Amidst worsening US-Russia relations, Foreign Minister Lavrov announced that Russia will abandon its moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles.

In less than a week, Syria’s new authorities have arrested almost 300 people, including pro-Assad fighters and informants, as part of a campaign to consolidate power.

Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in as Georgia’s president amid political tensions, outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili’s defiant exit, and halted EU membership talks.

The aviation community is in shock following a deadly plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Korea.

Al-Ali’s militia, reportedly armed with anti-personnel rockets, tanks, and artillery, had refused to surrender its heavy weapons or participate in the new authorities’ reconciliation process

Senegal has announced plans to close all foreign military bases in the country, focusing on ending the presence of French troops.

‘Most previous megabergs have broken up roughly near South Georgia, which is probably only a month or so away from the berg’s current position,’ researcher tells media

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday held the first preparatory hearing of a trial on the validity of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment by parliament over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Yoon’s lawyers Bae Bo-yoon, Yun Gap-geun and Bae Jin-han appeared before the top court, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News. The court will again hear the two sides on Jan. 3. Lawmakers voted to impeach Yoon, 63, on Dec. 14 over his failed bid to impose martial law in the country. He faces treason and insurrection among other charges. Representatives from the parliament also appeared before the court and sought the appearance of 15 witnesses in the case. The lawmakers are represented by former Constitutional Court Justice Kim Yi-su and former National Human Rights Commission Chairman Song Doo-hwan. Justices Lee Mi-son and Cheong Hyung-sik presided over the hearing. Shocking the nation with the announcement of martial law on Dec. 3, Yoon was forced to rescind the order within six hours after parliament passed a motion against it that night. The top court has six months, since Dec. 14, to decide whether to uphold or dismiss the impeachment, while Prime Minister Han Duck-soo officiates as president since Yoon remains suspended from his duties.

 Ahead of the first hearing by the top court, Yoon had refused to entertain notices from the Constitutional Court. But the court had said it will proceed with its trial beginning today. Yoon was impeached in a second parliamentary vote held on Dec. 14 when at least 12 lawmakers from his People Power Party joined the opposition bloc of 192 parliamentarians, led by the Democratic Party, to suspend the president. In the 300-seat parliament, at least 200 lawmakers should vote to suspend a sitting South Korean president. If the top court upholds the impeachment motion, Yoon will be removed from office and a fresh presidential election is due within two months from that date. Police were also searching the office of the Presidential Security Service for CCTV footage of the compound. Police were searching the place where Yoon allegedly met with senior police officials to discuss martial law plans. Separately, parliament is set to hold a separate vote to impeach Han, the acting president, after he refused to appoint three Constitutional Court judges. This will be the first time in South Korea’s history that a vote to impeach the acting president will be held.

France has handed over its first military base in Chad to the Chadian military, marking the beginning of its withdrawal from the country.

A new report by Caminando Fronteras reveals that nearly 10,500 migrants died while attempting to reach Spain in 2024.

Five journalists from the Al-Quds Today channel were killed early Thursday when an Israeli airstrike struck their broadcasting van near al-Awda Hospital in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Palestinian officials and media reports. The journalists were covering events at the hospital when the vehicle, marked with the word “PRESS” in large red letters, was hit. The victims have been identified as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan and Ayman al-Jadi. Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif reported that al-Jadi was waiting for his wife, who was in labor with their first child, outside the hospital at the time of the attack. Footage from the scene showed the van engulfed in flames as civil defense teams worked to recover the bodies and extinguish the fire. The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a vehicle carrying members of Islamic Jihad.  “Prior to the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial observations and additional intelligence information,” the military said in a post on X. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the deaths, calling for accountability. Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed nearly 45,400 people, most of them women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

 US President-elect Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that “wonderful soldiers of China” are operating the Panama Canal “lovingly but illegally.” In a post on his Truth Social platform on Christmas Day, Trump alleged that the Chinese presence is aimed at ensuring that the US invests billions of dollars in repairs without reaping any benefits. “The United States puts in Billions of Dollars in ‘repair’ money and gets nothing in return,” he said. Trump also addressed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him “Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada” and suggesting that Canada could achieve significant tax cuts and “would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World” if it joined the US as its 51st state. Turning to domestic politics, he criticized “radical left lunatics” for allegedly obstructing the US court system and targeting political opponents, including himself.  “Their only chance of political survival is to get pardons from (incumbent President) Joe Biden,” he added.

While the government aims to improve the regulation of the mining sector, the decision to release most of the detainees has raised some eyebrows.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, taking the death toll from an ongoing military operation in the area to eight, the Health Ministry said early Wednesday. A ministry statement said that seven more people were injured, including two seriously, in the offensive. The Israeli army began a large-scale military operation in Tulkarem late Monday, triggering clashes with angry Palestinian residents, according to witnesses. An Israeli military statement said an army commander was injured in a roadside bomb explosion in the city on Wednesday. The army said the commander suffered moderate injuries after his vehicle hit an explosive device in the area. Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers. At least 832 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,500 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry. The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Protesters in Panama burned an image of Trump after he threatened to take control of the Panama Canal back from the country.

