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TAIPEI (Reuters) – Forty-three Chinese air force planes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line in the past 24 hours, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Monday, as Beijing continues its military activities close to the Chinese-claimed island.

Blasts were heard at Russia’s Engels air base, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the frontlines in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian media outlets reported early on Monday.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the blasts and Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that two explosions took place.

The Russian news outlet Baza reported, citing local residents, that air raid sirens were wailing and an explosion was heard.

The air base, near the city of Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, was hit on Dec. 5 in what Russia said was Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day.

The twin strikes dealt Moscow a major reputational blow and raised questions about why its defences failed, analysts said, as attention turned to the use of drones in the war between neighbours.

Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but has said, however, that such incidents are “karma” for Russia’s invasion.

Russian forces bombarded scores of towns in Ukraine on Christmas Day as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was open to negotiations, a stance Washington has dismissed as posturing because of continued Russian attacks.

Russia on Sunday launched more than 10 rocket attacks on the Kupiansk district in the Kharkiv region, shelled more than 25 towns along the Kupiansk-Lyman frontline, and in Zaporizhzhia hit nearly 20 towns, said Ukraine’s top military command.

Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine – which Moscow calls a “special operation” – has triggered the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Despite Putin’s latest offer to negotiate, there is no end in sight to the 10-month conflict.

“We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Putin needed to return to reality and acknowledge it was Russia that did not want talks.

“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted. “Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility.”

Russian attacks on power stations have left millions without electricity, and Zelenskiy said Moscow would aim to make the last few days of 2022 dark and difficult.

“Russia has lost everything it could this year. … I know darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to new defeats. But we have to be ready for any scenario,” he said in an evening video address on Christmas Day.

Ukraine has traditionally not celebrated Christmas on Dec. 25, but Jan. 7, the same as Russia. However, this year some Orthodox Ukrainians decided to celebrate the holiday on Dec. 25 and Ukrainian officials, starting with Zelenskiy and Ukraine’s prime minister, issued Christmas wishes on Sunday.

The Kremlin says it will fight until all its territorial aims are achieved, while Kyiv says it will not rest until every Russian soldier is ejected from the country.

Asked if the geopolitical conflict with the West was approaching a dangerous level, Putin on Sunday said: “I don’t think it’s so dangerous.”

Kyiv and the West say Putin has no justification for what they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation.

Russian-supplied Iskander tactical missile systems, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and S-400 air defence systems have been deployed to Belarus and are prepared to perform their intended tasks, a senior Belarusian defence ministry official said on Sunday.

“Our servicemen, crews have fully completed their training in the joint combat training centres of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus,” Leonid Kasinsky, head of the Main Directorate of Ideology at the ministry, said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

“These types of weapons (Iskander and S-400 systems) are on combat duty today and they are fully prepared to perform tasks for their intended purpose,” Kasinsky added.

It is not clear how many of the Iskander systems have been deployed to Belarus after Putin said in June that Moscow would supply Minsk with them and the air defence systems.

The news follows Putin’s visit to Minsk on Dec. 19 amid fears in Kyiv he would pressure Belarus to join a fresh ground offensive and open a new front in his faltering invasion.

Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in February, and there has been a growing flurry of Russian and Belarusian military activity in recent months.

The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system code named “SS-26 Stone” by NATO, replaced the Soviet-era “Scud”. The guided missiles have a range of up to 500 km (300 miles) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

That range reaches deep into neighbours of Belarus: Ukraine and NATO member Poland, which has very strained relations with Minsk.

The S-400 system is a Russian mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) interception system capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and has a terminal ballistic missile defence capability.

Blasts were heard at Russia’s Engels air base, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the Ukraine frontlines, Ukrainian and Russian media reported on Monday.

There was no immediate official confirmation and Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

The air base, near the city of Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, was hit on Dec. 5 in what Russia said were Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases that day. The strikes dealt Moscow a major reputational blow and raised questions about why its defences failed, analysts said.

Ukraine has never publicly claimed responsibility for attacks inside Russia, but has said, however, that such incidents are “karma” for Russia’s invasion.

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Democrats are blasting the busing of migrants to Vice President Harris’s Washington, D.C., residence on Christmas Eve, taking aim at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), whom they blame for dropping the groups off in below-freezing temperatures on a holiday.

The incident was the latest salvo in a months-long effort by Abbott and other Republican governors to urge the Biden administration to bolster its immigration policy and wasn’t the first time migrants have been sent to the vice president’s home. But it will likely intensify the feud over immigration, especially as Title 42 hangs in the balance.

“Governor Abbott abandoned children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve without coordinating with any Federal or local authorities,” White House assistant press secretary Abdullah Hasan said in a statement. “This was a cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt.”

