Belarus says it is joining nuclear exercises with Russia (www.reuters.com)
Belarus said on Monday its army was taking part in the second stage of Russian exercises ordered by President Vladimir Putin to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons....
Hamas wants Israel to commit to permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza (www.reuters.com)
Hamas cannot agree to any deal unless Israel makes a “clear” commitment to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a senior official from the Palestinian militant group said on Tuesday....
Iran's allies in Iraq are firing at Israel. Could that trigger a wider war? (www.reuters.com)
Iran-backed Shi’ite armed groups in Iraq have ramped up rocket and missile attacks on Israel in recent weeks, raising concerns in Washington and among some Iranian allies of potential Israeli retaliation and regional escalation should they draw blood....
Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to incite fear of China vaccines (www.reuters.com)
The Proud Boys are back: How the far-right group is rebuilding to rally behind Trump (www.reuters.com)
Suspect detained in Romania after throwing petrol bomb outside Israeli embassy (www.reuters.com)
A foreign citizen was detained in Romania’s capital Bucharest on Monday after throwing a Molotov cocktail outside the Israeli embassy, causing no damage or casualties, police said....
India Election Results Live: Modi ahead but markets plunge as landslide predictions fade (www.reuters.com)
"BJP and NDA’s seat share is lower-than-expected. There is only one state that has gone completely off the charts in our data: Uttar Pradesh. And that has pulled down the BJP’s own tally as well and this is the reason they are unable to touch the majority mark on their own at this point of time....
Fires set off by Hezbollah rockets spread through northern Israel (www.reuters.com)
Israel’s parks authority said earlier on Monday that fires had already covered hundreds of acres. The national fire service said its firefighters were operating late into the night in several spots, including in the town of Kiryat Shmona, where they were trying to protect a line of houses.
Biden visits American cemetery in France that Trump skipped (www.reuters.com)
The Proud Boys are back: How the far-right group is rebuilding to rally behind Trump (www.reuters.com)
China says US provoking arms race in moves into South China Sea (www.reuters.com)
Chinese fighter jets approached Dutch ship 'unsafely', Netherlands says (www.reuters.com)
Chinese air force jets circled a Dutch frigate and approached a Dutch helicopter in the East China Sea in a way that “caused a potentially unsafe situation,” the Netherlands’ Defense Ministry said on Saturday....
New state privacy laws creating complicated patchwork of privacy obligations (www.reuters.com)
Russian court orders $56 mln Germany's Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg asset seizure (www.reuters.com)
A Russian court has ordered the seizure of 51.8 million euros ($56 million) of assets from Germany’s Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW), court filings showed, in a lawsuit related to an aborted gas project....
German Chancellor Scholz to Putin: we will defend 'every square inch' of NATO territory (www.reuters.com)
NATO’s recent move to strengthen its eastern border is aimed at deterring Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, adding that it should be clear to Moscow that the alliance will be ready to defend itself if necessary....
Russia-China gas pipeline deal stalls over what Moscow says Beijing's unreasonable price demands in major blow for Putin (www.reuters.com)
Here is the paywalled article...
Trump says if he is jailed that could be 'breaking point' for Americans (www.reuters.com)
Donald Trump said he would accept home confinement or jail time after his historic conviction by a New York jury last week but that it would be tough for the public to accept....
US must pay more of Native American tribes' healthcare costs, Supreme Court rules (www.reuters.com)
NewsBreak: Most downloaded US news app has Chinese roots and 'writes fiction' using AI (www.reuters.com)
Last Christmas Eve, NewsBreak, a free app with roots in China that is the most downloaded news app in the United States, published an alarming piece about a small town shooting. It was headlined “Christmas Day Tragedy Strikes Bridgeton, New Jersey Amid Rising Gun Violence in Small Towns.”...
Israel keeps pounding central Gaza as Palestinian death toll in hostage rescue raid rises to 274 (www.reuters.com)
And apparently killed 3 hostages
Donald Trump joins TikTok and rapidly wins 3 million followers (www.reuters.com)
Paywall removed: archive.is/PLtgd
Biden's Gaza plan 'not a good deal' but Israel accepts it, Netanyahu aide says (www.reuters.com)
Netanyahu is under pressure to keep his coalition government intact. Two far-right partners have threatened to bolt in protest at any deal they deem to spare Hamas. A centrist partner, ex-general Benny Gantz, wants the deal considered. Hamas has provisionally welcomed the Biden initiative.
Dutch tourist accused of defacing ancient Roman villa in Herculaneum (www.reuters.com)
A Dutch tourist has defaced a frescoed wall in an ancient Roman house in Herculaneum, near Naples, damaging a building that survived the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, Italian police said on Monday....
Russia-China gas pipeline deal stalls over Beijing's price demands, Financial Times reports (www.reuters.com)
Russia’s attempts to conclude a major gas pipeline deal with China have run aground over what Moscow sees as Beijing’s unreasonable demands on price and supply levels, the Financial Times reported on Sunday citing three people familiar with the matter....