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 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-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....

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....

"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....

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.

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....

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....

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....

Here is the paywalled article...

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....

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.”...

And apparently killed 3 hostages

Paywall removed: archive.is/PLtgd

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.

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’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....