Category World News

In a drone attack on a hotel and cafe in a region of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region where New Year’s celebrations were taking place, Russia has claimed that Ukraine killed at least 24 people, including a child.

Vladimir Saldo, the region’s newly elected governor, first made the claim in a statement on Telegram before the Russian-led ministry of foreign affairs, and senior politicians later accused Ukraine of staging a “terror attack.”

Saldo also published images of the events that he described as the result of the attack, which Al Jazeera is unable to verify.

The images below a white sheet showed at least one person’s body.

There appeared to be bloodstains on the ground and signs of a fierce fire had erupted in the building.

In a “deliberate strike” against civilians, Saldo claimed in the statement that three Ukrainian drones had struck the Khorly, a coastal village, where the New Year’s celebrations were taking place. He claimed that numerous people had been burned alive.

Initial reports from Russia’s foreign ministry indicated that 50 people had been injured and 24 had been killed.

The ministry said in a statement that the attack was “a war crime” and that “drones deliberately targeted areas where civilians had gathered to celebrate New Year’s Eve” in advance.

In a statement on Telegram, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the West’s supporters in particular were to blame.

Kyiv was denounced by senior politicians, including those who speak in the parliament’s two houses.

Russia claimed ownership of four of Ukraine’s regions in 2022, a move that Kyiv and the majority of Western nations have characterized as an illegal land grab.

Moscow’s claim was not made public by Ukraine’s military, but it claimed it had overnight attacked Russia’s Ilsky-oil refinery in the Krasnodar region. The results were also being being investigated.

The military also claimed in a statement on Telegram that it had attacked the Tatarstan region’s Almetyevsk oil facility.

More than 965 kilometers (600 miles) from Ukraine’s most remote region, and even further away from Kyiv’s current-controlling territory, lies the Almetyevsk facility.

Russia releases a video of the “attack” against Putin at his residence.

Moscow made the claim on Tuesday that Ukraine had launched a long-range drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin’s official residences in northwest Russia, which Kyiv has described as a “lie.”

A downed drone it claimed was involved in the attack was captured on video by Russia’s defense ministry on Wednesday.

A man wearing camouflage, a helmet, and a vest stood close to a shattered drone lying in snow at night in the video.

The man talks about the drone while covering his face. No location or date was provided by the man or the Defense Ministry.

The claims and video couldn’t be independently verified.

Peace talks

Kyiv has criticized the claims of an attack on Putin’s residence as a ruse to thwart ongoing peace talks, which have erupted on both sides of the Atlantic in recent weeks.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in his New Year’s address that a peace deal was “90 percent ready,” but warned that the remaining 10%, believed to include significant sticking points like territory, would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, and how people will live.”

Steve Witkoff, the special envoy for Trump, reported on Wednesday that he, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Jared Kushner, the son of the president, had a “productive call” with the British, French, German, and Ukrainian national security advisers to talk about the “European peace process.”

In a post on X, Witkoff wrote that “we focused on how to advance the discussions in a practical way on behalf of Trump’s] peace process, including developing effective deconflict mechanisms to help end the war and prevent it from restarting,” in a post on X.

Rustem Umerov, the head negotiator for Ukraine, confirmed that officials from both Europe and Ukraine will meet on Saturday, and that Zelenskyy will meet with European leaders the following week.

Russian attacks on Ukraine

In addition, according to regional director Oleh Kiper, Russia attacked the Odesa region overnight and launched several drone attacks against civilian infrastructure.

A drone hit an apartment on the 17th floor of a high-rise building without detonating, according to Kiper in a post on Telegram. There were no reported injuries.

According to the air force’s daily report, 176 of 205 drones targeted Ukraine overnight were downed or suppressed by air defense forces.

The Palestine Action group, which has been designated a terrorist organization in the UK, is holding regular hunger strikes in various prisons throughout the nation.

Four more Palestine Action members have put an end to their hunger strikes, some of which came after being hospitalized.

What are the four hunger strikers’ current statistics?

Why are Palestine Action protesters on a hunger strike?

For more than 50 days, prisoners who are imprisoned for Palestine Action have been conducting hunger strikes in UK prisons.

The members of Palestine Action are currently serving time in prison for their alleged involvement in break-ins, including those at the UK subsidiary of Elbit Systems in Filton, near Bristol, where reportedly equipment was damaged, and at an Oxfordshire Royal Air Force base where two military aircraft were sprayed with red paint.

