China names a new defense minister after the last one was ousted without reason (www.semafor.com)
China on Friday appointed a new defense minister to replace Li Shangfu, who was ousted from his post earlier this year after just seven months into the job, and hasn’t been seen in public since August....
Israel Expands Operations in Southern Gaza Amid Worsening Humanitarian Crisis (www.wsj.com)
Israeli forces expanded their military operations in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, intensifying efforts to kill Hamas’s top leadership, as aid agencies said the areas to which Israel has directed Palestinians to evacuate were increasingly overcrowded, short on resources and hit by Israeli strikes....
Burundi president calls for stoning of gay couples (www.vanguardngr.com)
Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye launched a virulent anti-gay tirade on Friday, saying same-sex couples should be publicly stoned....
Pakistan'S Current Economic Model: Pakistan's economic model failed, only benefits elite people: World Bank (m.timesofindia.com)
UN Condemns Nicaragua: UN condemns Nicaragua for 'forced disappearance' of priest (m.timesofindia.com)
Xi urges Chinese envoys to create 'diplomatic iron army' (www.reuters.com)
NATO air forces scrambled over 300 times in 2023 due to Russian military aircraft (www.reuters.com)
About 30,000 people dead or missing in Gaza: Official (aje.io)
Britain to send 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine (www.reuters.com)
LONDON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Britain is sending around 200 air defence missiles to Ukraine to help protect civilians and infrastructure from Russian drones and bombing, the British ministry of defence said on Friday....
Ukraine war: Wave of Russian air strikes reported across Ukraine (www.bbc.co.uk)
Pilots mistakenly cut power causing Nepal plane crash that killed 72: Report (m.timesofindia.com)
Former China central bank official jailed for 16 years for graft: Caixin | The Straits Times (www.straitstimes.com)
A rebel group in the Indian state of Assam signs a peace accord with the government (www.ctvnews.ca)
NEW DELHI - A rebel group that fought for decades to free India’s northeastern state of Assam from New Delhi’s rule on Friday signed a peace accord with the government pledging to end the insurgency in the region....
Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 (www.nytimes.com)
Hamas Goes to Cairo to Consider Egyptian Peace Proposal (www.voanews.com)
A delegation of high-level Hamas officials is expected in Cairo on Friday, where they will consider an Egyptian peace proposal designed to bring an end to the war between Hamas and Israel....
Eleven top Iranian commanders killed in Damascus airport strike - report (m.jpost.com)
11 leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in an airstrike targeting Damascus International Airport on Thursday evening, Saudi media reported the following morning....
Indonesia: Crowd Storms Rohingya Shelter Demanding Refugees Be Deported (www.eurasiareview.com)
The campaign against the Rohingya was fueled by misinformation and propaganda on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, where fake accounts and anti-refugee posts have gone viral....
Russia launches 158 drones, missiles at Ukraine, deaths reported in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa (kyivindependent.com)
Local authorities have reported civilian casualties in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Odesa after Russia unleashed a barrage of 158 attack drones and missiles overnight, targeting regions across Ukraine on Dec. 29....