Israeli military detains director of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have arrested Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the last major functioning health facility in northern Gaza, in a raid that was allegedly targeting a Hamas command center.

The Kamal Adwan Hospital head was detained along with dozens of staff and taken to an interrogation center after the IDF stormed the facility and forced many employees and patients outside, telling them to strip in the winter weather, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

The patients were relocated to the damaged Indonesian Hospital, where conditions were "extremely difficult," the ministry pointed out.

The Israeli military confirmed Safiya’s detention and called him a suspected Hamas terrorist operative without providing any evidence. His current whereabouts remain unknown.

Hamas, in turn, urged the UN “and all relevant international institutions to urgently intervene” and send international observers to the facility “to ascertain the truth of what is happening and to refute the lies and claims of the occupation regarding its use for military purposes.”

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❗️Russia's FSB detains man who handed photos of Russian fuel and energy complex facility to Ukraine's intelligence service

As a result of the operational search measures, information was obtained about the suspect's contacts with a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) informed. On the instructions of the curator, for a monetary reward, the attacker collected and handed over photographic materials of a fuel and energy complex facility located in the Moscow region.

A criminal case on treason has been opened, and the suspect has been arrested, the FSB Central Control Center said in a statement.

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🔶Key statements by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview to Sputnik

🔶A plane skidded off a runway in South Korea, the death toll mounts

🔶Israeli military detains director of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital

🔶Outgoing Georgian president stays overnight in presidential palace

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🇬🇪The inauguration ceremony of the sixth President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, has begun in the parliament building

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Salome Zourabichvili said she would leave the Georgian presidential residence after Mikheil Kavelashvili's inauguration

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The sixth President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, takes the oath:
 

"I, the President of Georgia, swear before God and the people, that I will defend the Constitution of Georgia, the independence, integrity and indivisibility of the country; faithfully fulfill the duties of the President; take care of the security, well-being, and standing of the citizens of my country; and the rebirth and power of my people and the Fatherland."

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❗️Mikheil Kavelashvili takes office as President of Georgia

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Georgia's former president, Salome Zourabichvili, leaves the presidential palace in Tbilisi

Earlier, Zourabichvili said she would leave the presidential palace, taking with her "legitimacy and the flag", but would "stay with the people" and fight for new parliamentary elections. She still does not recognize Kavelashvili as president and considers the entire inauguration process a "travesty."
 
Zourabichvili stated that she has received many offers from partner countries and intends to visit foreign countries. She also intends to take part in a protest on December 31 and celebrate the new year with protesters on Rustaveli Avenue.

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Israel does not provide map for troop withdrawal from Gaza and commitment to end war – Hamas
 

"This time, the enemy (Israel) refuses to provide clear withdrawal maps from the Gaza Strip, i.e., it does not want to fix where and when it will exit. He doesn't want to give clear and final words about ending the war," Bassem Naim, a member of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement, told Sputnik.

 
He stressed that Hamas has demonstrated flexibility in terms of details related to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.

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❗️The head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation held a telephone conversation with the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan:

Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said that experienced employees of the central office of the Investigative Committee were involved in the investigation of the plane crash in Aktau.

Bastrykin said that a complex of investigative actions is being carried out, the purpose of which is to establish all the causes and circumstances of the tragedy.

At the time the plane was preparing to land, Ukraine was carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure of Grozny in the Chechen Republic and Vladikavkaz in the Republic of North Ossetia using unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defenses were repelling those attacks.

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Record 37.3 million tons of cargo transportation volume along Northern Sea Route reached by end of 2024
 
What is the Northern Sea Route?
 
It stretches 5,600 km (approx. 3,480 miles) and runs along Russia's northern shores, from the Kara Gates to Provideniya Bay, and through key Arctic seas: Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi, and Bering.
 
What makes it unique?
 
🟠Shorter transit times between Europe and Asia compared to traditional routes like the Suez Canal.
 
🟠Reduced shipping costs and an alternative to congested maritime passages.
 
🟠Strategic importance for global trade resilience amid Western sanctions and tensions in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden.
 
🟠Viable year-round navigation due to climate change.

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Novotroitskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, Russia's Defense Ministry announced

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 110 soldiers in the Russian Sever and Dnepr Battlegroup's area of responsibility;
 
▪️Ukrainian losses in the Russian Yug combat group's area of responsibility amounted to 220 militants;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost 420 fighters and four field ammunition depots in the area of responsibility of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 170 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Russian Vostok combat group;
 
▪️Russian air defense systems shot down 61 Ukrainian drones.

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Kim Jong-un announces strategy to counter US
 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced a strategy of "the toughest counteraction" to the United States and promoted the development of relations with friendly countries, the Korean Central News Agency reports.
 
According to the agency, the head of state outlined tasks in the field of foreign relations within the framework of the strategy to actively fight for the protection of national sovereign rights based on the principle of protecting the interests of the state.
 
The counteraction strategy also provides for active assistance in developing relations with friendly countries, KCNA adds.

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🇨🇳🚄💨China presents train capable of reaching speeds of 450 km/h
 
The prototype of the CR450 high-speed train debuted in China's capital, Beijing. During the test, the train reached a speed of 450 km/h, and its operational speed hit 400 km/h.
 
Once placed in commercial operation, the CR450 will be the fastest train in the world. Currently, the maximum speed of trains is 350 km/h.

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South Korean authorities have confirmed that the death toll from the plane crash in South Korea has risen to 176; two people were rescued, Yonhap reports

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