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US Justice Department officials on Sunday denied redacting the Epstein files to protect President Donald Trump, as criticism mounted over the partial and heavily-censored release of documents.Victims of Jeffrey Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late sex offender were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the release by the Justice Department, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we are not redacting information around President Trump.”  When asked if any material was redacted to due to political sensitivities — which would be illegal — Blanche replied “absolutely, positively not.”The decision to remove an image of several group photos, including at least one showing Trump, had been taken over “concerns about those women,” said Blanche, a former personal lawyer to the president.The Justice Department on Sunday reposted the photo “without any alteration or redaction” after a review determined “there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted.”Democratic lawmakers accused Trump himself of defying a law ordering the release of all files on Epstein, who amassed a fortune and circulated among rich and famous people.”It’s all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump doesn’t want to go public, either about himself (or) other members of his family, friends,” Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”The tranche of materials released Friday included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names such as pop stars Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.The Justice Department said it was protecting Epstein’s victims with the blackouts.But the many redactions — and allegations of missing documents — only added to calls for justice in a case that has fueled conspiracy theories from Trump’s right-wing base.- ‘Selective concealment’ -Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for complete release of the files, on Sunday joined in with the Democrats’ demands.”They’re flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It’s very troubling the posture that they’ve taken. And I won’t be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied,” he told CBS’s “Face The Nation.”A 60-count indictment that implicates well-known people was not released, Massie charged. “It’s about the selective concealment,” he said.Trump tried to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.The president finally bowed to mounting pressure from Congress — including members of his own party — and signed the law compelling publication of the material.Trump was once a close friend of Epstein, regularly attending parties together, but he cut ties with him years before his arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing.- Accomplice in jail -At least one released file contained dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures, while previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women.Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes, and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, said on ABC’s “This Week” that justice officials must provide written explanation to Congress within 15 days about why they withheld any documents.”It does appear, of course, that this initial document release is inadequate,” Jeffries said.

US and Ukrainian envoys issued a joint statement on Sunday that hailed “productive and constructive” talks in Miami, but did not announce any apparent breakthrough in efforts to end the war with Russia.Top representatives of Ukraine and Russia, as well as Kyiv’s European allies, have been in southern Florida over the past several days for a series of separate talks hosted by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.Despite a flurry of high-level meetings in recent weeks, there have been no clear signals of imminent resolutions to key hurdles on ending the nearly four-year war.The diplomatic blitz came after Washington last month presented a 28-point plan on the war that was widely seen as echoing the Kremlin’s demands.It has since been redrafted following Ukraine and Europe’s involvement, though its contents have not been publicly disclosed.”Over the last three days in Florida, the Ukrainian delegation held a series of productive and constructive meetings with American and European partners,” Witkoff and Ukraine’s top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said in separate statements on X.They said a bilateral US-Ukraine meeting focused on developing and aligning positions on “four key documents” — a “20-point plan,” a “Multilateral security guarantee framework,” a “US Security guarantee framework for Ukraine” and an “economic & prosperity plan.””Particular attention was given to discussing timelines and the sequencing of next steps,” they said, without announcing any further meetings.National security advisors from Kyiv’s European allies “also joined the discussions to align on a shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States, and Europe,” the statements added.Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev was also in southern Florida and believed to have met with the US delegation, which includes billionaire real estate developer Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.A video on Russian state media showed Dmitriev arriving in a motorcade to Witkoff’s Shell Bay luxury golf club.The Kremlin on Sunday said recent proposed changes to the plan to end the war were a non-starter.Dmitriev “should receive information about what has been developed by the Americans and Europeans” in the plan and report that back to Moscow later, Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV.Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, sees Europe as pro-war and argues its participation in the talks only hinders them.- War rages on -While little is known of the latest peace plans, Kyiv is likely to be expected to surrender some territory — a prospect resented by many Ukrainians — in exchange for US security guarantees.Though envoys from both Moscow and Kyiv were in town, the Kremlin had earlier ruled out three-way talks.