Hungary blocks €90bn EU loan for Ukraine over pipeline dispute
Hungary announced on Friday it is blocking a €90 billion European Union loan intended to support Ukraine’s 2026–2027 budget and military needs, ...
Israeli air strikes in Gaza and Lebanon have raised fresh concerns about the durability of ceasefire agreements, after deadly attacks were reported in both territories.
In the southern Gaza Strip, at least two Palestinians were killed and four others injured when an Israeli strike hit the city of Khan Younis on Monday, 5 January, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, the area’s main medical facility.
Hospital staff said those killed were a young girl and her uncle. The strike hit a tent sheltering displaced people.
The area targeted was one from which Israeli forces had previously withdrawn under a ceasefire that came into effect on 10 October.
Since then, Gaza’s health authorities say more than 420 Palestinians have been killed in related violence, while Palestinian militants have killed several Israeli soldiers.
Israel also carried out air and drone strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it was targeting infrastructure linked to Hezbollah and Hamas.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for four villages (Hammara, Ain el-Tineh, Kfar Hatta and Aanan) citing militant activity in the area.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that a drone strike on a vehicle in the southern village of Braikeh wounded two people.
Israeli authorities said the vehicle was carrying two Hezbollah members, accusing the group of repeated threats and violations of the truce.
Additional strikes were reported in southern and eastern Lebanon, including near the coastal city of Sidon. Lebanese officials said one civilian was injured. Israel said the sites hit were used by Hezbollah and Hamas.
There was no immediate response from Hamas or Hezbollah.
The latest attacks come amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that took effect in late 2024, following more than a year of cross-border fighting.
Monitoring groups and Lebanese officials say the truce has been marked by repeated violations, with hundreds of Israeli air strikes reported in southern Lebanon since the agreement began.
Despite ceasefire arrangements, regional tensions remain high, fuelling fears that renewed violence could further destabilise the area.
Israel is preparing for the possibility of receiving a green light from the United States to launch strikes against Iran’s ballistic missile system, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s 'Board of Peace' will hold its first leaders’ meeting on Thursday (19 February) in Washington, D.C., launching an initiative aimed at stabilising Gaza and addressing global conflicts. It's drawn support from regional powers but refusals from several EU countries.
The Board of Peace will be "looking over the United Nations," said U.S. President Donald Trump at the inaugural Washington meeting, where representatives from over 20 countries gathered to unveil plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and coordinate international support.
Two Palestinians were killed on the first day of Ramadan after Israeli forces opened fire in the Gaza Strip, according to local sources and hospital officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in the Kremlin on Wednesday, telling him that new restrictions imposed on the communist-run island were unacceptable.
Uzbekistan's president Shavkat Mirziyoyev has held a series of high-level meetings in the U.S. aimed at strengthening bilateral economic and strategic ties between the two countries.
Türkiye has signalled readiness to contribute to a proposed Gaza stabilisation force during the inaugural Board of Peace meeting on Thursday (19 February), but according to former Turkish diplomat Mehmet Öğütçü, the decisive factor will be whether Israel and the United States agree on Ankara’s role.
Türkiye is prepared to contribute troops to a proposed international stabilisation force for Gaza, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday.
Iran has warned it will respond “decisively” if subjected to military aggression, saying U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric signals “a real risk of military aggression”.
The U.S. government has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to secure better access to the Central Asian country's critical minerals, as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to counter China's dominance of crucial resources and their supply chains.
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