Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says

The European Hospital, pictured in July 2024. Israel says that Sinwar was killed during an airstrike on the hospital on May 13. Credit - Anas Zeyad Fteha—Getty Images Hamas's de facto leader in Gaza, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed during a recent airstrike, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Netanyahupreviously saidlast week that it was probable the leader had been killed by significant airstrikes Israel carried out on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13. At the time of the strike,Israeli sources told CNNthat it had targeted Sinwar, the brother of the previous leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar. Yahya Sinwar, whowas killed in October 2024by an airstrike on Gaza,is regarded as the lead orchestratorof the Hamas-led attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which over 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. The Prime Minister confirmed Mohammed Sinwar's death during the airstrikes on Khan Younis during a May 28 speech in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, marking 600 days since the October 7 attacks and the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Hamas has not yet commented on Netanyahu's claim. Mohammed Sinwar is the latest of a number of Hamas chiefs and top figures to be killed by Israel since the start of the war. Last August,the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they had killed Mohammed Deif, Hamas's military leader, in a strike the previous month. The strike on July 14, 2024, targeted Deif, hitting a displacement camp. Itreportedly killed 90 people, including children. Days before confirming Deif's death,Hamas announced the death of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's then-political chief. Haniyeh was killed in a precise strike on his residence in Tehran, Iran. After the airstrike on the European Hospital in Khan Younis on May 13, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid the hospital was no longer accessible.Twenty-eight people were reportedly killed in the airstrike, according to Gaza's Civil Defense Agency. Israeli strikes on medical facilities across Gaza have been frequent, with the IDF claiming that these areas are used by Hamas to conduct their operations. The IDFsaid in a statement on X that the strikein Khan Younis "destroyed an underground terrorist infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization," under the European Hospital. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said on May 28 that these strikes on medical facilities are part of a "systematic dismantling of Gaza's already fragile health system," in a press statement. The statement detailed that five hospitals have been directly hit in the last two weeks, leaving four non-functional. The organization added that as of May 23, more than 90% of health services across Gaza have become either completely non-functional or partially functional. Contact usatletters@time.com.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says

Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Killed, Netanyahu Says The European Hospital, pictured in July 2024. Israel says that Sinwar was killed during ...

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Does bitcoin combat bad policy and inflation? What to know about the Trump-Vance stance.

Does bitcoin combat bad policy and inflation? What to know about the Trump-Vance stance.

Vice President JD Vancetold 35,000 attendees of the Bitcoin 2025 Conference the Trump administration would support them building theindustry of digital assets, which he said would protect against bad policies and inflation. Vance said May 28 in Las Vegas the independence of bitcoin opens the financial door for people who lose access to banking because of political beliefs such as supporting gun rights. He vowed the Trump administration wouldn't try to kill the industry through regulation, as he alleged the Biden administration had. "Crypto is a hedge against bad policymaking from Washington, no matter what party is in control," Vance said. "It's a hedge against skyrocketing inflation, which has eroded the real savings rate of Americans over the last four years. As you all know well, it's a hedge against the private sector that is increasingly willing to discriminate against consumers on the basis of their basic beliefs, including their politics." More:White House summit showcases Trump's favorable treatment of crypto industry Vance's speech came days afterPresident Donald Trump's social media business announced itwould raise $2.5 billionto invest in cryptocurrency. His adult sonsDonald Trump Jr.and Eric Trump are also pursuing investments. The vice president's speech also came a year afterTrump spoke at the same conference, when he pledged to create a national cryptocurrency stockpile if elected back to the White House. He signed an executive orderMarch 6 to create a stockpile. Here's what you need to know about the Trump administration's promotion of and participation in cryptocurrency: Vance credited support from advocates among the 50 million Americans who own bitcoin with helping Trump win the 2024 election. But Vance urged the supporters not to become complacent and to continue to remain involved in politics for the 2026 election and beyond. "Unless you guys get involved in politics, politics is going to ignore this industry," Vance said. "Every victory that we win – it's only a provisional victory." More:Trump is establishing a U.S. crypto reserve. What is bitcoin again? One of Vance's biggest applause lines was when he said administration had fired Gary Gensler, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Keep the pressure up," Vance said. "We'll do great things together for our industry but most importantly for the cause of personal freedom and the United States of America." Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates the Truth Social platform, announced May 27 it will raise $2.5 billion to invest in bitcoin to diversify its revenue streams. The company aims to sell $1.5 billion in stock and $1 billion in convertible notes priced at a 35% premium. More:How much money did Trump make in first 100 days? Crypto deals raise questions Bitcoin will be held on Trump Media's balance sheet along with cash and short-term investments totaling $759 million as of the end of the first quarter. Crypto platforms Anchorage Digital and Crypto.com will provide custody for the bitcoin holdings. Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes, a former California Republican congressman, called the move a "big step forward" in the company's plan to acquire "crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles." Trump and his family are exploring several crypto options, including Trump NFTs, a meme coin, a recently formed bitcoin producer called American Bitcoin and World Financial Liberty, a platform that offers a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusettsand four other Democrats questioned financial regulators in April – Federal Reserve vice chair Michelle Bowman and acting comptroller of the currency, Rodney Hood – about how they would oversee "an extraordinary conflict of interest" in World Liberty Financial controlled by a sitting president and his family. Trump dined May 22 with 220 investorswho bought a combined $148 million worth of $TRUMP meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency. The top 25 investors got a private VIP reception and the top four received limited edition Trump Tourbillon watches that sell for $100,000. Critics say the dinner provided a way for the wealthy to influence the president by funneling money to his business. An affiliate of The Trump Organization and the company Fight Fight Fight LLC own 80% of the meme coins,according to the cryptocurrency's website. More:Trump's crypto dinner: Black ties, a Chinese billionaire and ethics questions Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon,called the dinner"a stunning public display of corruption: The White House andPresident Trumpare selling access to the government for personal profit." Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were also scheduled to speak at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference. The sons announced May 12 their mining company American Bitcoin would be listed on the Nasdaq exchange through an all-stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. "Our vision for American Bitcoin is to create the most investable Bitcoin accumulation platform in the market," Eric Trump said in a statement. Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Why Vance, Trump support bitcoin as hedge against bad policy

