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Florida Hate Crimes Unit Probes Shooting of Two Israelis Thought to Be Palestinian 

Police block roads leading in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, Oct. 31, 2017. (AP)
Police block roads leading in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, Oct. 31, 2017. (AP)
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Florida Hate Crimes Unit Probes Shooting of Two Israelis Thought to Be Palestinian 

Police block roads leading in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, Oct. 31, 2017. (AP)
Police block roads leading in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, Oct. 31, 2017. (AP)

Local prosecutors in Florida said on Tuesday their hate crimes unit was probing a shooting by a male suspect who, according to police, fired on two men he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors.

The Miami-Dade state attorney's office said its hate crimes unit "reviews every criminal offense that has the potential of being motivated by hate."

Rights advocates note a rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and antisemitic hate since the start of US ally Israel's war in Gaza following an October 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas movement.

The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged earlier with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked prosecutors on X for "pursuing hate crimes charges."

Brafman, when interviewed by police, said that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinians. He said that he then stopped, shot at and killed them, according to police.

However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israelis and not Palestinians, police said.

Dustin Tischler, a lawyer for Brafman, told the Washington Post they were "fully cooperating with law enforcement" and "acknowledge the seriousness of the allegations." He added Brafman had been "experiencing a severe mental health crisis which caused him to be in fear for his life."

Other US incidents include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Palestinian American girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, a violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters in California and the shooting of three Palestinian American students in Vermont.

Incidents raising alarm over antisemitism include threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York Jewish center and physical assaults against a Jewish man in Michigan, a rabbi in Maryland and two Jewish students in Chicago.

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Russian Drone Attack Kills 3 in Southern Ukraine as Further US-led Peace Talks Approach

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, third right, arrives to inspect the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, third right, arrives to inspect the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Russian Drone Attack Kills 3 in Southern Ukraine as Further US-led Peace Talks Approach

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, third right, arrives to inspect the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, third right, arrives to inspect the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

A Russian drone attack killed three people in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region overnight, authorities said Thursday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow is planning another large-scale barrage despite plans for further US-brokered peace talks at the weekend.

The Zaporizhzhia strike caused a major blaze in an apartment building, according to emergency services.

Firefighters also worked through the night to put out fires in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where two people were injured, officials said.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate Russia is assembling forces for a major aerial attack. Previous large attacks, sometimes involving more than 800 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, have targeted the Ukrainian power grid, The Associated Press said.

The ongoing attacks discredit the peace talks, Zelenskyy said. “Every single Russian strike does,” he said late Wednesday.

Russia’s daily bombardment of civilian areas behind the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has continued despite international condemnation and attempts to end the fighting almost four years after Russia launched its devastating all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Negotiations between the two sides are poised to resume on Sunday amid doubts about Moscow’s commitment to a settlement.

The European Union’s top diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, calling Thursday in Brussels for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press it into making concessions.

“We see them increasing their attacks on Ukraine because they can’t make moves on the battlefield. So, they are attacking civilians,” Kaja Kallas said of Russia at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

She stressed that Europe, which sees its own future security at stake in Ukraine, must be fully involved in talks to end the war. The push for a settlement has been led over the past year by the Trump administration, and European leaders fear their concerns may not be taken into account.

The number of soldiers killed, injured or missing on both sides during the war could reach 2 million by spring, with Russia sustaining the largest number of troop deaths for any major power in any conflict since World War II, according to an international think tank report published Tuesday.

Russia launched over 6,000 drones at Ukraine over the past month alone, according to Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Russia is constantly improving its drones and its tactics, he said late Wednesday, prompting Ukraine to shift its air defense strategy, though he gave no details of the changes.

World

Kremlin Says It Is Still Waiting for US Response to Putin's Nuclear Treaty Offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 21 January 2026. EPA/VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 21 January 2026. EPA/VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN
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Kremlin Says It Is Still Waiting for US Response to Putin's Nuclear Treaty Offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 21 January 2026. EPA/VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 21 January 2026. EPA/VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN

Russia is still waiting for the United States to respond to President Vladimir Putin's proposal to informally extend for a year the provisions of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between the two ‌countries, the Kremlin ‌said on ‌Thursday.

Kremlin ⁠spokesman Dmitry ‌Peskov told reporters that the expiry of the New START treaty on February 5 could lead to a serious gap in ⁠the legal framework regulating nuclear ‌arms, Reuters said.

New START, which ‍was signed ‍by presidents Barack Obama ‍and Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, sets limits on the strategic weapons that each side would use to target the other's critical political and military ⁠centers in the event of a nuclear war.

It caps the number of deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 on each side, with no more than 700 deployed ground- or submarine-launched missiles and bomber ‌planes to deliver them.

World

Iran's Foreign Minister to Visit Türkiye for Talks on Tensions with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)
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Iran's Foreign Minister to Visit Türkiye for Talks on Tensions with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will visit Türkiye on Friday for talks with his counterpart Hakan Fidan on the recent developments in Iran and tensions with the United States, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next US attack would be far worse. Trump has sent an "armada" to the Middle East ‌and warned ‌Tehran against killing anti-government protesters or ‌restarting ⁠its nuclear ‌program.

Tehran, which brutally cracked down on large protests this month and killed or arrested thousands, responded with a threat to strike back against the United States, Israel and those who support them.

Iranian officials blame the unrest, the biggest since the 1979 revolution, on Iran's foes, ⁠Israel and the United States.

Türkiye, a NATO member that shares ‌a border with Iran, has said ‍it opposes any foreign ‍intervention on its neighbor and urged Washington to ‍resolve its issues with Iran "one by one".

It has reached out to both sides, warning that destabilization in Iran would exceed the region's capacity to manage at this time.

The source said Fidan would tell Araghchi that Türkiye closely followed developments in Iran, and that ⁠Iran's security, peace, and stability were of "great importance" for Ankara.

Fidan will also repeat Türkiye’s opposition to any military attack on Iran and warn that such a move will "create risks on a global scale", the source said, adding that he would offer Türkiye’s support in helping resolve tensions with Washington.

Fidan will "note that Türkiye supports finding a solution on Iran's nuclear program as soon as possible, and that it stands ready to help ‌on this issue if it is needed," the source said.