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier described the talks as “constructive” and said they were “moving at a fairly rapid pace.”He nevertheless cautioned that “much depends on whether Russia feels the need to end the war for real.”He also hailed this week as “historic” for Ukraine, thanking Europe for pledging $100 billion of funding over the next two years.Moscow’s troops have been steadily advancing at the eastern front in recent months. Putin on Friday hailed the Russian army’s territorial gains — and threatened more in the coming weeks.Just over the week, “Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 9 missiles of various types” against Ukraine, Zelensky said.Most of them have pummelled the Black Sea region of Odesa, where relentless strikes wrought havoc on ports, bridges and energy facilities, killing eight people Saturday. In the eastern Sumy region, Russian troops attempted a breakthrough in an area previously spared from an intense ground offensive. Russian forces forcibly moved 50 people from a local village, said Kyiv.”Russian invaders have stolen five dozen civilian people, mostly elderly women, from a tiny Ukrainian village Grabovske, right across the state border in the Sumy region,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. Russia made no comment on the matter.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the third installment in James Cameron’s blockbuster sci-fi fantasy series, debuted atop the North American box office with $88 million in ticket sales in the weekend before Christmas, industry estimates showed Sunday.”Fire and Ash” grossed $345 million worldwide in its opening weekend, and is expected to do very well abroad, according to David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.The “Avatar” films “connect everywhere around the world,” Gross said, adding that the 20th Century movie — like its predecessors — would likely rev up on “outstanding word-of-mouth.””The openings are not what the Avatar movies are about. It’s what they do after they open,” Gross said.The movie once again stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington as Na’vi warrior Neytiri and ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family’s life on Pandora.Debuting in second place with $20 million was “David,” an animated retelling of the biblical David and Goliath story from Angel Studios, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations reported.In third place with $19 million was Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid,” a film version of Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel about a young woman (Sydney Sweeney) who is hired by a wealthy couple (Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar) with troubling secrets.Paramount’s family-friendly animated “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants” — based on the popular Nickelodeon TV show — opened in fourth place at $16 million.And in fifth place was Disney’s feel-good animated film “Zootopia 2,” which earned $14.5 million. The Oscar contender has so far taken in $1.27 billion worldwide.Rounding out the top 10 are:”Five Nights at Freddy’s 2″ ($7.3 million)”Wicked: For Good” ($4.3 million)”Dhurandhar” ($2.5 million)”Marty Supreme” ($875,000)”Hamnet” ($850,000)

Allegations of a fresh cover-up over the Jeffrey Epstein files grew Sunday, as Democrats accused President Donald Trump of trying to protect himself by defying an order to release all files on the convicted sex offender.Victims of Epstein have expressed anger after a cache of records from cases against the late financier, who amassed a fortune and circulated among rich and famous people, were released Friday with many pages blacked out and photos censored.Several images were removed from the trove after being published on Friday evening — including one of Trump.”It’s all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump doesn’t want to go public either about himself, other members of his family, friends,” Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The tranche of materials that the Department of Justice (DOJ) released included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names such as pop stars Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.But the many redactions — and allegations of missing documents — only added to calls for justice in a case that has long fueled conspiracy theories from Trump’s right-wing base.The DOJ said it was protecting victims with the blackouts and defended its decision to retract some files.”Photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information,” said a DOJ statement.- Republican: ‘Selective concealment’ – Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for complete disclosure of the files, on Sunday echoed the Democrats’ demands.”They’re flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It’s very troubling the posture that they’ve taken. And I won’t be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied,” he told CBS’s “Face The Nation.”A 60-count indictment that implicates many rich and powerful people were not released, Massie charged.”It’s about the selective concealment,” he said.Senator Rand Paul, a fellow Kentucky Republican and frequent critic of Trump, warned during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” that any evidence “that there’s not a full reveal on this, this will just plague them for months and months more.”Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.The president bowed to mounting pressure from Congress — including members of his own party — and signed the law compelling publication of the materials.The Republican president, who once moved in the same party scene as Epstein, cut ties with him years before his arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case.Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader said on ABC’s “This Week” that justice officials must provide written explanation to Congress within 15 days why they withheld any documents.”It does appear, of course, that this initial document release is inadequate. It falls short of what the law requires,” Jeffries said.At least one file contained dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures, while previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women.Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes, and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.

Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked out and photos censored.The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other famous names in Epstein’s social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.But blackouts of many of the documents — combined with control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration — fueled allegations of a high-level cover-up.Democrats on Saturday demanded answers after one image that included a photo of Trump was no longer visible in the Justice Department’s online release.”If they’re taking this down, just imagine how much more they’re trying to hide,” said senior Democrat Chuck Schumer. “This could be one of the biggest cover ups in American history.”US media reported over a dozen other images being removed from the trove of files.The US Department of Justice issued a statement late Saturday defending its decision to retract files after their release.”Photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information,” read the statement posted to X.Among scores of blacked-out sections, one 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY” was entirely redacted.One Epstein survivor, Jess Michaels, said she spent hours combing the documents to find her victim’s statement and communication from when she had called an FBI tip line.”I can’t find any of those,” she told CNN. “Is this the best that the government can do? Even an act of Congress isn’t getting us justice.”Even so, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier’s intimate ties to the rich, famous and powerful — Trump, once a close friend, among them.At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures. Previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew show him lying across the legs of five women.Other pictures show Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.- Victim privacy -When Trump’s aides goaded Clinton over the photos, his spokesman responded that the White House “hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves.”Among the paperwork were handwritten notes using phrases such as “I have a female for him” and “[redacted] has girl for tonight.”Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for complete release of the files, said the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”That law required the government’s case file to be posted publicly by Friday, constrained only by legal and victim privacy concerns.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABC that there was no attempt “to hold anything back” to protect Trump.Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.The Republican president ultimately bowed to mounting pressure from Congress — including members of his own party — and last month signed the law compelling publication of the materials.Trump once moved in the same Palm Beach and New York party scene as Epstein, appearing with him at events throughout the 1990s. He severed ties years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case.But his right-wing base has long fixated on the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging the financier ran a sex-trafficking ring for the global elite.Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes, and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.

The United States “apprehended” an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas deemed a “theft and kidnapping,” in the latest salvo of a pressure campaign by Washington, the US government said.It was the second time in two weeks that US forces have interdicted a tanker in the region, and comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of “sanctioned oil vessels” heading to and leaving Venezuela.”In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela,” US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video of aerial footage that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea.Caracas slammed the seizure as theft and kidnapping, saying “those responsible for these serious events will answer to justice and to history for their criminal conduct.”A post from Homeland Security identified the vessel as the Centuries and said it was “suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions.” Centuries is a Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged oil tanker, according to TankerTrackers, an online service monitoring oil shipments and storage.It said that Centuries loaded 1.8 million barrels of crude oil at a Venezuelan port earlier this month before being escorted out of Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone on December 18. The VesselFinder database also listed the ship’s last recorded location as off the Venezuelan coast.An AFP review found that Centuries does not appear on the US Treasury Department’s list of sanctioned companies and individuals.White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a post on X the tanker “contained sanctioned PDVSA oil,” in reference to Venezuela’s state oil company, and charged the ship as being “a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet.”- ‘Waging a battle against lies’ -On December 10, US forces seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which the attorney general said was involved in carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.The United States has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combatting Latin American drug trafficking, but taking particular aim at Venezuela.Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez voiced defiance in comments at a public event in Caracas broadcast Saturday on state TV — although he made no mention of the interdicted ship.”We are waging a battle against lies, manipulation, interference, military threats, and psychological warfare,” the defense minister said, adding “that will not intimidate us.”Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil also said Iran, one of Caracas’s largest international allies, was offering support “in all areas” to combat “piracy and international terrorism” by the United States.There are currently 11 US warships in the Caribbean: the world’s largest aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, two amphibious transport dock ships, two cruisers and five destroyers.Caracas views the operation as a campaign to push out leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro — whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president — and to “steal” Venezuelan oil.The US military has also conducted a series of air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.The ship interception occurred as South American leaders gathered for a summit of the Mercosur bloc, where tensions over suspended member Venezuela overshadowed discussions of a future trade deal with the European Union.At the gathering, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clashed with his Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei, arguing that an outbreak armed conflict over Venezuela could cause a “humanitarian catastrophe.”Milei, a Trump ally, countered by saying Argentina “welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people.”