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Does bitcoin combat bad policy and inflation? What to know about the Trump-Vance stance.

Does bitcoin combat bad policy and inflation? What to know about the Trump-Vance stance. Vice President JD Vancetold 35,000 attendees of the...

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Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday released a Russian-born scientist and Harvard University researcher from immigration custody as she deals with a criminal charge ofsmuggling frog embryosinto the United States. Colleagues and academics also testified on Kseniia Petrova's behalf, saying she is doing valuable research to advance cures for cancer. "It is excellent science," Michael West, a scientist and entrepreneur in the biotech industry, testified on Petrova's research papers. He said he does not know Petrova, but has become acquainted with her published work, citing one in which she explains that "by mapping embryonic development, novel ways of intervening in the biology of regeneration and aging." West said that Petrova's medical research skills are highly sought after and that he himself would hire her "in a heartbeat." Petrova, 30, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Louisiana. She is expected to be brought to Massachusetts as early as Friday in preparation for a bail hearing next week on the smuggling charge, lawyers said in court. Petrova had been vacationing in France, where she stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples to be used for research. As she passed through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint in Boston Logan International Airport in February, Petrova was questioned about the samples. She told The Associated Pressin an interviewlast month that she did not realize the items needed to be declared and was not trying to sneak anything into the country. After an interrogation, Petrova was told her visa was being canceled. After being detained by immigration officials, she filed a petition in Vermont seeking her release. She was briefly detained in Vermont before she was brought to Louisiana. Petrova was charged with smuggling earlier this month as U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss in Burlington set the hearing date on her petition. Reiss ruled Wednesday that the immigration officers' actions were unlawful, that Petrova didn't present a danger, and that the embryos were non-living, non-hazardous and "posed a threat to no one." Petrova's lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, had asked Reiss to issue an order to stop the possibility of ICE re-detaining her if she is also released from detention in Massachusetts. Reiss said she was reluctant "to enjoin an executive agency from untaking future actions which are uncertain" and would rely on U.S. Department of Justice attorney Jeffrey Hartman's comments that the government has no intention at this time to re-arrest Petrova. Romanovsky had said Customs and Border Protection officials had no legal basis for canceling Petrova's visa and detaining her. The Department of Homeland Security had said in a statement on the social media platform X that Petrova was detained after "lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country." They allege that messages on her phone "revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them." Harvard had said in a statement that the university "continues to monitor the situation."

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE

Judge: Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos was unlawfully detained by ICE A federal judge in Vermont on Wednesday release...