Three busloads of migrants arrived outside the Naval Observatory, the vice president’s official residence, on Saturday, according to ABC 7, when temperatures were in the teens. Video captured by a reporter from the outlet showed groups of migrants wrapped in blankets. One person was wearing shorts.

The Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, a local aid group, took the migrants to a church to receive assistance, according to ABC 7. The organization said Abbott was behind Saturday’s drop off, and the local outlet said the group learned about the buses a few days earlier.

Abbott has not confirmed his involvement but various news outlets, in addition to the White House and the aid organization, say he was responsible. The Hill reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.

Amy Fischer, a volunteer with the organization, told CNN that the three buses were initially driving to New York but “shifted to DC because of the weather.”

“It really does show the cruelty behind Gov. Abbott in his insistence on continuing to bus people here without care,” Fischer told ABC 7, going on to say that the migrants “don’t have clothes for this kind of weather and they’re freezing.”

Democrats are again criticizing the tactic, especially the timing of the latest episode.

“Worthless @GovAbbott dropping off people with no money and no means on Christmas Eve in 15 degree weather near the VP’s residence,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote on Twitter early Sunday morning. “How Christian of you, Greg Abbott. Being a heartless POS isn’t going to make you the next Republican President.”

“Governor Abbott claims to be a ‘pro-life Christian’ yet shows no regard for the lives of children left shivering in the freezing cold on Christmas Eve,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) wrote on Twitter. “Dropping off migrants in 18 degree weather is so cruel that it ought to be criminal.”

Abbott and other Republican governors for months have been directing migrants to Democratic-led cities — including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia — drawing widespread criticism from Democrats for what they see as using the immigrants as political pawns.

In one of the most widely-publicized cases, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) flew two planes of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts in September. That same month, two buses of migrants from Texas arrived at the Naval Observatory.

GOP governors have argued the strategy allows them to highlight the difficulties border communities face by forcing northern cities and states to contend with the crisis Republicans say they helped create. 

Biden in September slammed the “political stunts,” labeling them “un-American” and “reckless.”

This week, Abbott called on Biden to “immediately deploy federal assets” to address the situation at the border.

“You and your administration must stop the lie that the border is secure and, instead, immediately deploy federal assets to address the dire problems you have caused,” he wrote in a letter to the president. “You must execute the duties that the U.S. Constitution mandates you perform and secure the southern border before more innocent lives are lost.”

The governor also referenced Title 42, the Trump-era policy that allows border officials to turn away asylum seekers because of concerns over public health. The policy was set to expire on Wednesday, but one day before, Supreme Court Justice John Roberts granted an administrative stay, temporarily halting the roll back.

The Department of Homeland Security warned on Saturday that it is still enforcing Title 42, writing in a statement that “anyone attempting to enter without authorization is subject to expulsion under Title 42.” The agency also cautioned about cold temperatures at the border.

A majority of Republicans and some Democrats have said Title 42 is important to keep in place to control immigration at the border, but immigration advocates and most Democrats contend that it subverts the asylum system.

“With cold temperatures gripping Texas, your inaction to secure the southern border is putting the lives of migrants at risk, particularly in the City of El Paso,” Abbott wrote. “With thousands of men, women, and children illegally crossing into Texas every day, and with the exception that those numbers will only increase if Title 42 expulsions end, the state is overburdened as we respond to this disaster caused by you and your administration.”

“Your policies will leave many people in the bitter, dangerous cold as a polar vortex moves into Texas,” he added.

Hasan, the White House assistant press secretary, said the administration is “willing to work with anyone – Republican or Democrat alike – on real solutions” to address circumstances at the border, but noted that “these political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger.”

The chorus of Democrats criticizing the Christmas Eve incident by Abbott is only growing.

“Guess we know how Greg Abbott, a ‘practicing’ Roman Catholic, would have treated Jesus, Mary & Joseph,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) wrote on Twitter.

Explosions heard at Russia’s Engels air base hundreds of miles from Ukraine’s front lines; Putin says west trying to ‘tear apart’ Russia

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• Twitter is fighting a lawsuit by a group of employees whose layoffs take effect in the new year.
• The employees, part of mass layoffs since Elon Musk took over, want more than a month’s severance.
• Twitter’s lawyers argue that many employees received the legally required notice before layoffs.

Twitter is asking a California federal court to throw out a proposed class action suit by a group of employees suing over “mass layoffs” at the social media platform since Elon Musk took over.

On Friday, Twitter asked the court to either transfer the allegations to Delaware — where disputes over Twitter’s acquisition by Musk are to take place under the terms of the deal — or to dismiss potential class allegations in the suit. 