The United States “apprehended” an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, the latest salvo in a pressure campaign against Caracas, the US government said Saturday.It was the second time in two weeks that US forces have interdicted a tanker in the region, and comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of “sanctioned oil vessels” heading to and leaving Venezuela.”In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela,” US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video of aerial footage that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea. “The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region. We will find you, and we will stop you,” Noem added.The New York Times, citing an unnamed US official and two people inside Venezuela’s oil industry, reported that the vessel was a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Venezuelan oil that had recently left Venezuela and was in Caribbean waters.Noem did not share any identifying information of the tanker, and it was not immediately clear if the interdicted vessel was under US sanctions.The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment Saturday.- ‘Waging a battle against lies’ -On December 10, US forces seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which the attorney general said was involved in carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.The United States has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combatting Latin American drug trafficking, but taking particular aim at Venezuela.Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez voiced defiance in comments at a public event in Caracas broadcast Saturday on state TV — although he made no mention of the interdicted ship.”We are waging a battle against lies, manipulation, interference, military threats, and psychological warfare,” the defense minister said, adding “that will not intimidate us.”There are currently 11 US warships in the Caribbean: the world’s largest aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, two amphibious transport dock ships, two cruisers and five destroyers.There are US Coast Guard vessels deployed in the region as well, but the service declined to provide figures on those assets “for operational security reasons.”Caracas views the operation as a campaign to push out leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro — whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president — and to “steal” Venezuelan oil.The US military has also conducted a series of air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.

Victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday expressed anger after a long-awaited cache of records from cases against him were released with many pages blacked-out and photos censored.The trove of material released by the US Justice Department included photographs of former president Bill Clinton and other luminaries in Epstein’s wealthy social circle including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.But blackouts across many of the documents — combined with tight control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration — stoked skepticism over whether the disclosures would silence conspiracy theories of a high-level cover-up.”Just put out the files and stop redacting names that don’t need to be redacted,” Marina Lacerda, an accuser of Epstein, told CBS.”Are we protecting the survivors or are we protecting these elite men? The whole process of being transparent was to only redact the survivors and the victims’ names.”Another Epstein survivor, Jess Michaels, said she spent hours combing the documents to find her victim’s statement and communication from when she had called an FBI tip line.”I can’t find any of those,” she told CNN. “Is this the best that the government can do? Even an act of Congress isn’t getting us justice.”Among scores of blacked-out sections, a 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury-NY” is entirely redacted. Seven pages listing 254 masseuses have every name beneath thick black bars alongside the note, “redacted to protect potential victim information.”- Rich and powerful -Even so, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier’s intimate ties to the rich, famous and powerful — Trump, once a close friend, among them.At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures. Others show Epstein and companions, their faces obscured, posing with firearms.Previously unseen photographs of disgraced former prince Andrew, pictured lying across the legs of five people.Others show a youthful-looking Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out, and Clinton swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. The White House wasted no time seizing on Clinton’s appearances.”Slick Willy! @BillClinton just chillin, without a care in the world. Little did he know…” Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X.Clinton’s spokesman Angel Urena responded by saying “the White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves.”- Trump and Epstein -Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who has long pushed for the release, said it “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”That law required the government’s entire case file to be posted publicly by Friday, constrained only by legal and victim privacy concerns.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would “pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.”Trump spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.The Republican president ultimately bowed to mounting pressure from Congress — including members of his own party — and last month signed the law compelling publication of the materials.Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged in a letter to Congress that the Friday release was incomplete, and that the Justice Department would complete production of files in the coming weeks.Trump once moved in the same Palm Beach and New York party scene as Epstein, appearing with him at events throughout the 1990s. He severed ties years before Epstein’s 2019 arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case.But his right-wing base has long fixated on the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging the financier ran a sex trafficking ring for the global elite.Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes, and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former teacher and banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.

