Strikes

A federal judge on Monday struck down a new California law that banned federal immigration agents and other law enforcement officers from wearing masks in the state, but an effort already is underway to revive the statute.

U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder in Los Angeles ruled that the No Secret Police Act does not apply equally to all law enforcement officers because it excludes state law enforcement, and therefore “unlawfully discriminates against federal officers.”

But, Snyder said, the ban does not impede federal officers from performing their federal functions, indicating that a revised law that remedies that discrimination may be constitutional.

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), the author of the legislation, on Monday proposed a new prohibition on mask-wearing by all law enforcement officers in California, a change he argued would bring the ban into compliance with Snyder’s ruling.

Wiener said he will immediately file his updated bill in order to unmask U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents conducting unconstitutional enforcement in the state as soon as possible.

“We will unmask these thugs and hold them accountable. Full stop,” Wiener said, calling Snyder’s ruling a “huge win.”

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, who sued California to block the law from taking effect, cast the ruling in starkly different terms, as a win for the federal government and immigration agents doing a difficult job under intense scrutiny.

“ANOTHER key court victory thanks to our outstanding [Justice Department] attorneys,” Bondi wrote on X.

“Following our arguments, a district court in California BLOCKED the enforcement of a law that would have banned federal agents from wearing masks to protect their identities,” Bondi wrote. “These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs.”

Wiener helped push two new California laws last year — the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act — in the wake of intense and aggressive immigration enforcement by masked ICE and other federal agents in California and around the country.

The No Secret Police Act banned local law enforcement officers, officers from other states and federal law enforcement personnel from wearing masks except in specific circumstances — such as in tactical, SWAT or undercover operations. It did not apply those restrictions on California’s state law enforcement officers.

The No Vigilantes Act required any law enforcement officer operating in California to visibly display identification, including the name of their agency and their name or badge number, except in undercover and other specific scenarios.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the measures into law in September, though the state agreed to not enforce the measures against federal agents in the state while the Justice Department’s challenge was heard in court.

In her ruling Monday, Snyder blocked only the ban on masking by federal agents, and on seemingly narrow grounds.

Snyder said that the court “finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks. However, because the No Secret Police Act, as presently enacted, does not apply equally to all law enforcement officers in the state, it unlawfully discriminates against federal officers.”

“Because such discrimination violates the Supremacy Clause, the Court is constrained to enjoin the facial covering prohibition,” she wrote.

Weiner said it was “hard to overstate how important this ruling is for our efforts to ensure full accountability for ICE and Border Patrol’s terror campaign.”

Wiener said he and colleagues had crafted the No Secret Police Act in consultation with constitutional law experts, but had “removed state police from the bill” based on conversations with Newsom’s office.

“Now that the Court has made clear that state officers must be included, I am immediately introducing new legislation to include state officers,” Wiener said. “I will do everything in my power to expedite passage of this adjustment to the No Secret Police Act.”

He said ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers were “covering their faces to maximize their terror campaign and to insulate themselves from accountability. We won’t let them get away with it.”

Wiener is also pushing new legislation — called the No Kings Act — that would allow people in California to sue federal agents for violating their rights. Democrats in Congress are also demanding that immigration agents stop wearing masks as a condition for extending Department of Homeland Security funding.

In response to Wiener’s suggestion that he had removed state officers from the bill based on conversations with the governor’s office, Newsom’s office posted on X that Wiener “rejected our proposed fixes to his bill” and “chose a different approach, and today the court found his approach unlawful.”

In a separate statement, Newsom hailed Snyder’s upholding the identification requirement for officers as “a clear win for the rule of law.”

“No badge and no name mean no accountability. California will keep standing up for civil rights and our democracy.”

Bondi said her office would continue defending federal agents from such state action.

“We will continue fighting and winning in court for President Trump’s law-and-order agenda — and we will ALWAYS have the backs of our great federal law enforcement officers,” she said.

From farmers protesting in Europe against a trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur to deadly attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province that killed nearly 200 people and demonstrations in Cuba opposing threats by the United States, here is a look at the week in photos.

The attack comes amid fears of a return to conflict following clashes between government troops and Tigrayan forces.

One person has been killed and another injured in drone strikes in Ethiopia’s ‍northern Tigray ‍region, a senior Tigrayan official and a humanitarian worker said, in another sign of renewed conflict between regional and federal forces.

