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Russia's defence ministry Wednesday released video footage of what it said was a downed drone at a briefing ‌intended to show Ukraine tried ‌this week to attack ‍a presidential residence and challenge Kyiv's denials that such an ⁠attack took place.Kyiv says ⁠Moscow has produced no evidence to support ‍its allegations and that Russia invented the alleged attack to block progress at talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Officials in several Western countries have cast doubt on Russia's version of events and questioned whether there was ‌any attack.Video footage released by Russia's defence ministry showed a senior officer, major-general Alexander Romanenkov, setting out details ‍of how Moscow ⁠says it ‌believes Ukraine attacked one of President Vladimir Putin's residences in the Novgorod region.Romanenkov said 91 drones had been launched from Ukraine's Sumy and Chernihiv regions in a "thoroughly planned" attack that he said was thwarted by Russian air defences, caused no damage and injured no one.The video released by the ministry included footage of a Russian serviceman standing ​next to fragments ‌of a device which he said was a downed Ukrainian Chaklun-V ⁠drone carrying ‍a 6kg explosive device which had not detonated.The ministry did not explain how it knew what the device's target was.Reuters could not confirm the location and the date of the footage showing fragments ​of a destroyed device. The model of the destroyed device could not be immediately verified.Other footage featured a man, identified as Igor Bolshakov from a village in the Novgorod region, saying he had heard air defence rockets in action.Ukraine did not immediately respond to a ⁠request for comment on the Russian defence ministry's footage.Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, ‌saying he believed in them ‌and in victory in ‍a war that he has framed as part of ⁠an existential struggle with ⁠the West.US President Donald Trump is trying to ‍broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe's bloodiest conflagration since World War II, with both sides' negotiating stances still far apart.Dressed in a black coat, Putin - whose forces are advancing slowly but steadily in ‌Ukraine - spoke about Russia's destiny and the unity of its people, which he said guaranteed the sovereignty and ‍security of the "Fatherland".He ⁠paid tribute ‌in particular to his forces fighting in Ukraine, calling them heroes."Millions of people across Russia - I assure you - are with you on this New Year's Eve," said Putin. 

When her children, trembling with fear, ask where the family can go to escape Israel’s continued bombardment in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis area, Umm Ahmed has no answer. In her small, devastated village near Khan Yunis city, recent Israeli drone and artillery strikes shattered the tenuous sense of peace delivered by a ceasefire that has largely held since October 10. Residents say the strikes have targeted neighbourhoods east of the so-called Yellow Line — a demarcation established under the truce between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military says its troops are deployed in the area in accordance with the ceasefire framework. More than two years after Hamas’s October 2023 storming of Israel sparked a devastating war, tens of thousands of Gazans still live in tents or damaged homes in these areas, where the Israeli army maintains control and operates checkpoints. Now, many fear being forced from their homes, compelled to move west of the Yellow Line. “We don’t sleep at night because of fear. The bombardments in the east are relentless,” said Umm Ahmed, 40. “My children tremble at every explosion and ask me, ‘Where can we go?’ And I have no answer.” Her home in Bani Suheila has been completely destroyed, yet the family has stayed, pitching a tent beside the ruins. “Staying close to our destroyed home is easier than facing the unknown,” Umm Ahmed said. Crossing the Yellow Line to Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis, is not an option for them. There, makeshift camps stretch as far as the eye can see, housing tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled the fighting. “There is no place left for anyone there, and not enough food or water,” Umm Ahmed said, as Gaza remains trapped in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The Israeli military blames continued threats from Hamas fighters for its actions in the area. The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s storming of Israel in October 2023 . Since the war began, more than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The vast majority of Gaza’s more than 2mn residents were displaced during the war, many multiple times. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since October 10, though both sides regularly accuse each other of violations. Under the truce, Israeli forces withdrew to positions east of the Yellow Line. Earlier this month, Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir described the Yellow Line as the “new border line” with Israel. “The Yellow Line is a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity,” he said to reserve soldiers in Gaza. For Palestinian officials, the line is seen as a tool for permanent displacement. “The objective is to frighten residents, expel them from their areas, and force them west,” said Alaa al-Batta, mayor of Khan Yunis, denouncing the bombardments as “violations of the ceasefire agreement”. Mahmud Baraka, 45, from Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis, described constant artillery fire and home demolitions in the area. “It feels like we are still living in a war zone,” he said. “Explosions happen as if they are right next to us. The objective of the occupation is clear: to intimidate us and drive us out, so the region is emptied.” For now, residents feel trapped between bombardment and displacement, uncertain how long they can endure. Despite the danger, Abdel Hamid, 70, refuses to leave his home located north of Khan Yunis, where he lives with his five children. “We will not leave... this is our land,” he said. “Moving would not be a solution, but yet another tragedy.” 