A Syria monitor said Saturday that five Islamic State jihadist group members had been killed in US strikes overnight as Jordan confirmed it participated in the raids, after a deadly attack on American troops last weekend.US forces said they had struck more than 70 IS targets in what President Donald Trump described as “very serious retaliation” for the December 13 attack that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian.Washington has said a lone IS gunman carried out the attack in central Syria’s Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by jihadist fighters.It was the first such incident since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year, and Syrian authorities said the perpetrator was a security forces member who had been due to be fired for his “extremist Islamist ideas”.IS has not claimed the attack.Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that “at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed” in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. They included the leader of a cell responsible for drones in the area.Jordan’s military said its air force had joined the operation “to prevent extremist organisations from exploiting these areas as launching pads to threaten the security of Syria’s neighbours and the region, particularly after terrorist organisation IS reconstituted itself and rebuilt its capacities in southern Syria”.- ‘Intense bombardment’ -A Syrian security source told AFP that the US strikes targeted IS cells in Syria’s vast Badia desert including in Homs, Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces. The operation did not include ground operations.Most of the targets were in a mountainous area running north of Palmyra including towards Deir Ezzor, the source said, requesting anonymity.A US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement said the United States “struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery.”The operation employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites,” CENTCOM said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.A Syrian security official, also requesting anonymity, told AFP “the bombardment was intense” and had lasted around five hours. “The targets were far from population centres,” the official said, adding that no displacement of residents had been reported and government forces had not been ordered to deploy to the targeted areas.Syria’s foreign ministry, while not directly commenting on the strikes, said on X that the country was committed to fighting IS and “ensuring that it has no safe havens on Syrian territory, and will continue to intensify military operations against it wherever it poses a threat”.Separately on Saturday, the Israeli military announced it had earlier this week detained a suspected IS member in southern Syria.In a statement, it said that on Wednesday “soldiers completed an operation in the area of Rafid in southern Syria to apprehend a suspected terrorist affiliated with ISIS”. “The suspect was transferred for further processing in Israeli territory,” the statement said.On Wednesday, Syrian state news agency SANA had reported an Israeli incursion in Quneitra province in far southern Syria. Since the fall of Assad, Israel has moved its troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Syrian and Israeli forces on the Golan Heights and has carried out repeated incursions.- ‘Very serious retaliation’ -Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network that the United States was “inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible” for the Palmyra attack.CENTCOM said that since the attack, US and allied forces have “conducted 10 operations in Syria and Iraq resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorist operatives”, without specifying which groups the militants belonged to.The US personnel who were targeted were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international effort to combat IS, which seized swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014.IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence particularly in the country’s vast desert.US forces are currently deployed in Syria’s Kurdish-controlled northeast as well as at Al-Tanf near the border with Jordan.Jordan played a key role in the US-led coalition against the IS, carrying out strikes and making military bases available, while the country has also been the target of IS attacks.

A German woman engineer on Saturday became the first wheelchair user to blast into space, taking a brief ride on a Blue Origin flight.The space company owned by American multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos launched its New Shepard suborbital mission at 8:15 am (1415 GMT) from its site in Texas.Michaela Benthaus, an aerospace and mechatronics engineer at the European Space Agency, was among the passengers to cross the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, during the approximately 10-minute flight.Benthaus suffered a spinal cord injury after a mountain biking accident and now uses a wheelchair.”After my accident, I really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is” for people with disabilities, she said in a video released by the company.”If we want to be an inclusive society, we should be inclusive in every part, and not only in the parts we like to be,” Benthaus added.The small, fully automated rocket took off vertically, and the capsule carrying the tourists then detached in flight before gently descending back to the Texas desert, slowed by parachutes.It was the 16th crewed flight for Blue Origin, which has for years offered space tourism flights — the price isn’t public — using its New Shepard rocket.”Congratulations, Michi! You just inspired millions to look up and imagine what is possible,” new NASA chief Jared Isaacman said on X.Dozens of people have traveled to space with Blue Origin, including the pop singer Katy Perry and William Shatner, who played the legendary Captain Kirk on “Star Trek.”These high-profile guests are aimed at maintaining public interest in the flights at a time when private space companies are vying for pre-eminence.Virgin Galactic offers a similar suborbital flight experience.But Blue Origin also has ambitions to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the orbital flight market.This year, the Bezos company successfully carried out two uncrewed orbital flights using its massive New Glenn rocket, which is significantly more powerful than New Shepard.