State Officials Fear International Court of Justice Could Charge Israel With Genocide in Gaza (www.haaretz.com)
Archived link:...
Israel to pull some troops from Gaza as war enters new phase (www.reuters.com)
Navalny sends ‘arctic hugs and polar greetings’ from Siberian prison in New Year’s Eve message (www.cnn.com)
Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny says he doesn’t feel lonely and is in a “great” mood despite serving a lengthy prison sentence in Siberia, but he still misses interacting directly with his family and friends....
Xi Jinping says Chinese business having ‘tough time’ in new year message (www.theguardian.com)
China’s president, Xi Jinping, acknowledged in his new year’s message that “some enterprises had a tough time” in 2023 as data showed a weakening of factory production deepened this month, but he vowed to step up the pace of the economy’s recovery....
North Korea's Kim orders military to 'thoroughly annihilate' US, South Korea if provoked (apnews.com)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his military should “thoroughly annihilate” the United States and South Korea if provoked, state media reported Monday, after he vowed to boost national defense to cope with what he called an unprecedented U.S.-led confrontation....
Strong quake prompts tsunami warning for Japan's western coast (www.japantimes.co.jp)
Report: Ex-UK PM Blair eyed as mediator on post-war Gaza, including resettlement of Palestinians (www.timesofisrael.com)
Exclusive: US to bring back aircraft carrier from eastern Mediterranean (abcnews.go.com)
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group will leave the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where it was sent just after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, in the “coming days,” two U.S. officials tell ABC News....
Xi says China will ‘surely be reunified’ with self-ruled Taiwan in New Year’s address (apnews.com)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would “surely be reunified” with Taiwan during his televised New Year’s address, renewing Beijing’s threats to take over the self-ruled island, which it considers its own....
Taiwan considers joining international criminal court to deter potential China invasion (www.theguardian.com)
Joining court would allow investigation of Xi Jinping if he were to order act of war against Taiwan...
Israeli minister reiterates calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza (www.aljazeera.com)
China's military purge deepens (www.axios.com)
China’s leaders are expanding an anti-corruption campaign targeting power centers within the military, risking instability and a crisis of confidence during a sensitive time in China’s foreign relations....
Britain ‘considering airstrikes’ on Houthi rebels after Red Sea attacks (www.theguardian.com)
Britain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea....
Exports via Ukraine's Black Sea corridor almost double in December (www.pravda.com.ua)
Exports through the Ukrainian temporary corridor totalled around 13 million tonnes as of the end of December, compared to 7 million tonnes at the beginning of this month....
Assad forces target crowded market, kill two: Syria’s White Helmets (www.aljazeera.com)
Idlib, Syria — Two civilians, including a child, were killed, and 16 others, including four children, were injured in an artillery attack by Syrian regime forces targeting a popular market in the centre of Idlib city on Saturday evening, according to the Syria Civil Defence....
Heaviest snow in South Korea's capital Seoul for more than 40 years (news.sky.com)
South Korea’s weather agency said 12.2cm fell on the capital on Saturday - the heaviest snowfall since 1981.
USS Gerald R. Ford to Leave the Eastern Mediterranean (www.bloomberg.com)
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group will leave the eastern Mediterranean Sea more than two months after being sent to the region following Hamas’ attack on Israel in October, ABC News reported....
Female Medical students in Afghanistan continue studies secretly (www.khaama.com)
Al Jazeera has reported that female medical students in Afghanistan are continuing their education in secret....
Iranian regime accused of raping and violating protesters as young as 12 (www.theguardian.com)
The report by Amnesty International is based on the testimonies of 12 women, 26 men, one girl and six boys who survived rape or other forms of sexual violence. Six survivors of rape were subjected to gang rapes by up to 10 male state agents, according to Amnesty.
Venice to ban large tourist groups and loudspeakers (www.bbc.com)
Venice is to ban loudspeakers and tourist groups of more than 25 people, in a bid to ease the impact of mass tourism on the Italian city....
The Ruined Landscape of Gaza After Nearly Three Months of Bombing (www.wsj.com)
Archived link: archive.is/…/gaza-destruction-bombing-israel-aa52…
Children eat rotten food, adults hunt cats: famine is coming for Gaza (www.thetimes.co.uk)
Archived link: archive.is/…/israel-gaza-war-famine-news-update-c…
Danish Queen Margrethe announces surprise abdication after 52 years on the throne (www.cnn.com)
Renowned Australian journalist John Pilger passes away at 84 (www.aljazeera.com)
New Polish government stops police covering faces and acting as “security agency” for Kaczyński (notesfrompoland.com)
The interior minister in Poland’s new government has announced that police officers will no longer cover their faces and has declared that the force “will not serve as a security agency” anymore for Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party....