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EU lifts most Syria sanctions but slaps new ones on alleged culprits in attacks on Alawite civilians

EU lifts most Syria sanctions but slaps new ones on alleged culprits in attacks on Alawite civilians

PARIS (AP) — The European Union lifted a wide range of sanctions on Syria on Wednesday, but slapped new ones on people and groups it says participated in attacks on civilians during a wave of violence in the Syrian coastal region in March. The move lifted most sanctions that had been imposed on the country, including on its financial system, while keeping them in place on individuals and organizations in Syria it says violated human rights or for "security grounds," like the extended family of former President Bashar Assad or its chemical weapons program, according to the text of the European Council on the decision. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had announced plans to lift the sanctions last week. She said the move was "conditional" and that sanctions could be resumed if the new government of Ahmad al-Sharaa - a former rebel commander who led the charge that unseated Assad in December - doesn't keep the peace. Kallas said in a statement Wednesday that removing sanctions "is simply the right thing to do, at this historic time, for the EU to genuinely support Syria's recovery and a political transition that fulfils the aspirations of all Syrians." Wednesday's decision slapped "restrictive measures" on two people and three armed groups that were accused of "targeting civilians and especially the Alawite community" - referring to the religious minority to which Assad belongs - during violence in March on the coast and of torture and "arbitrary killings of civilians." Clashes erupted at the time after a group of Assad loyalists attacked security forces near the coastal city of Latakia. Rights groups reported widespread revenge killings as militants from Syria's Sunni majority - some of them officially affiliated with the new government's security forces - targeted Alawites, regardless of whether they were involved in the insurgency. Hundreds of civilians were killed. The new government in Damascus has promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but a body formed to investigate the violence has yet to release its findings. While there have not been large-scale attacks on Alawites since March, members of the communityremain fearfuland say that individual incidents of kidnappings and killing continue to take place. The two people targeted by the new sanctions are Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim, leader of the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, and Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr, leader of the Hamza Division, both armed groups that the EU said had taken part in the attacks. The militias were also slapped with new sanctions, as was another armed group, the Sultan Murad Division. Since seizing power, al-Sharaa's government has struggled to weld a patchwork of undisciplined former rebel factions together into a national army. The lifting of the broader sanctions on Syria comes days after the United States granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in a first step toward fulfillingPresident Donald Trump's pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 13 years of civil war. A measure by the U.S. State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. The easing of sanctions removes one of the major barriers to reconstruction of the country, which the United Nations in 2017 estimated would cost at least $250 billion. Some experts now say that number could reach at least $400 billion. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians live in poverty and state-supplied electricity comes as little as two hours every day. ———— Sewell reported from Beirut.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

EU lifts most Syria sanctions but slaps new ones on alleged culprits in attacks on Alawite civilians

EU lifts most Syria sanctions but slaps new ones on alleged culprits in attacks on Alawite civilians PARIS (AP) — The European Union lifted ...

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Gov. DeSantis signs law imposing tougher penalties for abandoning pets during disasters

Gov. DeSantis signs law imposing tougher penalties for abandoning pets during disasters

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Legislation signed into law Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will impose tougher penalties on people who abandon pets during natural disasters, a measure inspired by the rescue of a dog left in floodwatersduring Hurricane Milton. With the2025 hurricane season starting next week, the governor also signed a bill that enhances criminal penalties for severe cruelty to dogs and other pets. The bull terrier found during Hurricane Milton was left chained to a fence along Interstate 75 near Tampa. A state trooper rescued the dog — now named Trooper — and he was adopted by a couple in Broward County, DeSantis said during an event at Big Dog Ranch Rescue outside Royal Palm Beach. The owner of that dog was charged with animal cruelty. Under the new law taking effect Oct. 1, violations taking place during hurricanes or other disasters will be punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. "Florida will not tolerate cruelty toward animals, especially in times of crisis," said the governor, who signed the bills while cradling a puppy. The second measure was inspired by a St. Petersburg-area case involving a dog named Dexter that was found decapitated at a park. This bill taking effect July 1 allows for a range of enhanced penalties in cases of severe animal abuse.

byDan Dunne

in

May 28, 2025

Gov. DeSantis signs law imposing tougher penalties for abandoning pets during disasters

Gov. DeSantis signs law imposing tougher penalties for abandoning pets during disasters ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Legislation signed int...

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