Month: November 2024

The United States will send a small number of contractors to Ukraine to help it maintain and repair the U.S.-provided weapons and air defense systems it is using against Russia’s invasion, a defense official said Friday. The official said the contractors “will be far from the front lines and they will not be fighting Russian forces.” Ukraine needs the contractors to repair and maintain equipment, such as F-16s and Patriot air defense systems, that requires “specific technical expertise to maintain,” the official said. The decision to send the contractors was made “after careful risk assessment,” the official said. On Wednesday, …

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Washington/Istanbul — Local authorities in Turkey’s metropolitan Istanbul province banned a screening of the LGBTQI-themed movie “Queer” on Thursday because of concerns that it would endanger public peace and security. The screening of “Queer,” a film directed by Italian director Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, was scheduled to open a film festival in Istanbul’s Kadikoy district on Thursday. The festival was organized by Mubi, an international streaming platform and film production and distribution company. Mubi canceled the entire festival, noting “This ban not only targets a single film but also undermines the very essence and purpose of …

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amsterdam — Amsterdam banned demonstrations for three days from Friday after overnight attacks on Israeli soccer supporters by what the mayor called “antisemitic hit-and-run squads,” and Israel sent planes to the Netherlands to fly fans home.  Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been “attacked, abused and pelted with fireworks” around the city, and that riot police intervened to protect them and escort them to hotels. At least five people were treated in a hospital.   Videos on social media showed riot police in action, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Footage also showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab …

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KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight, killing one civilian and wounding more than 30 people in the center, south, and northeast, Ukrainian officials said Friday. The Russian forces launched 92 drones and five missiles at 12 Ukrainian regions, the Ukrainian air force said. Sixty-two drones and four missiles were downed, it said, and 26 drones were “lost,” most likely meaning they had been thwarted electronically. The Interior Ministry said one person had been killed in the Odesa region, where civilian infrastructure and homes were damaged and nine people were injured. Four people were …

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AMSTERDAM — Amsterdam police said Friday that five people were hospitalized and 62 arrested after what authorities described as systematic violence by antisemitic rioters targeting Israeli fans following a football match. The Dutch and Israeli leaders denounced the violence, and condemnation poured in from Jewish groups. Israel’s foreign minister left on an urgent diplomatic trip to the Netherlands. Security concerns have shrouded matches with Israeli teams in multiple countries over the past year because of global tensions linked to the wars in the Middle East. The Amsterdam police said in a post on X that they have started a major investigation …

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When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved in stone for centuries. Observers see stories in the plaster casts later made of their bodies, like a mother holding a child and two women embracing as they died. But new DNA evidence suggests things were not as they seem — and these prevailing interpretations come from looking at the ancient world through modern eyes. “We were able to disprove or challenge some of the previous narratives built upon how these individuals were kind of found in relation to each other,” …

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