TV News LIES

A Ukrainian court has handed down the first jail sentence for life against a Russian soldier accused of killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war.

Dmitry Kurashov, 27, was found guilty of shooting dead Vitalii Hodniuk, a veteran 41-year-old Ukrainian soldier who had surrendered following capture in 2024.

Ukraine's national police said that "expert reports, witness testimony and video footage from the scene confirmed that the Russian soldier deliberately killed the POW on the orders of his commanders, who had instructed troops not to take Ukrainian soldiers captive".

In a months-long trial which began earlier this year, the court heard how Kurashov's unit stormed a Ukrainian position in the region of Zaporizhzhia on the morning of 6 January 2024.

The prosecution said that although Hodniuk crawled out of a dugout unarmed and surrendered, Kurashov shot him point-blank with several aimed AK-47 shots – a violation of the laws of war.

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What future is there for Palestinians in Gaza? The announcement of the ceasefire brought profound relief, shaded by an equally deep sense of trepidation. Almost a month later, the picture looks bleaker. The Israeli offensive abated, Hamas has returned the surviving hostages and the remains of some of those who have died, and Israel has released some Palestinian detainees and the remains of others.

But more than 200 Palestinians, including children, have reportedly died in strikes that Israel says are in response to Hamas attacks. Thousands of bodies are still believed to be trapped beneath the ruins ­– debris which, it is estimated, would take a fleet of more than a hundred lorries seven years to shift. Aid is flowing again, but remains wholly inadequate, with NGOs warning that Israel’s new registration system is obstructing delivery. Israeli demolitions continue in the half of Gaza that its forces still hold. Unicef warned this week that the education system – in so far as it survives after two years of war and the destruction of more than 90% of school and university buildings – is on the brink of collapse. New babies are born literally in the rubble, to mothers who have neither homes nor working hospitals.

Fears about maintaining the ceasefire have not disappeared. Mediators are discussing a potential deal to give Hamas fighters safe passage out of Israeli-held Rafah if they surrender their arms, in the hope of resolving a possible flashpoint. But a senior Qatari diplomat, Majed al-Ansari, pointed to a deeper risk when he spoke to the Guardian last week: that Gaza slides towards a limbo of “no war, no peace”, in which deaths continue and reconstruction cannot occur.

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The Israeli army has continued to attack various areas across the Gaza Strip, as troops carry out demolitions of buildings despite the lack of shelters amid dropping temperatures.

Israeli aerial strikes and artillery fire have been ongoing since Sunday night, particularly in Khan Younis, south of the besieged enclave, and Gaza City, killing and injuring a number of civilians. 

Israeli aircraft launched several air strikes on Monday morning on the eastern areas of Khan Younis, coinciding with heavy artillery shelling that targeted al-Khansaa School and its surroundings in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of the city.

Israel also launched attacks on the southern city of Rafah on early Monday, killing at least two Palestinians.

Meanwhile, explosions could be heard in Gaza City due to the ongoing demolitions by Israeli troops.

Local media reported the targeting of residential neighbourhoods and shelters where many Palestinians have sought refuge amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

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A high-ranking Russian lawmaker claims his government recently sent Venezuela air defense systems and could provide ballistic and cruise missiles in the future. The comments, to an official Russian media outlet, are a response to the ongoing buildup of U.S. forces in the region aimed at narco-traffickers and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is now in the Atlantic, heading for the Caribbean, which you can read more about later in this story. You can catch up with our latest coverage of the Caribbean situation in our story here.

“Russian Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2E systems were just recently delivered to Caracas by Il-76 transport aircraft,” Alexei Zhuravlev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, told Gazeta.Ru earlier this week.

“Russia is actually one of Venezuela’s key military-technical partners; we supply the country with virtually the entire range of weapons, from small arms to aircraft,” Zhuravlev added. “Russian Su-30MK2 fighters are the backbone of the Venezuelan Air Force, making it one of the most powerful air powers in the region. The delivery of several S-300VM (Antey-2500) battalions has significantly strengthened the country’s ability to protect important installations from air attacks.”

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California voters approved Proposition 50, according to the Associated Press.

Prop. 50 asked voters to approve a temporary redistricting plan that would redraw the state’s congressional map to make it more favorable for Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the proposition, also known as the Election Rigging Response Act, is a way to counter Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw their congressional map, targeting seats held by Democrats.

In San Diego, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa represents the 48th Congressional District, which covers much of East and North County. Issa has represented parts of the region through multiple redistricting cycles, but the balance of registered voters in his district will change a lot in favor of Democrats since Prop. 50 passed.

Four other Republican-held districts in the state — in Tahoe, the Central Valley, Riverside County and the Bay Area — are targeted by Prop 50.

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Israel handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Monday, the Red Cross said, a day after militants returned the remains of three hostages. Israeli officials identified the three as soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza.

The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous, U.S.-brokered ceasefire intended to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas.

Since the truce took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight now remaining in Gaza.

For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. With Monday’s return, the bodies of 270 Palestinians have been handed back since the start of the ceasefire.

The Red Cross said it had facilitated the transfer of 45 Palestinian bodies to Gaza on Monday morning. Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the Gaza Health Ministry, told The Associated Press that Nasser Hospital received the bodies around noon.

Only 78 of the bodies returned so far have been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza, it added. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them.

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