Commented

Russia confirms Ukraine destroyed its warship in Crimea attack (www.aljazeera.com)

We lost the war against Hamas: Former Israeli chief of staff (www.aljazeera.com)

The case of al-Shifa: Investigating the assault on Gaza’s largest hospital (www.washingtonpost.com)

The evidence presented by the Israeli government falls short of showing that Hamas had been using the hospital as a command and control center, according to a Washington Post analysis of open-source visuals, satellite imagery and all of the publicly released IDF materials....

Moldova Plans to Fully Withdraw From Moscow-led Bloc by 2024 (www.kyivpost.com)

Moldova plans to withdraw from all agreements – totaling around 330 – signed within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) by the end of 2024....

Travellers crossing Channel at Dover face long queues during Christmas getaway (www.theguardian.com)

United States weighs hike in tariffs on Chinese EVs (www.reuters.com)

More than 100 container ships rerouted from Suez canal to avoid Houthi attacks (www.theguardian.com)

Cape of Good Hope diversion adds 6,000 nautical miles and three or four weeks to delivery times and has driven up oil prices...

China rights activist goes on trial for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ (www.theguardian.com)

Li Qiaochu, a human rights activist detained for nearly three years in China, has gone on trial in Shandong province charged with “inciting subversion of state power”....

16 killed in Christmas-season shootings in central Mexico state of Guanajuato (apnews.com)

Global shipping firms to avoid Suez Canal as attacks from Yemen's Huthi rebels increase (www.france24.com)

Surrounded and low on ammo, the elite troops out to spoil Putin’s New Year (www.thetimes.co.uk)

ByteDance is secretly using OpenAI’s tech to build a competitor (www.theverge.com)

Guyana and Venezuela promise not to use force in bitter dispute over oil rich region (www.theguardian.com)

Turkish MP dies after suffering heart attack in parliament (www.reuters.com)

South Korea scrambles fighter jets after six Chinese and Russian aircraft enter its air defence zone (www.independent.co.uk)

South Korea scrambled fighter jets on Thursday after at least six Chinese and Russian warplanes were seen enterering its air defence zone, the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said....

Female prison guard ‘had secret phone sex with inmate’ (www.telegraph.co.uk)

One-fifth of troop fatalities in Gaza due to friendly fire or accidents, IDF reports (www.ynetnews.com)

IDF Reports 1,593 Wounded Since October 7, but Hospital Data Is Much Higher (www.haaretz.com)

Six Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons during the war, two found bruised (www.haaretz.com)

According to the findings that were sent to Haaretz, Mara'i's chest was bruised and his ribs and breastbone were broken. There were also signs of external bruises to his head, neck, back, buttocks, left arm and thigh. According to the autopsy report, he was healthy and had no preexisting conditions before his imprisonment....

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