Will belarus Join Ukraine War?

While the war in Ukraine is coming up to its one year anniversary, its belligerence remain the same. The war is being fought between the invading Russian army against the defending Ukrainian army, while Ukraine is receiving a lot of support from Western countries, including weapons, vehicles and logistical support. Nominally, Ukraine is fighting the war on its own, as is Russia. However, there have been some reports that Russian ally Belarus may soon enter the war. These suspicions have been heightened today following the start of joint military air drills between the two nations. Russia and Belarus argue that these drills are defensive in nature and are simply to prepare for possible combat missions. The exercises are expected to last until the 1st of February and will involve aerial reconnaissance, deflecting airstrikes, air cover of important objects and communications, according to the first deputy state secretary of the Belarusian Security Council.

Obviously, this has led some in Kiev and the West to suspect that what Russia and Belarus are actually doing is preparing for a new ground offensive in Ukraine. So far, Putin's Russia has claimed that it's not been pressuring Belarus to enter the war, and Lukashenko's Belarus has stated that it will not enter the war. Nonetheless, while Russia and Belarus are engaging in military drills, Ukraine has been asking its Western allies for more equipment, and it appears that Ukraine's consistent calls are paying off. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the UK would send game changing Challenger2 tanks to Ukraine. This follows an announcement from France who pledged to send light battle tanks in the form of AMX10RC armoured fighting vehicles to the Ukrainian army. Meanwhile, Poland says it wants to provide Kiev with a company of German made leopard tanks. All of this is upping the pressure on Germany, which has so far been hesitant to agree to sending battle tanks to the conflict zone. 13 European countries possess leopard2 tanks, but as leopard two tanks are German made countries like Poland need permission from Berlin to re-export them. Indications from German officials suggest that the government will eventually allow the transfer of the tanks to Ukraine. In fact, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said Germany should not stand in the way of other countries taking decisions to support Ukraine, independent of which decision Germany takes.

Protests in Israel

Mass protests were held in Israel on Saturday night against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new government's proposed reforms to the country's judicial system. More than 80,000 people are thought to have gathered in Tel Aviv while protests were also happening in other cities like Jerusalem and Haifa. The proposed changes include giving the government greater control over the panel that selects Supreme Court judges and limiting the court's ability to block legislation and policies by giving parliament the power to annul rulings with a simple majority. It's not just protesters and opposition parties that are against the move. The Supreme Court's Chief Justice, Esther Hayut, described the proposals as an unbridled attack on the legal system and that the changes were designed to force a fatal blow on the independence of the judicial system. Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges that he denies, remains unmoved by the protests. He said that the mother of all demonstrations had been held two months ago, referring to the election, and that voters elected him on a promise to reform the judicial system.

İtalian mafia boss arrested

It's been reported today that one of Italy's most wanted mafia bosses has been found and arrested in an operation that involves more than 100 members of the armed forces. Matteo Messina Denaro has been on the run for 30 years and was found guilty in absentia for a number of murders. He was sentenced to jail for life. One of his most horrific crimes was the kidnap, torture and subsequent murder of the 11 year old son of a mafioso turned state witness. He's reported to have committed his first murder aged 18 and once bragged that he filled a cemetery all by himself and is suggested to have killed more than 50 people. His arrest then, will come as welcome news to the families of his many victims across Italy.

Plane crash in Nepal

We turn to Nepal now, where hundreds of soldiers and rescue workers were deployed at the weekend after a flight carrying 72 people crashed near an airport in the centre of the country. Yeti Airlines, the flight operator said at least 69 people had been killed and three others were still yet to be recovered, making it the country's deadliest aeroplane accident in more than three decades. The flight took off from the capital Kathmandu, and was approaching a new international airport at the tourist town of Pokhara. It was carrying 57, Nepalese and 15 foreign nationals. Dramatic footage shows the flight in its final moments, approaching the airport before making a hard left turn and disappearing out of shot. We currently don't know the cause of the crash, however, an official said. The black box and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered, which will hopefully help investigators determine what happened.