The Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Christmas Day over their failure to agree on a ceasefire deal despite continuing efforts by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Source link
Kolkata, India – Sitting in front of dilapidated huts and piles of ashes in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, 80-year-old Rohingya refugee Amina Khatun began to cry as she talked about her 60-year-old son, Abul Hayer. “Less than 24 hours ago he was fine and alive next to us,” he told VOA. “And then, the fire started.” … Read more
Since the fall of the Assad regime, a sense of freedom has slowly been spreading across many sectors in Syria. Artists are slowly regaining their freedom of expression, with more and more stand-up shows being held, and comedians challenging taboos. Source link
Russia launched another large-scale attack on Ukraine with missiles and drones early on Christmas Day, seemingly aiming to trigger blackouts across the country. Strikes hit multiple cities, killing at least one person, insulting others, and forcing Ukrainians to seek shelter. Source link
Finland said it was investigating a fault in a power cable under the Baltic Sea connecting it to Estonia. The unplanned outage occurred on the Estlink 2 interconnector at 10:26 GMT (11:26 CET) on Wednesday, according to operator Fingrid. “Even at Christmas the authorities are ready to investigate the case,” Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo … Read more
Pope Francis called Wednesday for “arms to be silenced” around the world in his traditional Christmas address, appealing for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan as he denounced the “extremely serious” humanitarian situation in Gaza. Source link
Beijing/Tokyo — Japan said on Wednesday that talks between the foreign ministers of China and Japan in Beijing paved the way for Japan to host China’s foreign affairs chief next year and reached a mutual agreement to hold security talks as soon as possible. Is. No details were given on when the events would take … Read more
At least 21 people have been killed in unrest after Mozambique’s top court on December 23 confirmed long-ruling party Frelimo’s victory in the election. The decision by Mozambique’s Constitutional Council sparked fresh nationwide protests by opposition groups and their supporters who said the vote was rigged. Source link
Famine is spreading in Sudan due to a war between the military and a notorious paramilitary group that has devastated the country and created the world’s largest displacement crisis, a global hunger monitoring group said on December 24. Director of Action Against Hunger Jean-Michel Grand and FAO’s Senior Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer Food Dervla Cleary … Read more
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited Beijing on Wednesday and held talks for several hours with his counterpart Wang Yi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Both sides were generally cautiously welcoming of recent improvements in bilateral relations between regional rivals with complex relations. “It is important for both Japan and China to fulfill responsibilities and … Read more