Saturday, Apr 19th
Last update08:10:11 AM GMT
International Glance
Russia will seek guarantees that Nato will exclude Ukraine from membership and that Ukraine will remain neutral in any peace deal, a Russian deputy foreign minister said.
"We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement," Alexander Grushko told Russian media outlet Izvestia.
"Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of Nato countries to accept it into the alliance," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday he will seek to dismiss the head of the country’s internal security service this week, following a power struggle over the Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu said in a statement the he has had “ongoing distrust” with Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, and “this distrust has grown over time.”
Fire ripped through a packed nightclub early on Sunday in the North Macedonian town of Kocani, killing 59 people and injuring more than 100, after sparks ignited the roof over a live band.
Arrest warrants have been issued for four people in connection with the fire, said interior minister Pance Toskovski. State news agency Mia said that police have detained the owner of the club over the incident.
One video from the event, verified by Reuters, showed a band playing on stage flanked by two flares, the white sparks of which set the ceiling alight.
President Trump announced retired Gen. Keith Kellogg will shift his focus to Ukraine – narrowing his special envoy role to exclude his involvement with Russia as previously planned.
Kellogg, who was initially appointed as Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, will now serve as Special Envoy to Ukraine, the commander in chief said in a Truth Social post Saturday afternoon.
“I am pleased to inform you that General Keith Kellogg has been appointed Special Envoy to Ukraine,” Trump, 78, wrote.
“General Kellogg, a Highly Respected Military Expert, will deal directly with President Zelenskyy, and Ukraine leadership. He knows them well, and they have a very good working relationship together. Congratulations to General Kellogg!”
Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.
The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory on Saturday evening. Images circulating online show plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sana’a airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility. The extent of the damage was not yet clear.
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post.
“No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”
He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy.
Two back-to-back Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza city of Beit Lahiya killed at least nine people on Saturday, according to Gaza civil defense. Witnesses and Gaza health officials say several of those killed were aid workers and journalists.
The Israeli military says it was targeting two terrorists operating a drone in the area. In a statement, it says it hit those individuals, and then struck again when "a number of additional terrorists" collected the drone operating equipment and entered a vehicle.
But the head of Gaza civil defense, Mahmoud Basal, told NPR they were aid workers from the London-based Al-Khair Foundation, along with several journalists working with the group.
TVNL Comment: This is so terrible. There is no cease-fire, only attacks on unarmed Palestinians, no matter if they are aid workers and journalists. Doing nothing is being complicit. Think about that. Do something to stop this horror.
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