Donald Trump, hoping to clinch a lasting peace deal, struck an optimistic note Sunday, saying that “hopefully” the two sides would make a deal “this week” to end the conflict.
On Friday, Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the US would walk away from peace efforts unless there are clear signs of progress soon.


UK police probe fire at mosque as ‘hate crime’

 Police said on Sunday they were investigating a suspected arson at a mosque in southern England as a “hate crime.”
Police said on Sunday they were investigating a suspected arson at a mosque in southern England as a “hate crime.”
Updated 57 min 17 sec ago

UK police probe fire at mosque as ‘hate crime’

 Police said on Sunday they were investigating a suspected arson at a mosque in southern England as a “hate crime.”
  • Officers were called to the incident at the mosque in the south coast town of Peacehaven late on Saturday

LONDON: Police said on Sunday they were investigating a suspected arson at a mosque in southern England as a “hate crime,” days after a fatal attack on a synagogue.
Officers were called to the incident at the mosque in the south coast town of Peacehaven late on Saturday.
No one was injured but the blaze caused damage to the mosque’s front entrance and a vehicle parked outside.
The fire follows Thursday’s attack on a synagogue in northern Manchester in which two people died and three others were seriously injured.


Pope Leo hopes Gaza plan achieves ‘desired results’ soon

Pope Leo hopes Gaza plan achieves ‘desired results’ soon
Updated 05 October 2025

Pope Leo hopes Gaza plan achieves ‘desired results’ soon

Pope Leo hopes Gaza plan achieves ‘desired results’ soon
  • Pontiff asks all relevant parties to commit to the peace process

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo hopes that a plan to end the war in Gaza would soon reach the “desired results,” he said on Sunday after acknowledging the significant steps made in negotiations to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Speaking during his weekly Angelus prayer, the pontiff asked all relevant parties to commit to the peace process, emphasizing the urgent need to end the conflict and establish a “just and lasting peace.”
“In recent hours, amid the dramatic situation in the Middle East, some significant steps forward have been taken in the peace negotiations, which I hope will soon achieve the desired results,” the pope told faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
He also renewed calls for a permanent ceasefire in the nearly two-year conflict and the release of hostages held in Gaza.
Pope Leo, the first US pope, was elected by the world’s cardinals in May to replace the late Pope Francis and has been more cautious about speaking out against the Gaza conflict than his predecessor.
His role in advocating for peace in Gaza, however, has become more stark since Israel struck the territory’s only Catholic church in July. On Tuesday the pontiff praised US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza and expressed hope that the Palestinian militant group Hamas would endorse it.


UK Jewish groups condemn Israeli minister for inviting far-right figure Tommy Robinson

UK Jewish groups condemn Israeli minister for inviting far-right figure Tommy Robinson
Updated 05 October 2025

UK Jewish groups condemn Israeli minister for inviting far-right figure Tommy Robinson

UK Jewish groups condemn Israeli minister for inviting far-right figure Tommy Robinson
  • ‘Thug’ represents ‘very worst of Britain’: Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jewish Leadership Council
  • ‘Israel is sowing division, supporting and promoting those that platform hate and making our country unsafe’: Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

LONDON: An Israeli minister has been criticized for inviting far-right UK figure Tommy Robinson to visit the country.

Members of the UK’s Jewish community condemned the move, with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council branding him “the very worst of Britain.”

Robinson has been invited by Israel’s minister for the diaspora and combating antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, as a “courageous leader on the front line against radical Islam.”

The invitation, which Robinson has accepted, was extended in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester that left two people dead this week.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council criticized the invite as coming in the community’s “darkest hour.”

In a statement, they said: “Tommy Robinson is a thug who represents the very worst of Britain. His presence undermines those genuinely working to tackle Islamist extremism and foster community cohesion.

“Minister Chikli has proven himself to be a diaspora minister in name only. In our darkest hour, he has ignored the views of the vast majority of British Jews, who utterly and consistently reject Robinson and everything he stands for.”

