TV News LIES

• The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiga, said Ukraine has a “clear picture” of forthcoming military aid as he held talks with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, who was in Brussels on Wednesday. “We have a clear picture – a clear timeframe, clear volumes – of what will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the year. This helps us strategically to plan our actions on the battlefield,” he said. The assistance, he added, would include weapons and funds for arms production deals. Sybiga said he was “cautiously optimistic” after discussing with Blinken the possibility of conducting deep strikes on Russia, as well as Euro-Atlantic integration.

• Blinken said in Brussels on Wednesday: “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan 20” when president-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn in. Nato countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions and mobilised forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength”, Blinken said during the flying visit. The US will “adapt and adjust” with the latest equipment it is sending, Blinken said, without providing details. He also reiterated the call for others to step up. “We’re counting on European partners and others to strongly support Ukraine’s mobilisation,” Blinken said – calling for more artillery, more air defences, more munitions as well as training for Kyiv’s forces.

The U.S. will not change its policy on arms transfers to Israel even though the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire, the State Department said Tuesday, the deadline the White House set for Israel to ramp up access to aid in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters the decision came as "Israel has taken a number of steps" outlined in a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli counterparts last month. "We continue to be in discussion with Israel about the steps they took and other steps they need to take," he said.

Russia has suffered record losses for a second consecutive day, Ukraine has claimed, as Vladimir Putin’s forces seek to advance in Donbas and repel Kyiv’s incursion into Kursk.

Just 24 hours after Ukraine claimed Russia had suffered a record 1,770 losses, Kyiv’s military claimed this grim total had been surpassed by 1,950 casualties on Monday – which would mark Russia’s worst single day since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, has resigned over his handling of a sex abuse scandal.

An investigation found that Justin Welby failed to inform authorities about serial physical and sexual abuse.

Welby said that he was first informed of abuse allegations in 2013, when he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior leader of the Church of England. Welby said he was told the police had been notified.

A U.S. jury on Tuesday awarded $42 million to three former detainees of Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, holding a Virginia-based military contractor responsible for contributing to their torture and mistreatment two decades ago.

The decision from the eight-person jury came after a different jury earlier this year couldn't agree on whether Reston, Virginia-based CACI should be held liable for the work of its civilian interrogators who worked alongside the U.S. Army at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004.

The jury awarded plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili and Asa'ad Al-Zubae $3 million each in compensatory damages and $11 million each in punitive damages.

The three testified that they were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other cruel treatment at the prison.

More...