Israel and Hamas have extended the Qatari-brokered ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that Tel Aviv vowed would never happen. Former United Nations (UN) weapons inspector and US Marine Scott Ritter argued that the outcome was a political victory for the Palestinian resistance movement.

Israel has lost both the political and military battle in the Gaza Strip, says a leading geopolitical commentator.

Israel and the Hamas Islamic resistance movement that governs the besieged Palestinian enclave reportedly agreed on Tuesday to extend the four-day ceasefire, brokered by Persian Gulf Arab state Qatar, for another two to three days.

Exchanges of captives will continue during that extension, with Hamas releasing 20 Israelis taken prisoner during its October 7 raids into southern Israel. The number of Palestinians to be freed was not reported, but Israel had previously released 180 women and children from its jails in return for 61 Israeli civilians and roughly 20 foreigners held by Hamas.

Former US Marine Scott Ritter told Sputnik that the bombing and ground invasion had been unsuccessful when measured "by Israel's own standards."

Kiev authorities are preparing a military provocation against Poland in the event of a critical decline in Western support, Acting Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo has told Sputnik.

"According to the data received from our sources in Ukraine, we are talking about a provocation involving an attack with Western or [Ukraine's] own converted missiles, on the parts of which they want to put Russian markings to further blame Russia.

"They will be ready to do so when they feel that the West has reduced support so much that the front for the Kiev regime is ready to collapse. It could happen in the very near perspective," Saldo said.

The official added that it is difficult to assess the likelihood of implementing such a "crazy" plan and the West's reaction to its implementation.

"The United States will immediately realize what really happened. And in Poland, for example, an official investigation has recently confirmed that the murder of two Polish citizens had been committed by a Ukrainian missile. So, it is not certain whether West's decision-making centers will fall for such a provocation. However, there is no doubt that Kiev is capable of such madness," Saldo said, adding that Kiev authorities have "completely lost their political reason."

Russia calls on the Israeli authorities to make sure that Christians and all other religious communities are equally protected under the law, including their places of worship and property, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

She pointed out that the Russian Foreign Ministry drew attention to the conflict surrounding the so-called "Armenian Gardens," known as the "Cows' Garden" in the Old City of Jerusalem, which "became the subject of legal proceedings between the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and one of the pro-settlement Israeli organizations." "Without waiting for the outcome of the litigation, its [Israeli] representatives began preparations for the construction of a hotel on the disputed site, which led to clashes between local Armenians and Jewish radicals," she said.

The British government was asked to spend an estimated $3 billion in funds seized from sanctioned Russian businessman Roman Abramovich in Israel rather than Ukraine, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. The money came from the sale of Chelsea football club, which used to belong to the tycoon. He had himself pledged the proceeds to victims of the Ukraine conflict.

With the billions still untouched, alternative spending proposals have been floated, according to sources cited by the paper. One insider claimed that Abramovich was concerned that his clout with Moscow would be eroded, should the funds go to Ukraine.

Spending the money for humanitarian causes in Israel in the wake of the October 7 raid by Palestinian militant group Hamas would solve the impasse, the source told The Telegraph. Previously, Abramovich had also suggested using funds to help victims of the February earthquakes in Türkiye, according to the report.

Israel intends to settle score with Qatar for its support to Hamas once the emirate’s mediation role in the hostage exchange is over, says Joshua Zarka, Israeli Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General on Strategic Affairs.

"We will settle score with Qatar, who played its role in everything that is connected to the strengthening of Hamas and its legitimization. We need [Qatar] for the matter of return of the abductees, but, once this process is over, we will come to them for answers," Zarka said on the Israeli army radio.

Sometimes Israel’s crimes are so horrific that at first you don’t even understand what you’re looking at. You just stare at it trying to make sense of what you’re seeing for a bit, like you would if you suddenly saw a space alien or a leprechaun or something.

It happened to me yesterday when I was watching a Sky News report about a teenage boy who was shot by Israeli forces in Jerusalem for celebrating the release of Palestinian prisoners in the hostage negotiations with Hamas. I was watching it thinking to myself, I must be misunderstanding what I’m looking at. I know that Israel does gross things, but surely the story here isn’t that they shot a kid for being happy about something.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone down in history as the "butcher of Gaza," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Since October 7, our brothers and sisters in Gaza have been subjected to the most treacherous attacks in human history. Their mosques have been bombed. Their schools have been reduced to rubble. The refugee camps where they have sought shelter have been deliberately targeted. Netanyahu has went down in history as the butcher of Gaza," the Turkish president said in a speech to parliament.

He went on to promise that Ankara "will not forget the lack of response from Western countries, with the exception of one or two states." "We will try to hold them accountable with all available means. We support our brothers and sisters in Gaza with all our might. The most important topic of our contacts is the war in Gaza," Erdogan added.

