Here is a list of the 24 prisoners released from prison in a multi-country swap today with Russia. The swap occurred at Ankara, Turkey.

Three of the released prisoners are from the U.S, including Wall St. Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American editor for Radio Free Europe, and Paul Wheeler, a former marine who had traveled to Russia to attend a wedding.

Who did the U.S. swap in exchange? [More...]

24 Hamas hostages were released today. They include 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and one Filipino.

The Israeli hostages were all seized at the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7. They are : Margalit Moses, Adina Moshe, Danielle Aloni and her daughter Emilia, Doron Asher and her daughters Raz and Aviv, Hanna Katzir, Keren Munder and her son Ohad, Ruti Munder, Yaffa Adar, and Hannah Perry.

200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid proceeded through the Rafah, Egypt crossing,where they transferring food, medicine, supplies and fuel to international organizations.

Israel's Prime Minister and the IDF spokespeople today said Israel remains committed not only to the release of all hostages, but to continuing its military battle to destroy Hamas forever when the humanitarian pause ends.

4:00 am MT (6 am ET): I've been glued to the news all evening about the Qatari-brokered deal between Israel and Hamas for a four day pause in fighting during which 50 women and child hostages seized by Hamas in Israel on October 7th will be exchanged for 150 women and teenage prisoners held in Israeli jails, and an Israeli promise to allow around 400 trucks of aid, including fuel, to enter Gaza from Egypt.

The terms of the deal have been reported over and over again. I guess once more won't hurt: [More...]

Hamas today launched the biggest strike against Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur war -- and maybe since 1948. Israel has responded, saying "We are at War."

Some guests on CNN said this is a massive failure of intelligence by Israel. Others said because the Palestinians don't use cell phones and have gone off the electronic grid to avoid being tracked, Israel has never been able to conduct surveillance inside Gaza. That sounds like a weak explanation to me. What value is their intelligence if it can't detect imminent danger from its enemies?

Hamas must have been planning this strike for months, or even longer. It clearly wasn't a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of attack. [More...]

Hamas sent 150 rockets just to Tel Aviv. CNN said 200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas strike.

Today was the big day for Prince Charles, to be known hereafter as King Charles, III.

What struck you from the procession video? For me, it was how they placed Harry on the sidelines, with the frou-frou topping of the hat of the person in front of him in his face.

I also wondered if the woman behind Princess Kate might be a crasher. Aside from the expression on her face, she seems to be the only woman in the room not wearing a hat.

Here are some excellent photos ("The Best of the Red Carpet") from Infobae. [More...]

Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected in France. The world should give a sigh of relief that French voters were rational enough to recognize the threat his uber right-wing challenger, Marine Le Pen, posed to France.

Ms. Le Pen,softening her image if not her anti-immigrant nationalist program, rode a wave of alienation and disenchantment to bring the extreme right closer to power than at any time since 1944. Her National Rally party has joined the mainstream, even if at the last minute many French people seem to have voted for Mr. Macron to ensure that France not succumb to the xenophobic vitriol of the darker passages of its history.

...If Brexit was a blow to unity, a French nationalist quasi-exit, as set out in Ms. Le Pen’s proposals, would have left the European Union on life support. That, in turn, would have crippled an essential guarantor of peace on the continent in a volatile moment.

Le Pen has conceded defeat.

There have been protests in Russia against Putin's war in the Ukraine. As of today, more than 1,000 have been detained by police.

Their names and places of detention are listed in case you know someone who is looking for a disappeared family member.

There's a pretty big protest going on in Pushkin Square, about 100 meters from the Red Square and Kremlim.

I've also seen some photos of Russian soldiers captured by the Ukraine Army.

Yesterday, Russia began its military offensive against the Ukraine. Vladimir Putin said in a public address that “his goal was to “demilitarize” but not occupy the country.” The Ukraine began conscripting soldiers a few days ago.

As for where the first blasts were heard, reporters and others have mentioned this places: (Maps are also provided).

Russia launched cruise and ballistic missiles at airfields and military headquarters near Kyiv, the country’s capital city, according to Ukrainian officials. In the south, Russian troops landed in Odessa, according to Ukrainian officials.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian missiles hit targets in Kharkiv and Dnipro, according to Ukrainian officials, and loud booms were reported in Kramatorsk. Ukraine’s state emergency services said that attacks had been launched against 10 Ukrainian regions, primarily in the east and south of the country. Several planes were hit at airports, the statement said.

Russia’s military as compared to the Ukraine’s is like a David v. Goliath scenari.. The Ukraine has around 209,000 troops on active service compared to Russia's 900,000; and Ukraine's reserve forces number 900,000, while Russia has 2 million.

The Ukraine has closed the Sea of Azov.

Here is a free link to the Wall. St. Journal news coverage. I really like their news coverage on just about everthing (as opposed to their opinion pieces which I just gloss over).

The Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing abortion violate its Consitution.

The unanimous ruling from the nation’s top court follows a growing women’s movement in Mexico that has repeatedly taken to the streets of major cities across the country, demanding greater rights and protections for women.

“Today is a historic day for the rights of all Mexican women,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Arturo Zaldivar after the decision was announced. “It is a watershed in the history of the rights of all women, especially the most vulnerable.”

And then, there's Texas, whose Governor showed some foot in mouth disease when answering a question about the new Texas law banning abortion after the detection of a fetal heartbeat (usually 6 weeks): Texas won't force rape victims to have babies because they have 6 weeks to get an abortion and Texas will make a great effort to eliminate rape by removing rapists from the streets.

Prince Harry today publicly addressed his sadness at not being able to continue working for the Crown as he and Meghan branch out to live their own lives.

Her Majesty the Queen issued this statement yesterday. It is followed by a statement from Buckingham Palace with the what Harry and Meghan are giving up. In addition to their titles and public funds, they have requested to repay the Crown for the cost of remodeling their residence at Frogmore Cottage ($1.3 million) which will continue to be their home when in England.

As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.

[More...]

Citizens of the Ukraine have elected a comedian with no political experience as their president.

Ukraine entered uncharted political waters on Monday after near final results showed a comedian with no political experience and few detailed policies had dramatically upended the status quo and won the country’s presidential election by a landslide.

His name is Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He is 37 years old. No one knows what he stands for other than pledging to preserve "Ukrainian identity".

Zelenkiy is most famous for having played a President on TV. (No, I didn't make this post up.) It seems the vote was more a protest against his opponent than a vote for Zelenskiy.

Here is the press release from Saudi Arabia with its findings on its investigation into the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Washington Post reports:

[T]he prosecutor said Khashoggi was given a lethal injection by Saudi agents who had orders only to bring him to Saudi Arabia through persuasion or, if necessary, with force. His body was then dismembered, carried out of the consulate and disposed of by a Turkish contact, the prosecutor said. He offered no indication of where Khashoggi’s remains could be found.

The Treasury Department has announced sanctions on 17 Saudis. Saudi Arabia has said it will seek the death penalty for 5 of those charged in Khashoggi's murder. Neither country has placed any blame on the Crown Prince, notwithstanding: [More..]