Ukraine says Russian paramilitaries are behind the fighting in the Belgorod border region.

By Sheila Dang (Reuters) -Twitter users will soon need to be verified in order to use TweetDeck, the social media

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Three people were arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting of a Spanish right-wing politician earlier this month. Alejandro Vidal-Quadras, 78, was shot in the face in broad daylight on a Madrid street on Nov. 9. He remains hospitalized. The National Police force’s press department said two suspects were detained in southern Spain’s city of Lanjaron and the third in the city of Fuengirola. The department declined to provide more details. Spanish state news agency EFE and other media outlets said none of the three was suspected of having fired the shot that hit Vidal-Quadras, who helped Spain's far-right Vox party. The National Court is investigating the shooting as a possible terrorist attack. Police told The Associated Press earlier this month that Vidal-Quadras had raised the possibility he was targeted because of his ties with Iran's political opposition. Investigators were exploring a potential Iranian link but so far have no found evidence of one, police told the AP. Vidal-Quadras has been aligned for decades with the Iranian opposition in exile. In January, Iran’s Foreign Ministry imposed sanctions on him and others with ties to the exiled opposition group known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, accusing them of “supporting terrorism and terrorist groups.” EFE said the two people arrested in Lanjaron were a Spanish man and his partner, a British woman. A man detained in Fuéngirola, also a Spaniard, was was arrested in connection with a motorbike used in the shooting, the news agency reported. Vidal-Quadras was an important member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party and also a European Parliament member before he helped found Vox. He has not been active in politics for several years but maintained a public role as a media commentator and columnist. Read More US court denies woman's appeal of Cristiano Ronaldo's 2010 hush-money settlement in Vegas rape case Fund to compensate developing nations for climate change is unfinished business at COP28 Accuser sues Bill Cosby for alleged abuse dating to 1980s under expiring New York survivors law

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Heavy fighting erupted Monday around a hospital in northern Gaza where thousands of patients and displaced people have been sheltering for weeks, as Israeli forces focus on clearing out medical facilities that they say Hamas militants use for cover. The advance on the Indonesian Hospital came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the territory's largest, where they were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound. The plight of Gaza's hospitals is at the focus of a battle of narratives over the war's brutal toll on Palestinian civilians, thousands of whom have been killed or buried in rubble since the six-week-old war was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel. Israel says Hamas uses civilians as human shields, while critics say Israel's siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory's 2.3 million Palestinians. Marwan Abdallah, a medical worker at the Indonesian Hospital, said Israeli tanks were visible from the windows. “You can see them moving around and firing,” he said. “Women and children are terrified. There are constant sounds of explosions and gunfire.” Al-Jazeera television aired footage apparently shot from inside the hospital showing tanks firing just outside the facility. Abdallah said the hospital had received dozens of dead and wounded in airstrikes and shelling overnight. He said medical staff and displaced people fear Israel will besiege the hospital and force its evacuation. The Israeli military, which rarely publicizes troop movements, had no immediate comment. BABIES EVACUATED U.N. bodies were able to safely evacuate the babies, who were in critical condition, from Shifa to a hospital in southern Gaza, and plan to transport them to a hospital in neighboring Egypt. Four other babies died in the two days before the evacuation, according to Mohamed Zaqout, the director of Gaza hospitals. Over 250 patients with severely infected wounds and other urgent conditions remain in Shifa, which could no longer provide most treatment after it ran out of water, medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide blackout. Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants outside its gates for days before entering the facility last Wednesday. Israel’s army said it had strong evidence supporting its claims that Hamas maintained a sprawling command post inside and under the hospital’s 20-acre complex, which includes several buildings, garages and a plaza. The military released a video showing what it said was a tunnel discovered at the hospital, 55-meter (60-yard) long and about 10 meters (33 feet) below ground. It said the tunnel included a staircase and a firing hole that could be used by gunmen, and ended at a blast-proof door that troops have not yet opened. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify Israel’s findings, which included security camera video showing what the military said were two foreign hostages, one Thai and one Nepalese, who were captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack and taken to the hospital. The army also said an investigation had determined that Israeli army Cpl. Noa Marciano, another captive whose body was recovered in Gaza, had been injured in an Israeli strike on Nov. 9 that killed her captor, but was then killed by a Hamas militant in Shifa. Hamas and hospital staff have denied the allegations of a command post under Shifa. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismissed the latest announcement, saying “the Israelis said there was a command and control center, which means that the matter is greater than just a tunnel." THREE IN FOUR PEOPLE DISPLACED Israel has repeatedly ordered Palestinians to leave northern Gaza and seek refuge in the south, which has also been under aerial bombardment since the start of the war. Some 1.7 million people, nearly three quarters of Gaza’s population, have been displaced, with 900,000 packing into crowded U.N.-run shelters, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Their misery has worsened in recent days because of cold winds and driving rain. More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried in rubble. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, and Israel says it has killed thousands of militants. About 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians during the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas dragged some 240 captives back into Gaza. The military says 63 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two were found near Shifa. Israel, the United States and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating a much larger hostage release for weeks. Israel's three-member war cabinet is to meet with representatives of the hostages’ families on Monday evening. YEMEN REBELS SEIZE SHIP Yemen's Houthi rebels seized a Israeli-linked cargo ship in the southern Red Sea and took its 25 crew members hostage Sunday, raising fears that regional tensions heightened by the war were spilling into the seas. The Iran-backed rebel group said it would continue to target ships connected to Israel. No Israelis were aboard the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, which was operated by a Japanese company with crewmembers from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico. Public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, a company founded by Abraham Ungar, who is known as one of the richest people in Israel. Ungar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time. The Galaxy Leader was taken to Yemen's port city of Hodeida, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Japanese officials were negotiating with the rebels for the release of the ship and its crew, said Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed. ___ Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war. Read More US Defense Secretary Austin makes unannounced visit to Ukraine Live view of Israel-Gaza border amid hope ‘hostages could be freed’ With the world's eyes on Gaza, attacks are on the rise in the West Bank, which faces its own war Israel claims CCTV shows Hamas taking hostages into Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital David Lammy visits Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories French performers lead a silent Paris march for peace between Israelis and Palestinians