The Houthis have launched multiple drone and missile attacks targeting Israel, which they claim are acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

 Iran is grappling with an energy crisis amid the cold winter weather, with many factories and government offices in some cities closed or operating with reduced hours while schools are switching to distance learning. The oil-rich country is suffering from an energy crisis due to sanctions, which have led to a lack of sufficient investments in its energy infrastructure. Power outages in industrial and residential areas and shortages of energy supply, especially in the winter, have caused economic and social issues. Electricity and natural gas outages have become commonplace in Iran due to rising energy demand coupled with inadequate infrastructure. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recently appealed to the public to turn their thermostats down by 2C (3.6F).  Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi called on the public to reduce fuel consumption to provide more fuel to power plants to minimize problems with energy supply. All levels of education were suspended in December in several Iranian provinces. Iranian Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Jaafar Ghaempanah said on Dec. 17 that factories and workshops in some industrial zones had halted operations due to the lack of natural gas, noting that despite the country’s demand of 945 million cubic meters, only 840 million cubic meters had been produced. Most of Iran’s electricity needs are met by thermal power plants using natural gas, resulting in a deficit of around 15,000 megawatts during peak demand, according to Tejaratnews. Around 94% of Iran’s electricity is produced from fossil fuels. As for clean energy, while the world’s share of wind and solar energy is around 13% of the total electricity generated globally, Iran’s share is at 0.6%. A significant reliance on natural gas, lack of technological advancements and outdated infrastructure negatively impact renewable energy development efforts, leading to energy losses and causing significant damage to the national economy. Iran’s energy inefficiency leads to higher costs and renders its electricity grid unreliable. Estimates suggest that power outages in the country could cost the economy $5 billion to $8 billion annually.  Iran aims to increase its renewable energy capacity to approximately 30 gigawatts by 2030, aiming to significantly expand its use of clean energy sources like solar and wind power, but financial difficulties and economic sanctions are affecting the inflow of foreign investments and the development of advanced technologies.  Russia boasts the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world at around 47 trillion cubic meters, while Iran has the second largest reserves at around 34 trillion cubic meters, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Following a ministerial meeting on Monday, Meloni’s office reiterated Italy’s determination to advance the initiative

 South Korea has reported a fresh case of bird flu near capital Seoul, authorities said, taking the total number of cases to 14 in the country. According to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ministry, the highly pathogenic bird flu for the season was detected at a poultry farm in the Hwaseong area of the country’s most populous Gyeonggi province. The farm, which is raising 202 chickens and 67 wild geese, reported the case on Sunday, according to the Korea Joongang Daily. Authorities have asked the farm owner to cull the affected chickens and wild geese.

 Five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes targeting civilian gatherings in western Gaza City and eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. “Four Palestinians were killed, and others were injured in an Israeli drone strike on a group of civilians in Al-Shati Camp west of Gaza City,” a medical source told Anadolu. In a separate incident, Gaza’s Civil Defense said their teams recovered “the body of a Palestinian targeted by an Israeli drone in the Khirbat al-Adas area, northeastern Rafah.” Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed more than 45,200 people, mostly women and children, since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last month for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.

The death toll has risen to four after a driver deliberately crashed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. According to reports from German public broadcasters WDR and NDR, based on security sources, the incident took place last evening, leaving more than 200 people injured. German media have identified the 50-year-old suspect, who had been living in Germany since 2006 and held permanent residency. He worked as a doctor in Bernburg and had previously posted on social media expressing concerns about the rise of Islam in Germany. Reports suggest that the attacker drove a BMW for at least 400 meters through the crowd at the market before being arrested. In the aftermath, the Christmas market was shut down, and people were urged to leave the city center. The attack occurred near Magdeburg Town Hall, close to the Elbe River.

Illegal Israeli settlers on Friday set fire to the Bir al-Walidain Mosque in the village of Marda, northern occupied West Bank, Anadolu learned. Witnesses said a group of illegal settlers stormed the eastern neighborhood of Marda, near the city of Salfit, and deliberately set the mosque ablaze. Residents managed to extinguish the flames, but the fire had already caused significant damage to the mosque’s structure. The village of Marda is adjacent to the illegal Ariel settlement and is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence. Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank over Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. At least 822 Palestinians have since been killed and around 6,500 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry. In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

 Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday that so far this year, 55 migrants have died and 180 children have been abandoned while crossing the Darien jungle. “Fifty-five people have died in 2024 on the Darien route,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference.  However, authorities suspect that the death toll may be higher, as many bodies cannot be recovered from the jungle. Mulino also said that the “180 unaccompanied minors” who had been abandoned in the Panamanian jungle this year are now being looked after by childcare institutions. On Tuesday, the government of Panama announced that the flow of migrants through Darien fell by almost 41% this year. Between January and December, 300,549 migrants crossed the treacherous jungle compared to more than 520,000 in the same period of 2023. The director of the National Migration Service of Panama, Roger Tejada, explained that the reduction is due to the implementation of stricter measures by the new government. President Mulino has taken a strong stance against the flow of migrants through the Darien Gap. His administration has implemented several strategies to deter migration through the dangerous route, including increasing patrol agents along the border with Colombia to monitor and control the area as well as the closure of unauthorized routes. The government has also initiated a policy of deporting migrants who are arrested crossing the jungle illegally.  Authorities said that within the framework of an agreement signed with the United States, 51 flights have been made to return 1,548 migrants to countries such as Colombia and Ecuador. Tejada indicated that they expect to increase these returns in 2025, depending on the policies implemented by the government of US President Donald Trump starting in January. According to official figures, Venezuelans accounted for 70% of all those who crossed. Other nationalities included Colombians (6%), Ecuadorians (5%), Chinese (4%) and Haitians (4%). Migrants who cross the remote and dangerous area of dense rainforest, swamps, rivers and mountains on the border of Colombia and Panama face dangers such as wild animals and multiple human rights violations, including sexual violence, murders, disappearances, trafficking and robbery by organized criminal groups.

The ICJ will consider Israel’s duties to support Palestinians after a UN resolution highlights ongoing restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza.