War on Gaza: Important archaeological site 'mostly destroyed' by Israeli invasion (www.middleeasteye.net)
Hamas leader Sinwar said to narrowly evade capture by IDF two separate times (www.timesofisrael.com)
Red Sea Maritime Coalition Much Bigger Than Originally Disclosed - Ten nations who joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, the international effort to protect Red Sea shipping, don’t want to go public. (www.thedrive.com)
The newly minted international maritime effort to defend against ongoing attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen is much larger than originally announced....
Venezuela to hand over ‘Fat Leonard,’ mastermind in U.S. Navy scandal (www.washingtonpost.com)
'The Wedding': Iranian spy plot to kill two news presenters in London uncovered by double agent (www.itv.com)
Iranian spies offered a people-smuggler $200,000 (around £158,290) to assassinate two news presenters codenamed “the bride and the groom” outside their London studio, to show critics of the regime they “could do harm to them at any time”....
US sees ceasefire in Congo holding through country’s presidential elections (www.politico.com)
The Biden administration is increasingly confident that a pact it brokered to deescalate fighting in eastern Congo will hold through the country’s elections — a key step toward preventing a larger conflict between Congo and Rwanda....
Record breaking: Chinese scientists use electricity to extract uranium from sea (www.scmp.com)
China shifts to electric vehicle overdrive as Mitsubishi takes the off-ramp (www.eastasiaforum.org)
Israel still holding bodies of 17 dead Palestinian detainees, says prisoners group (www.newarab.com)
Iran-backed Houthis threaten to 'sink' the US and allied warships that keep shooting their stuff out of the sky (www.businessinsider.com)
Afghanistan: 'Tea is sometimes all I have to give my hungry baby' (www.bbc.co.uk)
Islamic Jihad releases video of two Israeli hostages pleading for their release (www.reuters.com)
Security Council searching for Gaza resolution that U.S. won't veto (www.washingtonpost.com)
Archived link: archive.is/…/israel-gaza-united-nations-ceasefire…
Police raid Moscow gay bars after a Supreme Court ruling labeled LGBTQ+ movement ‘extremist’ (apnews.com)
Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization....
Eurozone likely in recession, PMI surveys show (www.euractiv.com)
Iran Hangs 'Child Bride' For Murder Of Husband: Rights Groups (www.barrons.com)
Mainland China suspends tariff cuts on 12 Taiwanese imports from January in response to ‘discriminatory measures’ (www.scmp.com)
Mexican cartels are accessing a database used by the government to monitor their victims in real time: report (www.businessinsider.com)
Billionaire politicians have become 'shockingly common' around the world, new study finds (www.cnbc.com)
More than 11% of the world’s more than 2,000 billionaires have run for election or become politicians, according to a study highlighting the growing power and influence of the super-wealthy....
Zelensky: Military proposed to mobilize 450,000-500,000 soldiers (www.ukrinform.net)
China reportedly suspends US$6.5 billion currency swap agreement with Argentina (www.scmp.com)
Blocked by Polish Truckers, Ukraine Turns to the Black Sea to Boost Trade (www.nytimes.com)
The blockade at the border with Poland has crippled Ukraine’s land trade. But a new Black Sea route is providing an economic lifeline....
‘I feared for my life’: three women in mental distress say they were further traumatised by NSW police (www.theguardian.com)
A $2M missile vs. a $2,000 drone: Pentagon worried over cost of Houthi attacks (www.politico.com)
As American warships rack up kills against Houthi drones and missiles in the Red Sea, Pentagon officials are increasingly alarmed not just at the threat to U.S. naval forces and international shipping — but at the growing cost of keeping them safe....
Philippines rebukes China over South China Sea claims (www.reuters.com)
The Philippine defence minister rebuked China on Wednesday for accusing his country of provoking tension and stirring trouble in the South China Sea, saying only Beijing believed what it was saying....