OilOil prices settled more than 2% higher on Friday as Russia's port of Novorossiisk halted oil exports following a Ukrainian drone attack that hit an oil depot in the Russian energy hub, stoking supply concerns.Brent crude futures settled at $64.39, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $60.09. For the week, Brent rose by 1.2% and WTI rose by 0.6%.**media[381904]**The Russian port of Novorossiisk paused oil exports, equivalent to 2.2mn barrels per day, or 2% of global supply, and oil pipeline monopoly Transneft suspended crude supplies to the outlet.Ukraine on Friday said it separately struck an oil refinery in Russia's Saratov region and a fuel storage facility in nearby Engels overnight.Investors are assessing how recent attacks impact long-term Russian supply while watching how Western sanctions affect the country’s oil output and trade flows.GasAsian spot LNG prices were flat for a second consecutive week, as steady supplies of contracted cargoes and overall weak demand across the region outweighed modest spot market interest.The average LNG price for December delivery into northeast Asia held at $11.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), industry sources estimated.Current price levels are still too expensive for most price sensitive buyers, but minor supportive news came from Indonesia and Egypt that signalled higher domestic demand, adding a bit of tightness to the current circumstances.**media[381905]**In Europe, the Dutch TTF price settled at $10.56 per mmBtu, recording a weekly loss of 0.1%. Gas prices were under bearish pressure as oversupply, weak Asian demand, high freight rates, and strong US liquefaction kept cargoes in the Atlantic basin.This article was supplied by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.

Residents of the southern Sudanese city of El-Obeid have said they are living in fear as paramilitaries appear to prepare for an assault, with the army reporting shooting down a drone targeting the city on Saturday.The North Kordofan state capital, about 400km southwest of the national capital Khartoum, is a regional hub and a strategic prize for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at war with Sudan's army since April 2023.While the RSF announced Thursday it had accepted a truce proposal put forward by mediators, the UN subsequently said it saw "preparations for intensified hostilities", issuing a warning about the deteriorarting situation in the Kordofan region in particular."We are especially worried after what happened in El-Fasher," Soaad Ali, from El-Obeid's Karima neighbourhood, said referring to the RSF's capture of the last army stronghold in western Darfur after an 18-month siege.That takeover was followed by reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and looting, triggering fears the conflict could spread into oil-rich Kordofan.El-Obeid, which hosts an airport, sits on a key supply route linking Darfur and Khartoum.Last month, the RSF captured Bara, north of El-Obeid, forcing more than 36,000 people to flee that town and four others in North Kordofan in less than a week, according to the UN.The group said last week it had massed forces in Bara to retake El-Obeid, "advising civilians to steer clear of military targets"."We are living in fear," said a resident of El-Obeid's Qubba neighbourhood, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons."Officials try to reassure us, but... after what happened in Bara, our fears are growing."The fall of El-Fasher two weeks ago gave the RSF control of all five state capitals in the vast western region, in addition to parts of the south.The army controls most of Sudan's north, east and centre, including Khartoum.Since El-Fasher's fall, more than 80,000 people have fled the city and surrounding areas, according to the UN.The General Coordination for Displaced People and Refugees in Darfur, an NGO, said that more than 16,000 people had arrived in Tawila and were in dire need of food, water and medical care.El-Fasher had a population of around 260,000 before the RSF takeover.Little is known about the fate of thousands still trapped in the city, which has been largely cut off from communications.Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Sudan, told AFP that many families arriving in Tawila came with "children who are not their own".The children, she said, "have lost their parents on the way, either because they've... disappeared in a chaos, or they've been detained, or they've been killed".Survivors said that women and men were separated on the way out of El-Fasher, and that hundreds of men were detained in nearby towns.Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Saturday visited displaced people from El-Fasher in Al-Dabba city, about 1,000km north.

Several Palestinians were wounded today after an Israeli drone struck a group of civilians in the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Local sources reported to WAFA news agency that an Israeli drone struck a group of Palestinians while they were inspecting their homes in the Abasan Al-Kabira area in Khan Yunis, wounding a number of them, some of them seriously.Israeli occupation forces also fired heavy machine guns continuously and intensively at the eastern areas of Khan Yunis, while Israeli gunboats fired shells near the coast of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.The death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 68,519 martyrs and 170,382 wounded since October 7, 2023.The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel went into effect on October 10, following the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from populated areas and positions in the Gaza Strip. The return of displaced persons to the northern Gaza Strip has begun, as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's initiative to end the war on Gaza.

Three people were killed and 29 others injured on Sunday in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported that the city was targeted by Russian forces for the second time in the past 24 hours.According to the report, Russian forces carried out a drone strike in the Desnianskyi district, where one drone hit a nine-story residential building.Another drone struck a 16-story building, shattering the windows on the first nine floors. Reports also indicated that a drone hit a multi-story building in the Obolonskyi district.Drone strikes between Russia and Ukraine have become routine amid the ongoing conflict, which remains far from a political solution as Moscow continues its military operation in Ukraine until its declared objectives are achieved.

Four people, including two children, were killed, and two others were injured in a Russian attack on the Brovary district in Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian news agency (Ukrinform), Head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration Mykola Kalashnyk indicated that Russian forces launched a massive missile and drone attack on cities last night, targeting energy infrastructure. Since the outbreak of the war in Feb. 2022, Russia and Ukraine issued near-daily reports of attacks and interceptions. Due to the conditions of the ongoing conflict, these claims cannot be independently verified.

A person was killed today in an Israeli airstrike on the Iqlim Al-Tuffah region in southern Lebanon.The Lebanese National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone launched a guided missile strike this morning, targeting a motorcycle in the town of Ain Qana, killing the motorcycle driver.A ceasefire agreement went into effect in Lebanon on Nov. 27, stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the southern border towns and villages within 60 days. The Lebanese government subsequently agreed to extend the deadline until Feb. 18, but the Israeli army remains stationed at five points and continues its violations.

Ukraine drones hit Russia's Orenburg gas processing plantGas from Karachaganak is being processed at the Orenburg plantShell, Eni, Chevron are among Karachaganak stakeholdersA Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Orenburg gas plant has forced neighbouring Kazakhstan to reduce production at its Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field by 25% to 30%, two industry sources told Reuters on Monday.One of the world's largest gas processing plants, Orenburg was forced to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan after the attack, Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Sunday.Ukraine confirmed it hit a gas plant in the Orenburg region, some 1,700 kilometres east of the Russian border with Ukraine, and an oil refinery in the Samara region.Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and other energy facilities since August to try to disrupt fuel supplies and deprive Moscow of funding.Output at Karachaganak on Monday was down to between 25,000 metric tons (196,500 barrels per day) and 28,000 metric tons from the usual level of 35,000-35,500, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.They said Orenburg, which is controlled by gas producer Gazprom, might resume some gas intake from Karachaganak on Monday. However, they declined to say when normal levels of supply would be restored.Oil and gas output at Karachaganak are closely linked, meaning the field is not able to produce much oil if its gas production is down.Apart from processing at Orenburg, Karachaganak gas is used for re-injection to maintain reservoir pressure as well as for power generation at local facilities.Karachaganak produced around 263,000 bpd of oil in 2024. It is exported by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium via a Russian Black Sea terminal, as well as through Russia's Druzhba pipeline to Germany.The field is operated by a consortium which includes US major Chevron (18%) and European energy firms Shell (29.25%) and Eni (29.25%).Russia's Lukoil (13.5%) and local firm KazMunayGaz (10%) also hold stakes.The consortium, Gazprom, and Kazakhstan's energy ministry did not reply to requests for comment.Kazakh authorities agreed with Karachaganak shareholders in 2024 to build a new gas processing plant at the field with annual capacity of up to 4 billion cubic metres, expected to start operations in 2028.However, the project has been suspended under the current consortium, and the government is seeking new investors, aiming to attract Kazakh companies.Industry sources has said that oil and gas condensate production at Karachaganak declined in September by 24% from August to 200,000 bpd amid maintenance at the Orenburg plant.

An Israeli drone dropped an explosive device near a position belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the southern Lebanese town of Kfarkela, wounding one peacekeeper. In a statement issued on Sunday, UNIFIL said the attack, which occurred late Saturday, involved the dropping of an explosive device near peacekeepers — the second such incident this month targeting UN personnel with ordnance launched by the Israeli army. UNIFIL added that its peacekeepers had earlier observed two drones flying over the area shortly before the explosion took place. The attack represents a serious breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and shows a troubling disregard for the safety of UN personnel performing their mandated duties. UNIFIL renewed its call on Israel to cease all attacks on or near peacekeepers who are working to sustain the stability commitments endorsed by both Israel and Lebanon.

A number of Palestinians were killed as a result of violent airstrikes launched by the Israeli occupation forces on multiple areas in Gaza City over the past two hours, coinciding with intense drone flights over the city. Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported local sources as saying that drones targeted a group of people in Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City, resulting in the killing of dozens of Palestinians and wounding others. These airstrikes come despite US President Donald Trump's earlier call on Israel to immediately stop its bombardment of Gaza. The call followed Hamas' announcement of its acceptance of President Trump's proposal to end the war in the Strip and its willingness to release all hostages as part of the exchange formula included in the proposal. Medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital said that emergency and civil defense crews recovered the bodies of five slain Palestinians from under the rubble of a house that was targeted last night in the western part of Gaza City.

Two Palestinians were martyred, and three others were injured Thursday in an Israeli drone strike on Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian news agency (WAFA), citing medical sources, reported that a man and his wife were martyred, and three others were injured in the Israeli shelling of Al-Bureij refugee camp. Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has committed genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip, leaving 66,148 martyrs and around 168,716 wounded, most of whom are children and women. Meanwhile, famine has claimed the lives of 455 Palestinians, including 151 children.