The Tigrayan official on Saturday said the drone strikes hit two Isuzu trucks near Enticho and Gendebta, two places in Tigray about 20km (12 miles) apart.

The official said the Ethiopian National Defence Force launched the strikes, but ​did not provide evidence.

A local humanitarian worker confirmed the strikes had happened. Both asked not to be named, the Reuters news agency reported.

It was not immediately clear what the trucks were carrying.

TPLF-affiliated news outlet Dimtsi Weyane posted pictures on Facebook that ‌it said showed the trucks damaged in the strikes. It said the trucks were transporting food ‌and cooking items.

Pro-government activists posting on ⁠social media said the trucks were carrying weapons.

Ethiopia’s national army fought fighters from the Tigray People’s ⁠Liberation Front (TPLF) for two years until late 2022, in a war ​researchers say killed hundreds of thousands through direct violence, the ‍collapse of healthcare and famine.

Fighting broke out between regional and national forces in Tsemlet in the disputed territory of western Tigray earlier this week, an area claimed by forces from the neighbouring Amhara region.

Tension has been brewing over the presence of troops from Amhara and the neighbouring country of Eritrea in Tigray, violating a peace deal in November 2022 that ended the war.

Last year, the head of Tigray’s interim administration established by Addis Ababa was forced to flee Mekele, the regional capital, amid growing divisions within the TPLF, which controlled all of Ethiopia before being displaced by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Addis Ababa accuses the group of forging ties with neighbouring Eritrea and “actively preparing to wage war against Ethiopia”.

Earlier this week, national carrier Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to Tigray, where residents rushed to try to withdraw cash from banks.

The Tigray ‌war ended in 2022, but disagreements have continued over a range of issues, including contested territories in western ‍Tigray, and the delayed disarmament of Tigray forces.

The province is also suffering the effects of United States President Donald Trump’s funding cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) last year, which was once Ethiopia’s largest source of humanitarian aid.

Humanitarian organisations say up to 80 percent of the population is in need of emergency support, and funding shortfalls are placing a strain on the health system.

The African Union’s chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, on Friday urged all parties to “exercise maximum restraint” and “resolve all outstanding issues through constructive dialogue”.

He emphasised the importance of preserving the “hard-won gains achieved under the AU-led Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA)” signed in Pretoria in 2022.

Jan. 30 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Innovation Party said Thursday that the Constitutional Court’s decision striking down the 3% vote threshold for proportional representation is a warning to the country’s two major parties and called on the Democratic Party to amend the Public Official Election Act.

The party argued that the ruling requires broader electoral reform, including abolishing two-member local council districts, expanding regional proportional representation and introducing runoff voting for mayors and governors.

Park Byeong-won, interim spokesperson for the Innovation Party, told a news conference at the National Assembly Communication Center that the court’s decision underscored violations of popular sovereignty. He said the Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the National Assembly, should take responsibility for revising the election law.

Park said the court found partially unconstitutional a provision of the Public Official Election Act that denied proportional representation seats to parties that failed to secure at least 3% of the nationwide vote. As a result, he said, parties receiving less than 3% support will be eligible for seat allocation in the 2028 general election without further legislation.

He added that the court criticized the current system as favoring the two major parties and blocking new political forces from entering the National Assembly. Park said it would be unrealistic to expect the major parties to voluntarily reform a system that benefits them and called the ruling a rebuke that lawmakers must heed.

Park said the decision highlighted the need to abolish two-member local council districts, expand regional proportional representation and introduce runoff voting for local chief executives in upcoming local elections. He said the Democratic Party should move unilaterally to amend the election law to reflect the principle of popular sovereignty.

On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court ruled 7-2 that Article 189(1) of the Public Official Election Act was unconstitutional. The provision limited proportional representation seats to parties that won at least 3% of the national vote or secured five constituency seats.

Minor parties and candidates who failed to meet the threshold in the 21st and 22nd general elections under a semi-linked proportional representation system had filed the constitutional complaint.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260130010013892

Two people are reported killed in a drone strike at Maghazi camp in central Gaza while three others die in Rafah.

Israeli shelling and drone strikes across Gaza have killed at least five people and injured 11 others, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials.

The deadly strikes on Friday in central Gaza’s Maghazi refugee camp and the southern city of Rafah came as Israel carried out continued targeted operations in the besieged territory, despite the ongoing ceasefire.