A human rights organisation has called on the global community to independently investigate why five Palestinian children were allegedly left to die in the Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza after staff were forcibly evacuated by the IDF. 

The Switzerland-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said it was able to 'confirm that it documented the discovery of five infants dead and in a state of decomposition' in a neonatal ward of the Al-Nasr Hospital. 

The human rights monitor, which is headed up by former UN special rapporteur Richard Falk, said that the babies were left to die three weeks ago after staff were made to leave the hospital by the IDF, which attacked the hospital and surrounded it with its tanks. 

Sickening, but heavily censored, footage first shared by Arabic-language news channel Al Mashhad, shows five bed filled with what are allegedly the bodies of infant children. 

The UK is sending one of its most lethal warships to the Gulf to deter growing threats to shipping from Iran and Iranian-backed groups in the wake of Israel's war against Hamas.

The deployment of HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer, with the ability to shoot missiles out of the sky, comes after Houthi rebels in Yemen hijacked an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Red Sea last week and the US military had to rescue another vessel on Sunday.

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said he was beefing-up a long-standing Royal Navy maritime security operation in the Gulf to reduce the risk of the current crisis between Israel and Tehran-backed Hamas escalating into a regional conflict.

Elderly adults experienced a disastrous decline in cognitive functioning during the UK’s Covid-19 quarantine policies, a study published in the Lancet on Tuesday revealed. The accelerated worsening of working memory and other key intellectual metrics persisted even after lockdown ended. 

Analyzing data collected by the government’s PROTECT study of adults aged 50 and above before, during, and after the pandemic lockdowns, researchers affiliated with the University of Exeter, King’s College London, and Imperial College London found “significant worsening of executive function and working memory” across all groups studied.

Reduced exercise and increased alcohol use were associated with worsening of memory and executive functioning during lockdown even among individuals who had no previous history of cognitive impairment, while depression and loneliness were strongly linked to worsening of existing cognitive issues. 

The legal landscape for Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, and Rudy Giuliani is intensifying as Fulton County DA Fani Willis refuses plea deals, while co-defendants Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro have struck deals and provided potentially damaging statements. Simultaneously, George Soros injects $15 million of ‘dark money’ into Biden’s 2024 re-election effort, raising questions about the intersection of legal battles and political maneuvers as the upcoming election cycle unfolds.

WEF says: Climate affects gender and gender affects climate

The Israeli army designated the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp as a “closed military zone” on 29 November, as another round of brutal overnight raids and heavy clashes extended into the morning. 

Breathtaking photos from the first ultra-high resolution camera in Earth's orbit shows our bright blue planet against the black abyss of space.

The photos were taken from a 360-degree camera launched into space by a private Chinese company who described it as an 'astronomical achievement'.

Shenzhen-based camera company Insta360 says these images are just the tip of the iceberg. Soon, it plans to capture similarly crisp images of the stars and the Milky Way.

The engineers on the project spent 12 months modifying the company's commercially available cameras to make their journey off-world, including six months of research and development that involved mimicking or exceeding the harsh conditions, including cosmic radiation, that the cameras would encounter in space.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died at the age of 100.

Kissinger, the foreign policy behemoth throughout Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford's presidencies, passed away at his home in Connecticut, his consulting firm said.

In a statement, Kissinger Associates announced: 'Henry Kissinger, a respected American scholar and statesman, died today at his home in Connecticut.'   

Despite his age, he still attended meetings in the White House, published a book on leadership styles, and testified before a Senate committee about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

Bob Lyddon fears losses in Hong Kong and China could “blow a hole in the bank’s equity”.

HSBC is facing a “hit” of more than £6.3billion as a result of unsecured commercial property loans into China, a UK-based tax consultant has warned.

Joe Biden bragged that he had a 'code to blow up the world' as he chatted about nuclear weapons on a visit to the world's largest windmill factory.

The president went on to mistakenly call his predecessor 'Congressman Trump' in a gaffe-strewn appearance.

As he approached three yellow-vested workers at the facility in Colorado one of them appeared to ask the president an inaudible question.

Biden responded: 'Now look, my, my marine carries that. It has a code to blow up the world. That doesn't, this is not....nuclear weapons is it....alright, ok...you think I'm kidding.'

America’s National Christmas Tree fell down this week.  That tree is the most important national symbol of our most important national holiday.  The National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony has been performed every year since 1923, and so the falling of the tree has happened as we approach the centennial anniversary of this tradition.

