ISRAEL - PALESTINE
In a Christmas message, the patriarchs and heads of the Churches of Jerusalem recall the time of "great calamity" in the land of Jesus, linked to the war in Gaza which caused "unspeakable suffering" to millions of people. They call for an end to the fighting and for the peoples "of this land and around the world" to learn to "walk alongside each other" on the paths of "justice, mercy and peace". We need "lasting peace" in a land "sacred to the three monotheistic faiths".
NORTH KOREA
A new reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operational for the first time: It allows Pyongyang to further boost plutonium sources for its atomic arsenal. This is stated by the IAEA experts, who, unable to access due to the blockade imposed by the Kim regime, study satellite images which show a reactor in the start-up phase.
TURKEY
Turkish security forces have arrested 304 people in 32 provinces, suspected of having links to Islamic State. This was reported by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, according to whom the majority of those arrested are currently detained in the three largest cities: Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. The operation was renamed “Heroes-34” and was held simultaneously throughout the country.
INDIA
Another femicide in India: the police arrested a man in Uttar Pradesh for beheading his wife with a sword on December 19th. Behind the gesture there would be "anger" of the 52-year-old (identified as Dharamveer) because the woman (named Sundari) was "delayed" in preparing the morning tea. Her four children tried to save her, but her father tried to attack them too.
VIETNAM
Police arrested 60-year-old Do Thang Hai, vice minister of Industry and Trade, for corruption. An arrest that is part of the Communist Party's campaign against fraud and malfeasance in institutions. He was responsible for the internal market, trade and international cooperation; Illegal acts have emerged in the context of an investigation into a southern oil company.
AFGHANISTAN - IRAN - PAKISTAN
Thousands of Afghans held in Pakistani and Iranian prisons have been forcibly repatriated, while Islamabad and Tehran's expulsion campaign continues. Over 3,000 detained migrants, including women and children, have been expelled from the province of Sindh (Pakistan) alone. Taliban officials in Nimroz province said Iran had delivered 300 of them in nine months.
RUSSIA - CHINA - INDIA
According to communications from the president of Transnefti, Nikolai Tokarev, Russian oil companies have increased deliveries to China and India, reaching 100 and 70 million tons respectively in 2023. For the near future they are activating new commercial directives in the direction of Egypt, Morocco , Myanmar and Pakistan, with new infrastructure.
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakh MP Sergej Ponomarev spoke at the Mažilis, the parliament in Astana, to warn of a possible "water war" that could break out in Central Asia in the next 15-20 years. Behind the tensions there would be increasingly serious water shortages, in a very arid and semi-desert region; this is why radical and urgent measures must be taken in this regard.