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“Intense internal deliberation,” Manchester United called it in something of a holding statement. Mason Greenwood’s future is the subject of rather more than that; it is a situation with considerable and potentially colossal implications, on and off the pitch. It will affect, and probably damage, United’s reputation. It will probably give their various sponsors a question of whether to terminate their relationship with the club. It certainly could bring a backlash against entirely blameless players in their women’s team. At some stage, an announcement will come whether Greenwood’s contract is terminated or whether he will play for United again. The club said the “fact-finding” stage of their investigation into his conduct is complete and that chief executive Richard Arnold will make the final decision; and yet the belief is that the decision is made and that Greenwood will stay. This is a moral, commercial and footballing issue: even perhaps the world’s biggest club have seemed ill-equipped to deal with an issue of its magnitude and sensitivity. The bare facts are that in January 2022, disturbing audio emerged of a voice, assumed to be Greenwood’s, as a man tried to force himself upon a woman. Greenwood was subsequently arrested and later charged with attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour. The charges were dropped in February 2023 by the Crown Prosecution Service when new material emerged and key witnesses withdrew their involvement. United then opened their internal investigation. Since then, Greenwood has remained suspended by the club, unable to play or train. United can argue a six-month investigation is a sign of how thorough it has been: they say they have spoken to plenty of people and considered evidence that is not in the public domain. Yet concluding it was always likely to be a problematic part: perhaps it would have been easier if it was done in June, in the off-season. Instead, it has been mishandled. United had communicated privately that they would reveal their decision before the start of their campaign. It kept being put back: originally slated for 4 August, it was later said it would not be made on last Wednesday or Thursday, then not on Friday, either. But part of the process was that United needed to communicate with what they termed key stakeholders: they include sponsors and commercial partners, fans’ groups and their women’s team. And the fact that some of the players are in Australia, trying to win the World Cup, seemed to have passed United by and led to suggestions the decision was in their hands and the sadly inevitable social medial abuse. With the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday and the prospect of the players having time off before returning to United, it means an announcement may not come until September. But, with each step, it seems ever more likely that they are trying to find a way to explain that Greenwood will return to the club. There is little doubt that keeping Greenwood would bring outrage, and not merely outside Old Trafford; certainly some staff would be unhappy and it would be entirely understandable if members of the Women’s side were too (that United only formed a Women’s team in 2018 showed a lesser commitment than many of their rivals displayed). Eight of the men’s squad have joined since Greenwood last played but he is not thought to have been universally popular in the dressing room when he was involved. Meanwhile, there are other aspects to consider. The alleged victim cannot be named for legal reasons; her anonymity is important, though it also means the picture visible to the wider world is incomplete. United are yet to divulge the findings of their investigation. One finding, in particular, should be key in a society where there ought to be some scope for rehabilitation of the repentant: is Greenwood sorry or just sorry he got caught? He and United can argue that he was not convicted of any criminal offence, though that does not automatically render him an innocent man. They can say he has suffered a punishment by already losing 18 months of a relatively short career. They would probably be right if they concluded that virtually any other club would keep Greenwood; unpleasant as that suggestion will be, it is a reality of football. Even for a club of United’s wealth – with an annual turnover of around £600m and having spent about £170m on signings this summer – would be reluctant to let a footballer with the talent to be worth £100m go. Their owners, the Glazer family, have rarely seemed aligned with what fans desire. The manager, Erik ten Hag, has a team who scored too few league goals last season. Meanwhile, Greenwood, still only 21, is United’s youngest goalscorer in Europe; only Norman Whiteside and George Best scored more for United as teenagers. Does any of that matter? Many would say no. In an assessment of his character, it certainly does not. But there is a double standard in football. Were a steward, a kitman or a press officer to have behaved as Greenwood did, it would be a simple decision to dismiss them for gross misconduct. But footballers are treated differently and United are wrestling with the question of how to justify that. 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