Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Moscow would deploy all available weaponry if Ukraine were to gain nuclear capabilities.
Last week, The New York Times cited unnamed Western officials who reportedly floated the idea that U.S. President Joe Biden might consider arming Ukraine with nuclear weapons before his term ends.
“If the nation we are essentially in conflict with were to become a nuclear state, how should we respond? In that scenario, we will utilize every, and I stress this, every method of destruction at Russia’s disposal. Absolutely everything: we will not permit it. We’ll be monitoring their actions closely,” Putin stated during a press briefing in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The United Kingdom, Germany and France on Thursday appealed to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to extend a waiver allowing Israeli banks to do business with the Palestinian Authority, claiming Ramallah has taken “significant steps” to combat terrorist financing.
The E3 foreign ministers said they were “deeply concerned that Israel has yet to provide assurances it will extend the indemnifications for essential correspondent banking relationships between Israeli and Palestinian banks for a minimum period of at least 12 months.”

Several foreign airlines are resuming service to Israel following the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, with others expected to follow suit next month as quiet holds and security conditions improve.
Azerbaijan Airlines plans to restart its Tel Aviv-Baku route on Nov. 30; Greece’s national airline, Aegean Airlines, announced it will restart flights to Israel on Dec. 10; and Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air will gradually resume operations in Israel starting on Dec. 20.
Major European carriers that have suspended service to Israel until mid-December are now expected to restart flights as well ahead of the Christmas holidays, assuming Israel’s northern front remains peaceful.

The Israel Defense Forces plans to form the first company of the new Hasmonean Brigade, to be made up of ultra-Orthodox soldiers, by Chanukah, which this year starts on Dec. 25.
The IDF wants to capitalize on the symbolism. The Hasmonean Dynasty began after the Jews threw off the yoke of Hellenistic rule in the Maccabean Revolt (167 to 141 BCE) against the Seleucid Empire, liberation that the holiday commemorates.
Thirty young men have already passed the first screenings and dozens of others have expressed interest in serving in the brigade, Ynet reported.

In the past 14 months, Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah is believed to have suffered as many as 10 times the casualties as it did during the month-long 2006 Second Lebanon War.
According to an assessment by Israel’s Channel 12 News and Institute for National Security Studies, the Israeli military believes that approximately 3,000 terrorists were killed in Lebanon, including at least 11 brigade-level commanders, 37 battalion commanders and 46 company commanders.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and noncombatants, reports 3,823 killed and 15,895 injured during the conflict.

The Israeli Air Force on Thursday attacked a Hezbollah rocket facility in Lebanon after detecting terrorist activity in violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces said.
“A short time ago, terrorist activity was identified in a facility used by Hezbollah to store medium-range rockets in Southern Lebanon,” the IDF confirmed. “The threat was thwarted through a fighter jet attack.
“The IDF is deployed in Southern Lebanon and acting and thwarting any violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the army statement added.
The IAF strike was the first attack with fighter jets since the truce in the Hezbollah war came into effect at 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

On Wednesday’s edition of “PBS NewsHour,” U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein, who led the negotiations for the Lebanon ceasefire, shared his views on Iran’s potential actions following the agreement. He explained that Iran would likely attempt to re-arm Hezbollah, but due to Iran’s weakened state, efforts would be made to curb the flow of weapons from Iran through Syria, with the goal of slowing or even halting the process entirely.

President-elect Donald Trump shared on Wednesday that he had received confirmation from Mexico’s newly inaugurated president that the country would take steps to halt migration through its borders and prevent migrants from reaching the United States.
“Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
“She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border,” he added.
Trump, 78, mentioned that the two leaders also addressed the issue of illegal drugs entering the United States from Mexico during their “very productive conversation.”

President Joe Biden conveyed to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in a phone call on Tuesday that, after the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, the focus should now shift to securing the release of hostages and establishing a ceasefire in Gaza, according to two U.S. officials speaking to Barak Ravid of Axios on Wednesday.
Currently, there are 101 hostages in Hamas’ custody in Gaza, including seven American citizens.
U.S. officials informed Axios that Biden is determined to work towards a hostage release deal throughout the remainder of his presidency, even if President-elect Donald Trump ultimately gains credit for any resulting agreement.

Conservative political commentator Candace Owens was denied a visa to enter New Zealand for a speaking engagement because she had previously been banned from another nation, according to immigration authorities.
This decision came shortly after Australia also refused her visa application, citing her controversial comments where she denied that Nazi medical experiments were conducted on Jews in concentration camps during World War II.
Owens is scheduled to address audiences in multiple Australian cities and in Auckland, New Zealand, in February and March of the coming year. Despite the visa rejections, tickets are still being sold for these events, and the promoter’s website has not made any mention of her being barred from entry into either country.