Suriname’s former dictator and later president Desi Bouterse has died, the government of the former Dutch colony announced Wednesday. Bouterse rose to power in a coup, stepped down and became a fugitive from justice for killing political opponents, then returned to power. Source link
Russian authorities on Wednesday blamed the sinking of a cargo ship off the coast of Spain on a “terrorist act” but did not offer evidence to support the claim. The Ursa Major vessel from the Oboronlogistika company, which belongs to the Russian defense ministry, was sailing from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East. … Read more
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
Vatican City – Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message on Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to “silence the sound of weapons of mass destruction and division” that haunt the world from the Middle East to Ukraine, from Africa to Asia during this Holy Year. Muster up the courage to overcome it. The … Read more
Israel and Hamas continue to trade blame over delays in securing a ceasefire and hostage deal in the ongoing conflict. Despite indirect talks, only one temporary ceasefire agreement was reached in late 2023. Source link
A train driver’s suicide caused widespread delays on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day in France, with some 3,000 passengers affected during the busy holiday period. Source link
A flight from Azerbaijan to Grozny, Chechnya, crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25. Miraculously, 32 of the 67 people on board survived the tragic accident, according to initial reports. Source link
The Afghan Taliban said on Wednesday that Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province killed at least 46 people, most of them women and children. Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said that six people were also injured in bomb blasts at four places in Afghanistan. The government pledged to take retaliatory action. Afghanistan’s Foreign Office … Read more
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