Twitter has argued that the employees who brought the lawsuit themselves have different circumstances, and that they haven’t properly stated what broad claims a large potential class of Twitter employees would have.

One of the employees in the group which filed the suit was already laid off, while the others’ official end dates at Twitter are in January and February 2023, according to an updated version of the employees’ complaint filed earlier this month. 

Twitter’s lawyers argued that the employees had made “vague, imprecise” claims about a collective group of Twitter employees’ they’re hoping to represent, and asked the court to dismiss their effort to bring claims covering such a large base of employees. 

“Plaintiffs do not even attempt to define a class, making only passing reference to ‘thousands of other Twitter employees,’ or ‘other similarly situated Twitter employees,'” Twitter argued in a court filing on Dec. 23. 

An attorney for the employees, Shannon Liss-Riordan, told Insider Sunday night that she and the employees she represents are “confident in our claims.” 

“We will do everything necessary to protect the rights of Twitter employees,” Liss-Riordan said.

“We call on Elon Musk to show some holiday spirit and honor the law and promises made to Twitter employees,” she added. “If not, we are ready to take him on in 2023.”

Twitter’s attorneys did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on Sunday night. 

The lawsuit was filed by a group of Twitter employees who are arguing that the layoffs happened so unexpectedly, and offered so little severance, that it went against assurances they’d been given by the company’s previous leadership before Musk’s purchase became official. 

The employees claimed they’d expected, for instance, that they could keep working remotely for a year after the takeover, but Musk instructed employees to return to the office. They alleged also that many of them are being offered just one month’s severance pay, instead of two months or more, as they said Twitter had typically done before Musk’s takeover. 

Twitter’s lawyers told the court that the employees who brought the lawsuit have varying issues, and should be dealt with differently. Only one of them, for instance, has already been pushed out — Emmanuel Cornet, who alleged he was laid off on Nov. 1 without any notice. 

The other employees, who are only officially being let go over the next two months, have received the requisite 60 days notice under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, a federal law that asks large companies to properly alert staff to mass layoffs, Twitter has told the court. 

Twitter has also argued that some of the employees in this group are bound by arbitration and that that’s where their claims should play out.

It’s always been a fairly straightforward concept. Donald Trump is under DOJ criminal investigation for crimes including espionage and insurrection, he’s under state level criminal investigation for crimes including election fraud, and that’s just the start of it. Trump is a 76 year old in visibly poor health. Prison ages a person. All Trump needs to do is be convicted on any one of these crimes, and it’ll likely be a de facto life sentence for him.

Yet for some reason, any time we’ve presented this simple concept, the defeatists out there have expressed absolute certainty that it won’t happen – and in some cases even slammed us for daring to suggest that such a thing was possible. Yet now it turns out January 6th Committee member Jamie Raskin agrees with us.

Raskin says that Trump could spend the “remaining days of his misanthropic life behind bars” and even went into detail about how the Secret Service could end up dealing with Trump being in prison. The key for a career criminal like Trump has always been to not get indicted to begin with – something he’s avoided for decades. But now that everyone from the DOJ Special Counsel to the Fulton County DA is deep into the grand jury process of indicting Trump, it’s entirely reasonable to expect that, yes, he will end up indicted, convicted, and imprisoned.

The post Told you Donald Trump was looking at the possibly of life in prison appeared first on Palmer Report.

The Iskander tactical missile systems and the S-400 air defence systems that Russia has deployed to Belarus are fully prepared to perform their intended tasks, a senior Belarusian defence ministry official said on Sunday.

“Our servicemen, crews have fully completed their training in the joint combat training centres of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus,” Leonid Kasinsky, head of the Main Directorate of Ideology at the ministry, said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

“These types of weapons (Iskander and S-400 systems) are on combat duty today and they are fully prepared to perform tasks for their intended purpose.”

It is not clear how many of the Iskander systems – which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons – have been deployed to Belarus after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that Moscow would supply Minsk with them and the air defence systems.

The news comes amidst Moscow’s increasing pressure on Minsk to aid its invasion of Ukraine, now in its 10 month and with no end in sight.

Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in February, and there has been a growing flurry of Russian and Belarusian military activity in recent months.

The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system code named “SS-26 Stone” by NATO, replaced the Soviet “Scud”. Its two guided missiles have a range of up to 500 km (300 miles) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

That range reaches deep into neighbours of Belarus: Ukraine and NATO member Poland, which has very strained relations with Minsk.

The S-400 system is a Russian mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) interception system capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and has a terminal ballistic missile defence capability.

Kasinsky also said the country’s military aircraft have been converted to carry “special aviation ammunition.”