The decision drew criticism from other sections of UK society. The first Muslim woman to serve in a Cabinet role, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, wrote on X: “The Israeli Minister inviting Tommy Robinson, a man with multiple convictions for violence and fraud to Israel in response to the horrific Manchester attack. Let that sink in.

“At a time all communities in the UK are uniting to support our Jewish community as they grieve, the state of Israel is sowing division in our country, supporting and promoting those that platform hate and making our country unsafe.

“It’s time for all right thinking people to call out this irresponsible and deeply dangerous behaviour from Israel.”

Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future think tank, said: “Tommy Robinson is a voice of prejudice and division. There should be cross-party and multi-faith pressure on the Israeli government to withdraw its invitation.

“Most British Jewish voices have consistently been clear that they reject Robinson’s bogus claim to be an ally of their community. It is important that we hear that again now.”

Robinson, the founder of the far-right English Defence League, has been jailed in the past for contempt of court after being sued for libel by a Syrian refugee, as well as for jeopardizing a trial in 2019. He is currently facing trial for harassing journalists.

Last month, he organized a rally in central London that drew as many as 150,000 attendees and prompted more than 150 reports of anti-Muslim hate to the charity Tell Mama.


Eight arrested, 20 police hurt in clashes at Spanish Palestine march

Eight arrested, 20 police hurt in clashes at Spanish Palestine march
Updated 05 October 2025

Eight arrested, 20 police hurt in clashes at Spanish Palestine march

Eight arrested, 20 police hurt in clashes at Spanish Palestine march
  • Spanish demonstrations joined those in Rome and Lisbon amid anger after the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud aid flotilla
  • Out of the 49 Spaniards who were detained by Israeli forces on the aid flotilla, 21 will fly back to Spain from Tel Aviv on Sunday

MADRID: Eight people were arrested and 20 police officers injured in clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police in Barcelona, police said on Sunday.
Demonstrators vandalized shops, which they claimed had links to Israel, during a mainly peaceful march of 70,000 protesters on Saturday, police said.
Tens of thousands took part in protests in Madrid and scores of other Spanish cities as well as demonstrations in Rome and Lisbon amid anger after the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud aid flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona, trying to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Out of the 49 Spaniards who were detained by Israeli forces on the aid flotilla, 21 will fly back to Spain from Tel Aviv on Sunday, the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish television RTVE.
Spain, which recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024 and has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, last month banned ships and aircraft delivering weapons or military-grade jet fuel to Israel.


UK government to give police new powers to crack down on protests

UK government to give police new powers to crack down on protests
Updated 05 October 2025

UK government to give police new powers to crack down on protests

UK government to give police new powers to crack down on protests
  • Move comes after nearly 500 people detained in London for supporting Palestine Action
  • Home secretary: ‘The frequency of particular protests in particular places is in and of itself a reason for the police to be able to restrict and place conditions’

LONDON: Police in the UK will receive new powers to crack down on protests.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to reassess all existing anti-protest laws, including giving police the ability to relocate regular demonstrations and ban protests outright based on the “cumulative impact” of “repeated disorder” at marches and rallies. 

It comes after around 500 people were arrested in central London for taking part in a demonstration in support of banned group Palestine Action. 
Mahmood told Sky News that she believes there is “a gap in the law” that requires immediate correction.

“What I will be making explicit is that cumulative disruption, that is to say the frequency of particular protests in particular places, is in and of itself a reason for the police to be able to restrict and place conditions,” she said.

Mass events in support of the Palestinian cause have become a regular feature of weekends in London since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

A new element, though, is demonstrations in support of Palestine Action, which was banned as a terrorist group after a series of incidents, including a break-in at a Royal Air Force base earlier this year.

There had been calls for people not to march in support of the people of Gaza or Palestine Action this weekend following the deaths of two people in a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester earlier in the week, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 

In response, Defend Our Juries, which organized Saturday’s protest, said in a statement that it is up to the authorities to “choose to prioritise protecting the public from real terrorism, and not waste resources on enforcing the absurd and ridiculous ban on Palestine Action.”