MOSCOW/KYIV  –  Russia and Ukraine have continued to exchange barrages of air attacks, despite Donald Trump having said he would end the war within 24 hours of becoming US president. While Trump was inaugurated last Monday afternoon, neither Kyiv nor Moscow have shown signs of de-escalating the drone and missile strikes they have been launching against one another in recent months. Both launched barrages overnight on Tuesday. Russia said it downed 55 Ukrainian drones, more than half of which were intercepted over regions on the border. Kyiv said it struck an oil depot near the town of Liski in the Voronezh region, sparking a blaze at the facility for the second time in less than a week.

The region’s governor, Alexander Gusev, said the fire was caused by debris from a downed drone and that no one was injured. Kyiv also said its forces struck an aviation plant producing “combat aircraft” in the western Russian city of Smolensk, creating “explosions”. Ukraine’s air force claimed it shot down 93 of 141 drones Russia launched overnight, noting others were “lost” while two returned to Russia. Russian troops took control of the village of Vovkove in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, TASS, Russia’s state-run news agency, reported on Tuesday, citing the Ministry of Defense. Vovkove is about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) southwest of the city of Pokrovsk, a key front in Moscow’s offensive in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv has yet to comment on the Defence Ministry’s claim.

Trump told reporters last Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had told him he wanted to make a peace deal and voiced hope that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would follow suit. The newly inaugurated US president said that Putin would be destroying Russia by failing to make a deal, pointing out Russia’s economic troubles, including high inflation.

The same day, Putin said Moscow was open to dialogue with the Trump administration on the conflict, emphasising the need to respect Russia’s interests. Trump has repeatedly said that he would end the war “in 24 hours,” yet he has never provided any details of his plan. However, his team has hinted Trump may let Russia hold on to occupied chunks of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014, and four Ukrainian regions. The Kremlin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Tuesday that Moscow has received “no specific proposals” from Washington concerning a Ukraine settlement.

In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s inauguration, Putin held a long phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The conversation on Tuesday saw the pair confirm their mutual support and dedication to securing a multipolar geopolitical environment. “Russia and China’s joint work plays an important stabilising role in international affairs,” Putin said in the call. “Both sides should continue to deepen strategic coordination, resolutely support each other, and safeguard the legitimate interests of both countries,” Xi said according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. (Al Jazeera/AP)

SYDNEY  –  The mysterious balls that forced the closure of several beaches in Sydney last week were found to contain saturated fatty acids, E. coli and faecal bacteria, authorities say. Sydney’s Northern Beaches council said it has sent the debris to the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for further analysis. Nine beaches, including popular spots Manly and Dee Why, were closed on 14 January after the marble-sized balls started washing up.

It came months after thousands of black blobs started appearing on the city’s coasts in October, prompting authorities to close some of its most famous beaches for several days and order a massive clean-up. The latest batch of balls was cleaned up from harbour beaches this week, the Northern Beaches council said in its statement on Tuesday. It urged anyone who spotted the balls not to handle them and to contact authorities. Besides the acids and bacteria, the balls also contained volcanic rock pumice.

Northern Beaches mayor Sue Heins said she hopes the EPA analysis will “identify the source so that they can stop this from happening at other beaches”. “We are continuing to conduct regular inspections of our beaches and encourage the community to report any sightings,” she said. The first batch of debris in October were at first mistakenly called “tar balls” but were later found to contain everything from cooking oil and soap scum molecules, to blood pressure medication, pesticides, hair, methamphetamine and veterinary drugs.

Scientists said they resembled fat, oil and grease blobs – often called “fatbergs” – which are commonly formed in sewage systems. But Sydney Water has reported that its water treatment plants are operating normally and that there were no known issues with waste systems in the city. (BBC/ Northern Beaches Council)

OCCUPIED WEST BANK –  Israeli settlers have set vehicles and properties on fire under the protection of Israeli forces while also injuring at least 21 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank. Jalal Bashir, head of Jinasfut village council, was quoted as saying by Wafa news agency on Monday evening that the attacks took place in the villages of Jinasfut and Funduq, east of Qalqilya. He added that dozens of Israeli settlers raided Jinasfut and set fire to three homes, a nursery and a workshop. The settlers also set several vehicles owned by Palestinian residents ablaze. One Palestinian sustained a head injury while trying to protect his home. Several others were undergoing treatment after inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams treated those injured by the settlers in Jinsafut and Fanduq, adding that the victims suffered bruises as they were beaten by the settlers. In the southern West Bank, Israeli settlers also stormed a Palestinian home in the Masafer Yatta area. Dozens of settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones south of Hebron, damaging several of them. Yesh Din, which monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, shared video clips showing Palestinian-owned vehicles and a building in flames from earlier settler attacks.

According to the group, settlers set two Palestinian homes on fire and torched at least four vehicles in Sinjil village, located northeast of Ramallah. In Ein Siniya village, settlers attacked and set fire to homes, north of Ramallah. It added that settlers attacked and damaged Palestinian-owned property in Turmus Aya, northeast of Ramallah, and also threw stones at vehicles on Route 60, near al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus. The attacks by Israeli settlers come as US President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday to reverse US sanctions on them in the occupied West Bank. The Biden administration described them as part of the “extremist settlement movement”.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine also expressed alarm at the “wave of renewed violence” by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the occupied West Bank. “The UN Human Rights Office is alarmed by a wave of renewed violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli security forces in the Occupied West Bank, coinciding with the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement,” it said in a statement.

The OHCHR also said the violence was accompanied by reinforced restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement, including the closure of checkpoints and installation of new gates, resulting in entire communities being locked in. Highlighting multiple recent settler attacks on Palestinian villages as well as Monday’s raid in several West Bank towns by Israeli forces, which killed a Palestinian teenager, the OHCHR also said it was concerned about Israel’s plans to expand and increase operations in the Palestinian territory. (Al Jazeera/AP)