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A nuclear power plant was among targets during a massive Ukrainian drone attack, Russian officials have said. Moscow said on Wednesday that the country’s energy infrastructure had come under attack by at least 100 drones overnight. Ukraine also reported strikes. The continuing barrages were accompanied by barbs from the two countries’ presidents, suggesting little prospect…

A United States judge has temporarily blocked an order from President Donald Trump to freeze funding for a wide range of federal programmes. Tuesday’s decision came shortly before Trump’s directive was slated to come into effect at 5pm EST (22:00 GMT). Critics had warned that the order could have disrupted education, healthcare, poverty reduction and disaster relief schemes….

Washington, DC – Democrats in the United States Senate have blocked the passage of a bill that would sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The vote on Tuesday saw the bill gain 54 votes in favour…

United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to halt the funding and promotion of gender transitions for LGBTQ youth. In his order signed on Tuesday, Trump said the federal government would no longer “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender transitions – also referred to as gender-affirming care – for those aged…

The United States has revoked the personal security detail and security clearance of former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has also ordered an inquiry into the conduct of the ex-army head, who has earned the ire of the newly…

Israel orders the UN Relief and Works Agency, the backbone of Palestinian humanitarian aid, to cease operations by Thursday. Several countries have told the United Nations Security Council that they “deeply deplore” the Israeli parliament’s decision to “abolish” the operations of the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,…

Polls are under way in Belarus for a presidential election, with longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko expected to extend his more than three decades in power in the absence of any real opposition. Voters began casting their ballots at 8am local time (05:00 GMT) on Sunday in the country’s first presidential vote since Lukashenko crushed mass protests against…

Here is the situation on Sunday, January 26: Fighting Ukrainian forces downed 50 of 72 drones launched by Russia overnight. It said nine drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones, while one is still in Ukrainian airspace. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems destroyed…

The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have  engaged in fighting near al-Jili oil refinery, north of the capital Khartoum. The Sudanese army said it reached the vicinity of the strategically important refinery on Wednesday, following a multipronged offensive north of Khartoum, with reports of direct clashes with the RSF. Witnesses reported plumes…