A Congressional committee tonight sent a scathing letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demanding it be more transparent regarding the mysterious outbreak of pneumonia in China, stressing the agency could not repeat its pandemic-era mistakes.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee addressed the letter to the new CDC Director Dr Mandy Cohen, insisting the agency answer eight questions it posed within the next two weeks. 

Members of the committee also want to see the CDC provide updates on the situation on a bi-weekly basis.

Webmaster addition: Another plandemic for the 2024 election season?

Palestinian children freed from Israeli jails as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel said they were subjected to torture in captivity and that several fellow detainees were beaten to death.

The teens are among 39 Palestinians freed from Israeli detention on Sunday, in the third prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, while the latter released 13 Israelis held in Gaza.

The exchange took place for the third straight day amid a temporary four-day truce in Gaza, the first such halt of fighting since the hostilities began on 7 October. 

Khalil Mohamed Badr al-Zamaira, 18, was among those released. He was 16 when he was detained by Israeli forces. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., may bring a vote on conditioning aid to Israel in the coming weeks, he told The Intercept.

Sanders spoke to The Intercept minutes before a Senate Democratic caucus luncheon, where the question of placing conditions on $14 billion in aid to Israel is on the agenda. “Yes,” he replied gruffly when asked if there was a chance he would push for a floor vote. 

Sanders’s comment comes as the death toll in Gaza is around 15,000 — with some estimating it to have exceeded 20,000 — and amid a temporary pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. The Vermont senator has thus far refrained from calling for a permanent ceasefire, a key demand of activist groups that has broad support among the American public and has gained traction among members of Congress. He has instead only gone as far as calling for humanitarian pauses in fighting. 

The New York Police Department has been making headlines for the huge settlements paid out by the city in misconduct cases. In the first half of 2023, New York City paid more than $50 million in lawsuits alleging misconduct by members of the NYPD. 

That figure is on track to exceed $100 million by the end of the year — but even that total doesn’t capture how much the city has to spend in cases where its cops are accused of everything from causing car accidents to beating innocent people.

The $100 million figure does not include lawsuits settled by the city prior to litigation, which reached $30 million in the first nine months of this year, according to data obtained from the office of the New York City Comptroller through a public records request. Pre-litigation settlements from July 2022 through September of this year totaled $50 million — meaning the city’s payouts in such suits since July 2022, including those settled after litigation, rose to a total of around $280 million.

High-level Israeli military officers are conducting private briefings for members of the U.S. Congress on Israel’s war on Gaza, according to documents reviewed by The Intercept. The briefings ramped up as questions emerged on Capitol Hill about Israel’s conduct in the war and ceasefire calls gained steam.

“There’s an Israel PR blitz happening this week facilitated by a handful of senators,” said a source familiar with the meetings in the upper chamber. “Practically all of the briefings on this issue these last few weeks have been members-only,” meaning congressional staff and the public are not welcome.

U.S. military outposts in Iraq and Syria are plagued by thefts of weapons and equipment, according to exclusive documents obtained by The Intercept that show militias and criminal gangs are systematically targeting U.S. forces.

Military investigations launched earlier this year found that “multiple sensitive weapons and equipment” — including guided missile launch systems as well as drones — have been stolen in Iraq. This follows hundreds of thousands of dollars in military gear that were purloined from U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria between 2020 and 2022, as reported earlier this year by The Intercept.

America’s bases in Iraq and Syria ostensibly exist to conduct “counter-ISIS missions,” but experts say they are used primarily as a check against Iran. Since the October outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, these bases have come under regular rocket and drone attacks as part of an undeclared war between the U.S. and Iran and its surrogate militias.

On Wednesday, Georgia’s highest court effectively blocked legislators from using a new law to remove the prosecutor who indicted former President Donald Trump. 

The law is one of more than 30 introduced in recent years — at least six have been enacted — to make it easier to remove or restrict elected prosecutors who lawmakers disagree with, particularly targeting those district attorneys implementing criminal justice reforms and prosecuting police misconduct. 

The order said that the court would not review proposed rules governing a new commission with the power to discipline and remove elected prosecutors, including Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who indicted Trump. Without such a review, the agency can’t operate. 

Premature babies were left to die in an intensive care unit (ICU) in one of Gaza’s hospitals after medical staff were forced to evacuate by the Israeli forces, according to a chilling video report by Al-Mashhad TV.

The disturbing footage was recorded in the aftermath of Israel's siege on the Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in western Gaza, as the pause in the fighting brought to the forefront the scale of Israel's destruction in the strip.

A correspondent for Al-Mashhad TV entered the hospital this week and discovered the bodies of five babies laid out on separate beds in the paediatric hospital’s ICU.

In the footage, the equipment to support the babies can be seen attached to their beds, with the video edited to blur out the bodies of the babies which were described as "decomposing".