The prisoners deny the charges brought against them, including violent disorder and burglary.

Three of the four who are still on hunger strikes were imprisoned in November 2024 for allegedly engaging in break-ins at the UK subsidiary of Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems in Filton, near Bristol, where reportedly equipment was harmed. One person has been imprisoned since July 2025 after allegedly causing damage to two military aircraft with red paint at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.

Palestine Action, a protest group founded in July 2020, describes itself as a “movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”

On July 2, 2025, the UK parliament approved a proscription of the organization, putting it under the same umbrella as armed organizations like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). Critics decried the action, contending that while group members have damaged property, they have not carried out violent acts that constitute terrorism.

In the three months following the introduction of the ban, more than 1,600 people were arrested in connection with Palestine Action. The court has ruled against the ban.

The hunger strikers want immediate bail, the right to a fair trial, the release of documents related to “the ongoing witch-hunt of activists and campaigners,” ending censorship of their communications, “de-proscribing” Palestine Action, and shutting down Elbit Systems, which runs several UK factories.

According to pro-Palestine activist Audrey Corno, “the UK government has forced their bodies to a breaking point.”

The prisoners’ and people’s’ resistance to the genocide in Gaza, as well as Israel’s genocide, will not be ended, according to a promise to the government.

Who are the hunger strikers still active?

The four people who are continuing their hunger strikes are Heba Muraisi, Ahmed, Kamran, Teuta Hoxha, and Chiaramello, Lewie, all between the ages of 20 and 31.

Heba Muraisi

On Thursday, Muraisi, 31, was on her hunger strike’s day 60. She is a prisoner in Wakefield, a prison in West Yorkshire, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of London, in the HMP [His Majesty’s Prison].

Muraisi was detained in November 2024 for her alleged involvement in a Bristol, Israel-based company’s alleged involvement in an August 2024 raid that is thought to have cost the Israeli weapons manufacturer more than $ 1.34 million.

Muraisi is reportedly of Yemeni descent, according to reports on social media. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify this, however.

She left HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, which is located about 18 miles from the UK capital, and was transferred to the West Yorkshire prison in October 2025.

Heba wants to return to HMP Bronzefield, according to reports. She was abruptly and far from her entire family, which is based in London, when she was transferred. She has been the victim of repeated medical error. Her body is becoming increasingly weak, according to Corno.

Muraisi stated in a statement to Al Jazeera on December 29 that he had been “force-fed repression and stuffed with rage,” and that is why he is doing what he does now. After a year of imprisonment and human rights violations, I’m raising awareness of the unjust application of UK laws by our government. “Keep fighting, keep going.”

According to the protest group Prisoners For Palestine, Muraisi’s trial is scheduled for June 2026.

Ahmed, Kamran

Ahmed, 28, is being detained in HMP Pentonville in north London along with him in November 2024. He was also detained for allegedly helping to raid Elbit Systems in Bristol. Ahmad has been on a hunger strike for more than 50 days.

Ahmed is a mechanic, according to a report from Middle East Eye.

Ahmed refused to eat and was taken to the hospital for a third time on December 20, according to his sister Shahmina Alam.

In late December, Alam told Al Jazeera, “We know that he’s been losing weight quickly, losing up to half a kilogramme [1.1 lbs] per day.”

Ahmed, who is 180cm (5′11′), entered prison at a healthy 74kg (163lbs), but his last recorded weight was 60kg (132lbs).

Corno reported that Kamran had recently been in a fourth hospital.

Teuta Hoxha

Hoxha, 29, was on Thursday’s day 54 of her hunger strike. At HMP Peterborough, she is being held. She was also detained in November 2024 on suspicion of part in the Elbit Systems raid.

On the day UK parliamentarians approved propping up Palestine Action – July 2, 2025, Hoxha was moved, according to Prisoners for Palestine, from HMP Bronzefield.

Corno revealed to Al Jazeera that she has been experiencing heart palpitations and that she regularly communicates with Hoxha. She has been unable to sleep for weeks straight at night. Her memory seems to be starting to deteriorate.

Hoxha said in a statement posted on the Prisoners for Palestine website that “this is a witch hunt, not a fair fight, and that the palpably desperate attempt to force us all under the imperial boot of submission” is behind the arrests of dissenting voices under counterterrorism powers, holding us on remand without trial for nearly two years, and targeting protesters who condemn Palestinian suffering.

