Overnight Israeli air strikes on central Beirut killed at least six people, Lebanese officials say. Reports say the target was a building where a Hezbollah member lived, which is also the headquarters of a medical centre believed to be affiliated to Hezbollah. Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut, was also attacked. In the south of the country, the Israeli military warned on Thursday morning that air strikes would continue. Israel began a ground invasion of the south this week and yesterday announced the death of eight soldiers inside Lebanon - BBC
President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program in response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel. “The answer is no,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would support such retaliation after Iran fired about 180 missiles at Israel on Tuesday. Biden’s comments came after he and fellow Group of Seven leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom spoke by telephone about coordinating new sanctions against Iran. The U.S. and allies are scrambling to keep the Mideast conflict — sparked by Iran-backed Hamas militants’ in Gaza’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel — from spreading further. They are urging Israel to show restraint as it weighs retaliation against Iran for Tuesday’s attack. - AP
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IMF Approves $1.1 Billion Loan Disbursement to Ukraine Before Trump Inauguration
Ukraine's Prosecutor-General’s Office has initiated an investigation into what it describes as the "largest mass execution" of Ukrainian "prisoners of war" by Russian troops since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion more than 31 months ago. According to an official statement published on the office’s Telegram channel, Russian forces allegedly killed 16 Ukrainian "prisoners of war" near the villages of Mykolayivka and Sukhiy Yar in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region. Videos circulated on various Telegram channels appear to show Ukrainian soldiers, freshly captured by Russian troops, emerging from a forested area. After the prisoners have lined up, Russian forces appear to opened fire. The videos then appear to show Russian soldiers approaching those who were only wounded and shooting them again at close range with machine guns. The videos have not been independently verified. - RFE/RL
The European Commission has taken Hungary to court over a highly controversial law Budapest says is necessary to protect "national sovereignty," but that NGOs have denounced as a dangerous tool to target and eventually silence opposition voices. The lawsuit, announced on Thursday afternoon, represents the next step in the legal action the Commission launched in February and is a reaction to the "unsatisfactory" answers provided by Budapest. The decision effectively transfers the matter from Brussels to Luxembourg, where the EU's top court is based. Notably, the executive does not ask the judges to impose any interim measures, such as the temporary suspension of the law. A final ruling is expected in the coming years. “After carefully assessing the reply of the Hungarian authorities, the Commission maintains most of the grievances identified, which have still not been addressed," the Commission said on Thursday - Euronews
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