Arms control

The Donbas city of Bakhmut is seeing heavy fighting for "every house [and] every stairwell" as Russian forces press on with attacks on the symbolically key settlement. The Donetsk city has long been the focus of Russian attacks, and has endured months of shelling. Moscow's forces have been unable to declare definitive control over the bombarded city, despite reports of gains around Bakhmut following the fall of the nearby town of Soledar. Over the last week, Russian troops have continued to "make small advances" in encircling Bakhmut, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Sunday. Writing in its daily intelligence update, the ministry suggested the two main roads used by Kyiv's forces around the city "are likely now both threatened by direct fire, following the Russian advances." The city is "increasingly isolated," according to the government department, after Kremlin-backed Wagner Group forces likely captured a Ukrainian supply route to Bakhmut through the nearby town of … [Read more...] about Bakhmut update as Russian troops encircle key Ukrainian city

Belarusian and Russian military units have been practicing airstrikes against simulated enemy formations along Belarus' borders in joint drills that have prompted concerns that Minsk may soon join Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Alexander Volfovich, the state secretary of the Belarusian Security Council, said Tuesday that units of the bi-national "regional group of forces," formed late in 2022, had conducted a series of exercises imitating conflict with an enemy force crossing into Belarus. "The exercises have been planned to address tactical episodes that could arise, such as the crossing of the state border by an illegal armed group, a passage of vehicles, the establishment of some offensive footholds near the border of the Republic of Belarus and striking control posts [and] columns of advancing vehicles," Volfovich said in a video statement released by the Belarusian military and translated by Russia's state-run Tass news agency. Aircraft and helicopters had struck … [Read more...] about Belarus and Russia practice border airstrikes amid Ukraine tensions

Airbnb is banning all "open-invite parties and events" from being hosted at an Airbnb property as part of new guidelines set to be rolled out in 2020. The latest regulation comes as part of the company's effort to address safety concerns after a gunman opened fire during a Halloween party hosted in an Airbnb property in California. The new policy states that "all 'open-invite' parties and events are banned in Airbnb accommodations. This covers any event that the organizer opens up to anyone who wants to attend, such as gatherings advertised on social media. Hosts who attempt to circumvent this ban and allow guests to throw large parties will be subject to consequences," the company said in a statement on its website . "We may reach out to hosts to ask them to update their House Rules to address these concerns. When changes to House Rules are insufficient or if the complaints persist, listings will be subject to suspension or removal," Airbnb added. The latest announcement … [Read more...] about Airbnb to Ban All ‘Open-Invite Parties’ as Part of New Guidelines

Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general with deep experience in the Middle East, has been nominated to become the first Black secretary of defense, President-elect Joe Biden announced on Tuesday. The selection of Austin, who has only been out of uniform for four years instead of the required seven, will require a waiver from Congress to bypass legal requirements for keeping the Pentagon under civilian control. That continues a pattern established by President Trump in 2017, when Trump selected Austin’s predecessor at U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for the position. “Above all, I chose Lloyd Austin as my nominee for secretary of defense because I know how he reacts under pressure, and I know that he will do whatever it takes to defend the American people,” Biden said Tuesday. Word of the announcement began to attract discomfort early Tuesday among Capitol Hill Democrats who questioned the need to grant a second extraordinary waiver in as many years, as well as from retired … [Read more...] about Biden Picks Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to Run Pentagon

It’s a little after 8 p.m. on a frigid hill in the West Bank village of Beita, and Sa’ed Hamayyel is sitting in front of a crackling outdoor fire, his face framed by smoke, telling me how his son was killed. “He was 16 years old,” the Palestinian father says. “He was a student.” On June 11, 2021, Israeli soldiers “shot him from afar … He couldn’t have posed any threat to them.” Hamayyel is intimately familiar with the violence and loss that pervades this part of the world. Decades ago, his father, brother, and sister were all killed in combat with Israeli forces. Along with them, Hamayyel is claimed as a member by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an internationally designated terrorist group responsible for numerous attacks on civilians. But when his son Mohammed was killed, the teenager was not engaged in armed conflict. He was protesting an Israeli outpost called Evyatar, which overlooks Beita. Although few Israelis could pinpoint Evyatar on a map, and … [Read more...] about Unsettling the West Bank

Israeli military forces killed at least five Palestinians near the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank on Monday, during a gunfight that the Israeli Army said began after soldiers sought to arrest gunmen accused of recently attempting an attack at a nearby Israeli settlement. The deaths near Jericho brought the number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year to more than 40, most of them during gun battles that broke out during Israeli operations to arrest members of armed Palestinian groups. That toll constitutes the deadliest start to a year for Palestinians in the West Bank in the past decade and a half, drawing comparisons with the violence of the early years of this century, when a Palestinian uprising, known as the second intifada, left roughly 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis dead. Seven Israelis have also been killed since the start of the year, all during a mass shooting on Jan. 27 by a Palestinian attacker in East … [Read more...] about Israeli Raid Kills at Least 5 Palestinians in West Bank

William H. Rehnquist, who died Saturday at the age of 80 almost a year after learning he had thyroid cancer, helped lead a conservative revolution on the Supreme Court during 19 notably successful years as chief justice of the United States. Including 14 years as an associate justice, Chief Justice Rehnquist's tenure on the court was not only one of the longest in the institution's history but also one of the most consequential. With a steady hand, a focus and commitment that never wavered, and the muscular use of the power of judicial review, he managed to translate many of his long-held views into binding national precedent. Chief among those was an enhanced role for the states within the federal system, which the court accomplished under his leadership by overturning dozens of federal laws that sought to project federal authority into what the Supreme Court majority viewed as the domain of the states. In the zero-sum game of the tri-partite separation of powers, the Supreme … [Read more...] about William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Is Dead at 80

A former Metropolitan Police officer told one of his victims he was “the safest person that she could be with” before he raped her. David Carrick , 48, was unmasked as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders after he admitted to 24 counts of rape as well as charges of sexual assault, controlling and coercive behaviour and false imprisonment. Today was the first of a two-day sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London. This morning the court heard how Carrick carried out a “catalogue of violent and brutal sexual offences… on multiple victims”. Prosecutor Tom Little KC, opening the case at Southwark Crown Court on Monday, began by listing all the charges Carrick has admitted. Carrick attacked a dozen women over an 18-year period Mr Little told the court about a victim who had been told by Carrick that he was "the safest person that she could be with" before raping her. Speaking about the victim’s ordeal, Mr Little said: “He asked her to sit beside … [Read more...] about Police rapist David Carrick told victim he was ‘safest person’ before sex attack

Before he entered Pennsylvania’s Senate race, David McCormick oversaw a giant hedge fund that invested billions of dollars for the retirement plans of the state’s teachers. But Mr. McCormick’s company, Bridgewater Associates, delivered such middling profits and charged such high fees that the Pennsylvania teachers’ retirement fund moved to sell off its Bridgewater holdings beginning two years ago. Overall, Bridgewater’s performance was a contributing factor in nearly a decade of poor returns for the retirement fund, trustees of the fund said in interviews. The impact is now being felt indirectly by thousands of teachers who have to pay more from their paychecks to fund their retirements, an extra $300 annually in some cases. Since jumping into the Republican primary in January, Mr. McCormick has offered his business career as a qualification for the open Senate seat in November, but he has made little mention of his connection to the state’s teacher pension fund, which … [Read more...] about G.O.P. Senate Hopeful Faces Scrutiny Over Handling of Teacher Pensions