Two Palestinian men were killed in Maghazi after they were targeted in a drone strike, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In Rafah, Israeli forces said in a statement that the air force had killed three “terrorists” as a group of eight had emerged from an underground location.

They said that further strikes were launched and that “soldiers continue to conduct searches in the area in order to locate and eliminate” the remaining people

Also in Rafah, Israeli naval gunboats pursued fishing boats and opened heavy machinegun fire on fishermen off the coast, according to Wafa. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Rafah is the location of a strategic border crossing to Egypt. It is the only passage between the Gaza Strip and the outside world that does not lead to Israel, and is a vital conduit for humanitarian aid.

Palestinian authorities have demanded the immediate reopening of the Rafah crossing, a stipulation of the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire deal, saying the continued blockade has prevented the entry of necessary supplies for the tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the area.

Elsewhere in southern Gaza, six Palestinians were injured after Israeli forces shelled a tent sheltering displaced people in the al-Mawasi area, just west of Khan Younis, sources from al-Helal field hospital and Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Hani al-Shaer.

Anadolu news agency reported that a pregnant woman was among those injured in the attack.

Israeli strikes and operations have killed at least 492 Palestinians and injured 1,356 since the ceasefire came into force in October, according to Palestinian authorities in Gaza.

The US-brokered ceasefire, which sought to halt the fighting between Israel and Hamas since October 7, 2023, has been in place for more than three months. Both sides accuse each other of repeated violations.

Earlier in January, Washington announced that the ceasefire had progressed to its second phase, intended to bring a definitive end to the war. However, signs of progress on the ground remain scant.

On Thursday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the need to fully implement the ceasefire agreement, including the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

However, the Israeli military has said its forces “remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat”.

THERE’S bad news for passengers flying with easyJet to Italy this weekend.

On Saturday, unions representing easyJet’s pilots and flight attendants have announced a strike due to to take place between 1pm and 5pm.

easyJet operates daily departures across Italy in destinations like Milan Malpensa, Naples, Venice and Rome Fiumicino. 

Currently, easyJet says that there is only one return flight scheduled to and from the UK within the strike period which is currently set to operate as planned.

Another nine intra-EU flights are also within the strike period, but there are also plans in place to operate.

easyJet also told Sun Travel: “We have contingency plans in place so our flying programme to and from Italy is currently scheduled to operate as planned tomorrow.

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“We will contact customers directly should their flight be affected.”

Naples Airport operator GESAC has warned of “possible delays and cancellations”, urging travellers to check the status of their flights.

The industrial action has been taken as a result of delays in talks over roster patterns, post-pandemic wage restoration and integration of the new Airbus A321neo aircraft.

A number of services could be grounded and the select time of the walkout is to maximise disruption. 

SkyRefund has advised that if your flight is cancelled, the airline must offer you a choice between a full refund or re-routing to your destination.

If the airline cannot fly you out quickly, they should book you onto a flight with an alternative carrier.

Commenting on passenger rights, Ivaylo Danailov, CEO of flight compensation specialists SkyRefund, said: “Passengers should be aware that while airlines often cite strikes as ‘extraordinary circumstances’, industrial action by an airline’s own employees, such as this walk-out by easyJet pilots and cabin crew, is generally considered within the carrier’s control under UK and Under EU 261/2004 regulations.

“Because this strike stems from internal disputes over wages and rosters, it does not typically meet the criteria for an ‘unforeseeable’ event.

“If your flight is cancelled or delayed by more than three hours, you aren’t just entitled to a seat on the next available flight; you are likely eligible for fixed financial compensation of up to £520 (€600) per person.”

Flight compensation rules

A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?

Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.

If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.

You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.

So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.

But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.

When am I not entitled to compensation?

The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.

Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.

Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?

If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.

Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.

Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.

If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.

Here’s more information on what to do if your flight is cancelled or delayed due to a mystery ‘tech glitch’.

And these are the circumstances where you won’t get any compensation for a cancelled flight.

As both sides in the war in Ukraine continue their campaigns of long-range drone attacks, the Ukrainian government’s internal security agency has released a compilation of strikes directed against Russian airbases. The video, published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), records drone strikes against Russian military aircraft by its special forces unit, the “Alpha Group,” also known as “A” Special Operations Center.

“The enemy is used to feeling safe in the deep rear. But for the special forces of “Alpha,” distance has long ceased to matter,” the SBU wrote in a post accompanying the video on social media.

