NATO needs more long-range missiles to deter Russia, US general says
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Al Arabiya
15 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Russian Drone And Cruise Missile Attacks Kill At Least 2 In Ukraine
At least two people were killed overnight into Saturday as Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has further dampened hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than three-year-old war. Two people died and 14 were wounded when Russian forces attacked the Bukovina area in the Chernivtsi region of southwestern Ukraine with four drones and a missile regional Gov. Ruslan Zaparaniuk said Saturday. He said that the two people died due to falling debris from a drone. A drone attack in Ukraine's western Lviv region wounded six people regional Gov. Maksym Kozytskyi said. Three people were wounded in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine when the city was hit by eight drones and two missiles Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Russia fired 597 drones and decoys along with 26 cruise missiles into Ukraine overnight into Saturday Ukraine's air force said. Of these, 319 drones and 25 cruise missiles were shot down and 258 decoy drones were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russia has been stepping up its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. Earlier this week Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks and targeting Lutsk near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, a region that is a crucial hub for receiving foreign military aid. Poland's air force scrambled fighter jets in areas bordering Ukraine Polish officials said. Russia's intensifying long-range attacks have coincided with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 1000-kilometer (620-mile) front line where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure. Russia's Defense Ministry said it shot down 33 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday.
Al Arabiya
44 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department
The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout and appease the demands of far-right conservative personalities and influential members of President Donald Trump's base after the administration's decision this week to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never existed in the first place, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House earlier this week that threatened to permanently shatter relations between the two officials and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department. The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to disclose additional, much-hyped records from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence. Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called 'deep state,' Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top. Tensions that simmered for months boiled over on Monday when the Justice Department and FBI issued a two-page statement saying that they had concluded that Epstein did not possess a 'client list,' even though Bondi had intimated in February that such a document was sitting on her desk, and had decided against releasing any additional records from the investigation. The department did disclose a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself in jail, but even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists because of a missing minute in the recording. It was hardly the first time that Trump administration officials have failed to fulfill their pledge to deliver the evidence that supporters had come to expect. In February, conservative influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' and 'Declassified." But the binders contained information that had largely already been in the public domain. Afterward, Bondi said an FBI 'source' informed her of the existence of thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents and ordered the bureau to provide the 'full and complete Epstein files.' She later said officials were poring over a 'truckload' of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI. But after a months-long review of evidence in the government's possession, the Justice Department determined in the memo Monday that no 'further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims, and 'only a fraction' of it 'would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.' The Trump administration had hoped that that statement would be the final word on the saga, with Trump chiding a reporter who asked Bondi about the Epstein case at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. But Bondi and Bongino had a tense exchange the following day at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Part of the clash centered on a story from the news organization NewsNation that cited a 'source close to the White House' as saying the FBI would have released the Epstein files months ago if it could have done so on its own. The story included statements from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel refuting the premise, but not Bongino. The news publication Axios was first to describe the conversation. Blanche sought to stem the fallout Friday with a social media post in which he said he had worked closely with Patel and Bongino on the Epstein matter and the joint memo. 'All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false,' he wrote on X. Also Friday, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, posted on X that she was told that Bongino was 'seriously thinking about resigning' and had taken the day off to contemplate his future. Bongino is normally an active presence on social media but has been silent since Wednesday. The FBI did not respond to a request seeking comment, and the White House sought in a statement to minimize any tensions. 'President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,' said spokesman Harrison Fields. 'This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Attack on Qatar Air Base Hit Geodesic Dome Used for US Communications, Satellite Photos Show
An Iranian attack on an air base in Qatar that's key to the US military hit a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show. Hours after the publication of this AP report, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile had hit the dome. Qatar did not respond to requests for comment about the damage. The Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha, Qatar's capital, on June 23 came as a response to the American bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran — and provided Iran a way to retaliate that quickly led to a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war. The Iranian attack otherwise did little damage — likely because of the fact that the US evacuated its aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command, before the attack. Trump also has said that Iran signaled when and how it would retaliate, allowing American and Qatari air defense to be ready for the attack, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, but otherwise didn't tip over into the regional war long feared by analysts. Images show burn marks, dome gone after attack Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome visible at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack. The US Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of the base, announced in 2016 the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment, known as a modernized enterprise terminal. Photos show a satellite dish inside of the dome, known as a radome. Images taken June 25 and every day subsequently show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images.
