North Korean Losses, Xi’s Crackdown, and Tensions from Finland to Yemen

Good Morning,

North Korea allegedly faces large losses in Ukraine; Xi Jinping ordered local governments to prevent mass killings in “revenge on society crimes”; Finland seized a Russian oil tanker on suspicion of involvement with the cutting of an undersea cable; and Israel launched airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen in an attack that allegedly nearly hit the World Health Organization’s director-general.

Top Stories

• Ukraine’s military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy battlefield losses (AP)

• Russian air-defense system downed Azerbaijan plane, sources say (RT)

• Corporations hoping to get on Trump's good side are donating big bucks to his inauguration (MSNBC)

• European markets set to open higher after Christmas closure (CNBC)

• China’s Xi orders a stop to a spree of mass killings known as ‘revenge on society crimes’ (AP)

• Finland Suspects Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessel Cut Undersea Power Cable (NYT)

• South Korea Impeaches Acting President, Prolonging Political Upheaval (WSJ)

• ‘Surge of weapons’: How much Ukraine aid did Biden approve after Trump win? (AJ)

• Political upheaval around the world could spell trouble for the global economy in 2025 (CNN)

• China's November industrial profits narrow decline but 2024 likely worst year in decades (RT)

• Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen’s capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away (AP)

• Syrian Villagers Bristle at Israeli Incursions (WSJ)

• Brazil says workers at China's BYD site are victims of human trafficking (RT)

• Manmohan Singh, India's reluctant prime minister, dies aged 92 (RT)

United States and Canada

• Canada ministers to meet Trump aides in Florida over tariff risks (RT)

• Court hearing set for man accused of fatally burning woman on New York City subway (AP)

• Marianne Williamson Announces Long-Shot Bid to Lead the D.N.C. (NYT)

• Exclusive: Guatemala open to accepting Trump's Central American deportees, sources say (RT)

• Elite Colleges Have a Looming Money Problem (WSJ)

• LA Sheriff’s deputy fired, agrees to plead guilty amid federal investigation into beating of trans man (CNN)

• Retraction of US-backed Gaza famine report draws anger, scrutiny (AJ)

• Biden and Aides Courted Allies Who Undermined U.S. Goals (NYT)

• Judge says woman accusing Jay-Z, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of raping her at age 13 can proceed anonymously (AP)

Africa

• A Young Sudanese Trapped by War Makes Painful Choices and Is Viewed With Suspicion (NYT)

• South African rand gains in volatile holiday trade (RT)

• Forces vives of Guinea stands firm against junta's extended rule (AN)

• At least 10 killed after Nigerian military jet targeting bandits bomb civilians (RT)

• French military base in Chad officially handed over to N'Djamena, after end of defence agreement (AN)

• ‘Modern slavery’: Trapped in Iraq, Nigerian women cry out for help (AJ)

• Biogas production units slash living costs for farmers in Egypt (AN)

Middle East

• An uneasy calm settles over Syrian city of Homs after outbreak of sectarian violence (AP)

• Syria's new rulers warn against incitement as tensions brew (RT)

• Israel kills five Palestinian journalists in attack on media van (AJ)

• Netanyahu tells Israeli troops to stay in area of Syria’s Mount Hermon until end of 2025, source says (CNN)

• Syrian Government Forces Hunt for a Senior Assad Official (NYT)

• Deadly Ambush, Protests Challenge Syrian Leaders’ New Power (WSJ)

• Israeli military loosened rules of engagement at start of Gaza war, New York Times reports (RT)

Indo-Pacific

• Japan Cabinet OKs record defense budget as it pushes strike-back capability to deter regional threat (AP)

• Japan’s Economic Recovery Continues But Progress Tentative, Uneven (WSJ)

• Why Taiwan’s Foxconn, an iPhone Supplier, Is Investing in Texas and Thailand (NYT)

• China's Xi will visit Russia in 2025, Russian ambassador says (RT)

• Shyam Benegal, Indian Filmmaker Who Explored Social Issues, Dies at 90 (NYT)

• China launches amphibious assault ship that can launch fighter jets (AP)

• South Korea's spy agency confirms an injured North Korean soldier in custody, Yonhap reports (RT)

Europe

• Russia arrests 4 suspects accused of plotting to kill top military officers on Ukraine’s orders (AP)

• Estonia's navy to protect Baltic Sea power cable (RT)

• Germany Opened Its Doors to Migrants. Now It’s Struggling to Cope. (WSJ)

• Putin ‘inhumane,’ Zelensky says, as Russia pounds Ukrainian power grid on Christmas Day (CNN)

• More than 10,000 migrants died this year trying to reach Spain by sea, aid group says (AP)

• Romanian radar detects likely drone breaching territory, ministry says (RT)

• The body of a missing Hungarian hiker is found in Slovenia (AP)

Latin America

• Haiti taps security minister to fill in as interim health minister after hospital reopening attack (RT)

• Mexican investigators find 12 bodies in clandestine graves in the northern border state of Chihuahua (AP)

• Peru declares environmental emergency after oil spill (RT)

• Exclusivo: Gobierno Petro compró más de 9.000 chalecos balísticos para la Policía a una empresa sin certificación en Estados Unidos (SM)

• Death toll in bridge collapse in Brazil jumps to 8, with at least 9 people still missing (AP)

• Allanaron la casa de la vicegobernadora destituida en Neuquén por una causa de corrupción: le secuestraron una camioneta (CA)

• Autoridades venezolanas inauguran el primer módulo de paz para “conflictos menores” (LN)