TV News LIES

British stage and screen actress Maggie Smith, the “Downton Abbey” and “Harry Potter” star who numbers two Oscars, three Emmys and countless stage awards to her credit, died Friday in London. She was 89.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.

She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.”

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The head of the Palestinian Authority denounced Israel and its offensive in the Gaza Strip in front of world leaders Thursday, appealing to other nations to stop what he called a “genocidal war” against a place and people he said had been totally destroyed.

Mahmoud Abbas used the rostrum of the U.N. General Assembly as he typically does — to criticize Israel. But this was the first time he did so since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

Abbas strode to the podium to loud applause and a few unintelligible shouts. His first words were a sentence repeated three times: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”

He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And he said that his government should govern post-war Gaza as part of an independent Palestinian state, a vision that Israel’s hardline government rejects.

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Kamala Harris has hit out at opponents making "proposals for surrender" in Ukraine - making a thinly veiled criticism of Donald Trump.

The US vice president and Democratic candidate for president said some want Ukraine to strike peace with Russia by accepting neutrality and foregoing security relationships with other nations during a news conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Ukraine has stood up to Russia's aggression and today Kyiv stands free and strong. President Zelenskyy, I am clear," she said.

"Putin started this war and he could end it tomorrow if he simply withdrew his troops from Ukraine's sovereign territory."

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Around the concrete courtyard of Ahliah School in the center of Lebanon’s capital, families perch on plastic chairs, sharing news of what houses they’ve heard have been destroyed in their villages near the southern border with Israel.

Many arrived Tuesday, fleeing south Lebanon amid what Lebanese authorities have called the largest displacement of its citizens in decades. More than 90,000 people fled their homes in intense Israeli attacks that killed almost 600 people in just two days this week, according to the United Nations' humanitarian coordination office.

The attacks that Israeli said were aimed at Hezbollah fighters and installations were an intensification of nearly a year of Israel and the militant Lebanese group trading rocket, missile and drone strikes across the Israeli-Lebanese border since the start of the Gaza war last October.

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The Biden administration on Thursday announced a massive infusion of military aid for Ukraine that will total nearly $8 billion and include bombs with the range to reach inside Russia.

The announcement comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the White House to press for permission to fire long-range precision weapons into Russia, a longstanding plea that has gone unanswered.

“It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive,” the AJ+ news story from Palestinian journalist/activist/filmmaker Bisan Owda that sparked controversy after earning a News and Documentary Emmy nomination earlier this year, has now won that Emmy.

The report won the outstanding hard news feature story—short form category on Wednesday during the news portion of the two-day 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmys, held by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. After the project’s nomination, there were calls by the U.S.-based nonprofit Creative Community For Peace for the nomination to be rescinded, with a letter signed by the Hollywood notables including of Debra Messing, Sherry Lansing, Haim Saban and others accusing Owda of having ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a United States-designated terrorist group.

“It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive,” which had previously won a Peabody, uses social media to chronicle Owda’s family’s plight as they flee bombardment of their home in Gaza City.

TVNL Comment: Kudos to Bisan for her outstandling and brave reporting.  Shame on those who tried to discredit her.  Just shame.

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