The footage shows several Russian aircraft being targeted, from the perspective of the attacking drones. It appears that most, if not all, of these strikes were previously claimed, and some have been previously seen in the form of video stills. But the end result is certainly impressive, presuming all of the targeted aircraft were damaged or destroyed — which is far from clear from these videos.

The SBU claims that the total value of the damage was more than $1 billion, although it’s far from clear how this was calculated, especially since some of the airframes in question are decades old and no longer in production. It’s also notable that the SBU figure includes damage inflicted on ammunition and fuel depots at the airfields in question.

Regardless, the 15 aircraft claimed targeted by the SBU appear to comprise:

From what can be seen, the An-26 appears to have been damaged beyond repair, while one Su-24 seems to have had at least its tail section damaged; available satellite imagery may show a destroyed Su-24, but the quality of the imagery means that it can’t be determined for sure.

These aircraft were targeted at five different airfields, the SBU stated, without disclosing their exact locations.

However, based on open-source analysis, it seems that the targeted bases included Belbek, Kirovskoye, Saky, and Simferopol, all in Russian-occupied Crimea.

The growing threat of attacks like these on airbases has prompted Russia to build new hardened aircraft shelters and embark on additional construction to help shield aircraft from drone strikes and other indirect fire. This is part of a broader push by the Russian military to improve physical defenses at multiple airfields following the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The highlighted airfield raids in the video are part of a wider Ukrainian drone campaign carried out last year, in which the SBU also targeted Russian air defense systems, radar installations, and critical energy infrastructure.

As far as air defense systems are concerned, the SBU claims that it destroyed Russian equipment worth an estimated $4 billion last year. These included S-300, S-350, and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as advanced radar systems such as the Nebo-M, Podlet, and Protivnik-GE.

In 2025, Ukraine also carried out the spectacular Operation Spiderweb, a large-scale Ukrainian drone strike against airbases across Russia in June. This targeted Moscow’s fleet of strategic bombers and saw a reported 117 drones launched against at least four airfields.

New footage from Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb hitting Russian bombers

Notable also is the fact that the specific Ukrainian campaign against Russian airfields is something that was brought up by U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, last summer. The timing of that call suggests that Operation Spiderweb prompted that discussion.

Lots of people are reposting this Trump Truth Social post as if it’s recent (in part because Ukraine just released another video of hitting parked Russian warplanes), but it is in fact from last summer. pic.twitter.com/8jodT8bm7H

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) January 29, 2026

Ukraine’s ability to strike high-value Russian targets at considerable range has been bolstered through the addition of long-range cruise missiles, as well as an expanding inventory of attack drones, both large and small.

Meanwhile, SBU is continuing its long-range drone strikes.

Overnight on January 13, the security agency teamed up with the Ukrainian Navy to attack a drone production facility in Taganrog, where several production halls appear to have been destroyed, based on satellite analysis.

Ukrainian Defenders destroyed several warehouses of Atlant Aero plant in Taganrog, Russia. Combat drones and their parts were produced there.

Glory! pic.twitter.com/P6RcfpXtbl

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) January 16, 2026

The facility in question, the Atlant Aero factory, is responsible, among others, for producing Russia’s Molniya loitering munition, widely used in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces reportedly hit a Russian drone factory in the city of Taganrog tonight, setting it ablaze.

Multiple explosions were reported at the Atlant drone company, manufacturer of the Molniya-series attack drones. pic.twitter.com/yr3SA3b7gV

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 13, 2026

Drones being used to strike enemy facilities producing drones is very much indicative of the path the war has taken, when it comes to the increasing use and diversity of uncrewed systems across all fronts.

For its part, Russia employed a BM-35 loitering munition to attack what was claimed by some observers to be a Ukrainian F-16 fighter at Kanatove Air Base in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad region, on January 26. In fact, the target was either a decoy or a ground-instructional aid, something that even Russia’s Rubicon Drone Operations Center attested to.

This is not the first time that a Russian drone strike has claimed a Ukrainian aircraft mock-up, but again demonstrates the potential vulnerability of airfields to these kinds of attacks.

Notably, too, the BM-35 drone used in the strike is reported to use satellite connectivity via Starlink, allowing operators to control it in real time over long distances.

The SBU’s latest ‘greatest hits’ compilation underscores how drone attacks on Russian military aircraft are one of its highest priorities and one that we will certainly see targeted again in the months to come.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com