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....
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....
Poland says Russian missile entered airspace then went into Ukraine (www.bbc.com)
Poland’s armed forces chief believes a Russian missile entered Poland for almost three minutes and then turned back into Ukrainian airspace....
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....
Ukraine war: Wave of Russian air strikes reported across Ukraine (www.bbc.co.uk)
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....
Congo: Democratic Republic of Congo rules out election re-run as observers flag irregularities (m.timesofindia.com)
US military launches secretive X-37B robot spaceplane on mysterious high-orbit mission (m.timesofindia.com)
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)
Media Repression: UN slams media 'repression' in Guinea (m.timesofindia.com)
Storm Gerrit: Storm Gerrit disrupts trains and leaves thousands without power as it batters northern UK (m.timesofindia.com)
Pilots mistakenly cut power causing Nepal plane crash that killed 72: Report (m.timesofindia.com)
Vijayakanth laid to rest with full state honours in Chennai (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
Ukraine drives Russia back at sea and in the air, but concedes land (www.aljazeera.com)
Turkey arrests ISIL suspects as detention drive continues ahead of New Year celebrations (www.aljazeera.com)
Iran says it executes four people accused of links to Israel’s Mossad (www.aljazeera.com)
Ukraine urges increased support as Russia unleashes huge air assault (www.aljazeera.com)
Tax revenues will not be transferred to PA: Israeli finance minister (aje.io)
About 30,000 people dead or missing in Gaza: Official (aje.io)
Former China central bank official jailed for 16 years for graft: Caixin | The Straits Times (www.straitstimes.com)
Jaishankar says relationship between India and Russia much deeper (www.thehindu.com)
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on December 28 said that the relationship between India and Russia is not just about diplomacy or economics, it is something much deeper....
Iran executes four accused of sabotage, links to Israel's Mossad (www.reuters.com)
Dec 29 (Reuters) - Iran executed on Friday four people, including a woman, whom it accused of being “saboteurs” with links to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, the Mizan news agency affiliated to the judiciary said....