Chiaramello, Lewie

Because of his type 1 diabetes, Chiaramello, 22, has been fasting each day. He is currently on his hunger strike’s 28th day.

According to Prisoners for Palestine, he has been detained in HMP Bristol since July 2025 in connection with a RAF Brize Norton incident and is accused of conspiring to enter a restricted area for purposes defaming the UK’s safety and interests as well as conspiring to commit criminal damage. His trial is set for January 18, 2027.

A group of Palestine Action activists reportedly caused $ 9.4 million worth of damage by sprayed red paint on two military aircraft at the largest Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire on June 20 when they broke into RAF Brize Norton.

Corno explained that he has been relying on his own, without the aid of any medical advice.

Who else has been on a hunger strike?

Four more Palestine Action prisoners have resumed their hunger strikes, the majority of which have taken place after being hospitalized.

At Bronzefield prison in Surrey are Qesser Zuhrah, 20, and Amu Gib, 30, both of whom are detained. The pair began their hunger strikes on November 2 to coincide with Britain’s commitment to Palestine as a Jewish nation in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.

More than a month after the floods, Indonesia’s survivors are still residing in complete ruin and frantically trying to survive. Jessica Washington from Aceh uploaded this update to Al Jazeera.

In exchange for Israel’s recognition, Somaliland has refuted claims that it agreed to host Israeli military installations and resettle Palestinians who had fled Gaza.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in contrast, said its cooperation with Israel was “purely diplomatic” and carried out “in full respect of international law” on Thursday.

The president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, made the denial in response to accusations that the country had accepted three demands from Israel, including the establishment of a military base on the Gulf of Aden coast, and adhering to the Abraham Accords, which would normalize relations with Israel.

As Hargeisa officials pressed for recognition, reports began to surface that Somaliland was interested in supporting Israel’s widely criticized goal of ethnic cleansing Palestinians.

Contrary to other nations rumored to be of interest to Israel, Somaliland’s foreign minister stated that no discussions had taken place regarding the matter but stopped short of rejecting the possibility.

Only the most recent condition has been made known in the eyes of the public.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday that Somaliland would support the Abraham Accords by saying that he wanted to “support a democratic, moderate country, a Muslim country, that wants to join the Abraham Accords.”

After more than three decades of unsuccessful attempts by the breakaway region of Somalia, Israel became the first nation to grant the nation its first official statehood last week.

“A cover for Israeli objectives”

According to Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, Somaliland’s president Abdurrahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Cirro, plans an official visit to Israel in the coming weeks.

According to sources, Abdullahi’s official engagement with the Abraham Accords could start as early as January 2nd, according to sources.

During a video call to announce the mutual recognition, Netanyahu initially invited Cirro.

The president of Somalia reaffirmed that Israel’s recognition “was not just a diplomatic gesture but a cover for specific, high-stakes Israeli strategic objectives.”

He alleged that Israel would “export its problem to the Horn of Africa” and that it would “open a box of evils in the world” as a result.

Analysts point to the region’s strategic position at the entrance to the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthis imposed a naval blockade on Israeli-linked shipping before the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza and fired rockets at Israel, despite the country’s continued libel.

According to a report released in November by the Israeli think tank Institute for National Security Studies, “Somaliland’s territory could serve as a front base” for Houthis’ intelligence surveillance and “a platform for direct operations” against them.

According to the statement made by Somaliland’s former intelligence chief, Mostafa Hasan, earlier this week, the Houthis claimed any Israeli presence would constitute a declaration of war.

concerns and condemnation

Regional concerns were downplayed by Somaliland’s foreign minister on Wednesday, telling Israel’s i24NEWS that while some nations “feel Israel establishing a relationship will cause their downfall,” these worries were unfounded.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Mogadishu, Baidoa, Dhusamareb, Las Anod, and other cities on December 30 to demand unity and waving Somali flags.

The African Union and the European Union both criticized Israel’s decision, while more than 50 nations criticized the decision.

Despite the backlash, Somaliland’s president promised that “many more nations will soon formally recognize the Republic of Somaliland” on New Year’s Eve.

Despite maintaining its own government, currency, and military, the region declared independence from Somalia in 1991 during a civil war, but it has never received international recognition.