Israel raids a Syrian village and detains suspected militants; 1 person is killed
BEIT JIN, Syria (AP) — Israel's army raided a village in southern Syria early Thursday to arrest several alleged agents of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Syrian officials said one person was killed and warned that such incursions stoke regional tensions, while villagers denied having any ties to Hamas.
The Israeli military said those detained during the pre-dawn raid on Beit Jin were suspected of planning attacks against Israel, and that weapons also were found in the area. They were taken back to Israel for questioning, the military said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
13 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sweden and the Netherlands say before NATO summit they will spend 5% of GDP on defense
BRUSSELS (AP) — Less than two weeks before a NATO summit, Sweden and the Netherlands said Friday that they intend to increase defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product, in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's demands. Trump and his NATO counterparts meet for a summit in the Netherlands on June 24-25, where they're due to agree a new defense spending target. He insists that Europe must look after its own security, while Washington focuses on China and its own borders. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that 'Sweden will reach a new NATO spending target to 5% of GDP, where at least 3.5% of GDP will be allocated towards core defense requirements to fulfill NATO's new capability targets.' 'We are in a specific geographical situation where we need to meet the future threats from Russia,' Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm, standing alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, NATO's 32 allies agreed to spend at least 2% of GDP on their military budgets. But NATO's new plans for defending Europe and North America against a Russian attack require investment of at least 3%. The aim now is to raise the bar to 3.5% for core defense spending on tanks, warplanes, air defense, missiles and hiring extra troops. A further 1.5% would be spent on things like roads, bridges, ports and airfields so armies can deploy more quickly, as well as preparing societies for possible attack. According to the most recent NATO figures, Sweden was estimated to have spent 2.25% of its GDP on defense last year. The Netherlands spent 2.06%, among 22 of the 32 allies who reached NATO's old benchmark. The Dutch caretaker government announced on Friday that it would increase spending on defense to 3.5% of GDP in an effort to meet the 5% goal. It's not clear where the approximately 18 billion euros ($20 billion) will come from. Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans called the decision 'historic' and told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that he hoped other NATO countries would also increase their spending. 'My expectation is that this will happen,' he said. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Poland and the Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — have already publicly committed to 5%, and Rutte said last week that most allies were ready to endorse the goal. A big question still to be answered is what time frame countries will get to reach the new spending goals. A target date of 2032 was initially floated, but Rutte has said that Russia could be ready to launch an attack on NATO territory by 2030. The United States insists that a near-term deadline must be set. But Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday that his country would get to 5%,. but would require a decade to do so. ___ Molly Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.
Winnipeg Free Press
20 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cambodia bans Thai movies and TV shows in latest border feud tit-for-tat
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia escalated its cold war with Thailand on Friday when it announced a ban on Thai movies and TV shows and a boycott of the neighboring country's international internet links. Tensions between the Southeast Asian countries have soared since an armed confrontation in a border area on May 28 that each side blamed on the other and which left one Cambodian soldier dead. Cambodian officials said the import and screenings of Thai movies would be banned, and that broadcasters would be ordered not to air Thai-produced shows, which include popular soap operas. The government said it would inflict a financial blow on Thailand by rerouting its international internet traffic through other countries instead. Cambodian and Thai authorities engaged in saber-rattling last week, though they have since walked back much of their earlier statements emphasizing their right to take military action. But they continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force, keeping tensions high. Thailand has added restrictions at border crossings. Much of their war of words actually has appeared intended to mollify nationalistic critics on their own sides. The confrontation reportedly took place in a relatively small 'no man's land' constituting territory along their border that both countries claim is theirs. The area is closed to journalists, but it appears that both sides withdrew soon after the fatal confrontation to avoid further clashes, without explicitly conceding the fact in order to save face. 'Neither side wants to use the word 'withdraw'. We say 'adjust troop deployments' as a gesture of mutual respect—this applies to both Cambodia and Thailand.' Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was quoted telling reporters this past week. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Friday on the Telegram social network that his government would act preemptively to establish self-reliance in response to exhortations by Thai nationalists to cut off electricity and internet connectivity to Cambodia. Camboia's Minister of Post and Telecommunication Chea Vandeth announced on his Facebook page that 'all telecommunications operators in Cambodia have now disconnected all cross-border internet links with Thailand,' and that the move would deprive Thailand of as much as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, a claim that could not be immediately checked. The reported move to use circuits bypassing Thailand temporarily disrupted internet connectivity for users of at least one Cambodian service provider. Thai officials said any plans to cut services to Cambodia were unrelated to the territorial conflict and would actually be targeting the infamous online scam centers in the Cambodian border town of Poipet that have been a problem for several years. Cambodia's Ministry of Fine Arts meanwhile informed all film distributors and cinemas owners that starting Friday, the import and screening of all Thai films must be immediately suspended. Som Chhaya, deputy director general of a popular Cambodian TV channel, People Nation Network, told The Associated Press that his company will comply with another government order to drop Thai-produced shows, and in their place broadcast Chinese, Korean or Cambodian dramas. Thai films and TV shows have a large audience in Cambodia. Friday's actions in Cambodia were taken one day ahead of a planned meeting in the capital Phnom Penh of the two countries' Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary to help resolve the conflicting territorial claims that led to last month's deadly confrontation. There is a long history to their territorial disputes, Thailand is still rankled by a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands that awarded to Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011, and the ruling was reaffirmed in 2023.
Toronto Star
36 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
US shifts military resources in Mideast in response to Israel strikes and possible Iran attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two U.S. officials said Friday. The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House.
