An analysis of satellite images by Al Jazeera has revealed that Russian forces are fortifying the Crimean peninsula in anticipation of a Ukrainian attempt to recapture it. Experts say that those defences are likely to make any such effort difficult and bloody. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, eight years before launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As the war grinds on after more than a year, Ukraine’s political and military leadership has made it clear that it defines victory as reclaiming its 1991 borders, which Russia had recognised. The United Nations and all of Ukraine’s Western allies…
Author: National Tone
Hearts have parted company with boss Robbie Neilson after suffering their fifth straight league defeat.Neilson was booed after the final whistle on Saturday after Hearts slumped to a 2-0 loss at home to St Mirren. A Hearts statement read: “Heart of Midlothian Football Club can confirm that it has parted company with manager Robbie Neilson.”Robbie has been a key part of the club’s ascent back to the upper echelons of Scottish football, delivering another Championship title, a third place finish, a Scottish Cup Final and European group stage football in the process.”This was an extremely difficult decision to reach, and…
Officials were celebrating just hours away from several of India’s major tiger reserves when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in the southern city of Mysuru that the country’s tiger population has steadily grown to more than 3,000 since its flagship conservation programme began 50 years ago over concerns that the numbers of the big cats were dwindling. “India is a country where protecting nature is part of our culture,” Modi said in his speech on Sunday. “This is why we have many unique achievements in wildlife conservation.” Modi also launched the International Big Cats Alliance, which he said will focus…
Israel Adesanya reclaims middleweight championship from Alex Pereira at UFC 287 in Miami.Israel Adesanya has pulled off a stunning knockout win over Alex Pereira to reclaim the middleweight crown at UFC 287 in Miami, downing the Brazilian in the second round to avenge his only UFC defeat at middleweight. Adesanya wanted a quick rematch after a November loss to Pereira stripped him of the 185-pound (84kg) championship belt he had held since 2019. At UFC 287 at the Kaseya Centre late on Saturday, Adesanya dropped the middleweight champion Pereira with two right hands, then raised his fists in triumph as…
Seventy-five years ago, Zionist militias tore through Palestinian villages, massacring the villagers and expelling those who remained alive, to clear the way for the creation of the state of Israel. An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed and some 750,000 fled their homes to live as refugees in other parts of Palestine or neighbouring countries, an event known by Palestinians as the Nakba – “the catastrophe”. This year, the United Nations will host its first-ever high-level event to commemorate this forced displacement that resulted in the establishment of the state of Israel on May 15, 1948. But Palestinians have never ceased…
Saudi Arabia, Houthis exchange prisoners as Omani officials arrive in Sanaa for talks to end Yemen’s years-long conflict.Saudi Arabia has released more than a dozen Houthi detainees ahead of a wider prisoner release agreed by the warring sides, according to a spokesman for the Yemeni rebel group. The release on Saturday came as Omani officials arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, as part of international efforts to end Yemen’s years-long conflict. Abdul-Qader el-Murtaza, a Houthi official in charge of prisoner exchange talks in Yemen’s conflict, said on Twitter that 13 Houthi prisoners have arrived in Sanaa. He said the prisoners were…
Regina Pats superstar Connor Bedard wasn’t ready for his junior hockey career to end on Saturday night, as he scored the game-winning goal and also picked up three assists in a 5-3 win over the visiting Saskatoon Blades in Game 6 of a WHL first-round playoff series. Regina’s win before a sellout crowd of 6,499 forces a pivotal Game 7 between the Saskatchewan rivals in Saskatoon on Monday. Bedard had the primary assist on the Pats’ first three goals of the game, including two from Alexander Suzdalev. And then, with the game tied at 3-3 and his team’s season on…
Israeli military says six rockets were fired from Syrian territory towards Israel, one of which landed in the annexed Golan Heights.The Israeli military says it has launched artillery attacks on Syria after several rockets were fired from Syrian territory towards northern Israel. The cross-border exchanges early on Sunday came as violence escalates on multiple fronts, including in Gaza, Lebanon, occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government. The Israeli military said there were two rounds of rockets launches from Syrian territory in the early hours of Sunday. The first involved three…
Montreal Canadiens touted prospect Lane Hutson is expected to return to Boston University for his sophomore season. Though there has been no official confirmation at this time, Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday during the 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night in Canada that’s what’s expected to happen. Hutson is coming off a great season during which he scored six goals and added 26 assists in 34 games to lead his team in points. Hutson’s younger brother, forward Quinn Hutson, is also a member of the BU team. The skilled defencemen from Holland, Mich., was selected 62nd overall by Montreal in the…
At least 74 people killed in two separate attacks by armed groups this week, officials say.At least 74 people were killed in two separate attacks by gunmen this week in Benue state, north central Nigeria, local officials and police have said. Violence has increased in the region in recent years as population growth leads to an expansion of the area dedicated to farming, leaving less land available for open grazing by nomads’ cattle herds. Benue state police spokesperson Catherine Anene said 28 bodies were recovered at a camp for internally displaced people in Mgban local government area between Friday evening…