January 2, 2025 (Thursday)

2.2 minutes to read

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli warplanes carry out airstrikes on defense factories and a research center in Al-Safira, Aleppo Governorate, Syria.

(Xinhua)

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According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, U.S. forces are deploying a new convoy to areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate, as part of operations to establish a new US military base in north-eastern Syria.

(SOHR)

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Eleven people are killed, including a Hamas police chief, in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in al-Mawasi in the Gaza Strip.

(BBC News)

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Puntland forces conduct airstrikes on ISIL hideouts in Bari, Puntland, Somalia, after they announced a military offensive against ISIL and Al-Shabaab.

(Idil News), (VOA)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announces that it has approved a delegation to Doha, Qatar for ceasefire talks.

(Reuters)

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Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, says he believes that there is "no definitive link" between the two alleged U.S. Army servicemen perpetrators of the attacks, Shamsud-Din Jabbar in New Orleans and Matthew Alan Livelsberger in Las Vegas.

(BBC)

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Business and economy

The Handelsblatt Research Institute reports that the German economy is in its "greatest crisis in post-war history" after projecting that the economy will enter its third year of recession in 2025 with a 0.1% contraction, following a 0.3% contraction in both 2023 and 2024.

(TVP World)

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Disasters and accidents

A small plane crashes through the roof of a commercial warehouse in Fullerton, California, United States, causing a fire, killing two people and injuring at least 18 others.

(KABC-TV), (AP)

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Two officers were injured in an explosion of an unknown object at a police fence in Berlin-Wittenau; the reasons for this are still unclear.

(tagesschau)

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International relations

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukraine will pledge support to the Syrian transitional government.

(The Press Democrat)

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Italy summons Iran's ambassador to demand the release of Il Foglio reporter Cecilia Sala, detained in Tehran for alleged legal violations.

(AP)

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Politics and elections

The government of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro offers a US$100,000 reward for the capture of exiled opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who claims that he is ready to take office as the legitimate president on January 10.

(El Universal), (El País)

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The Constitutional Court of Indonesia rules that the 20% electoral threshold for political parties to nominate a presidential candidate is not legally binding, potentially enabling smaller parties to participate in future presidential elections without the need to form coalition with larger parties.

(Reuters)

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Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa decrees the suspension of his vice president Verónica Abad accusing her of contempt, and the handover of her functions to national planning secretary Sariha Moya. Noboa already appointed Moya to replace Abad in November 2024, but a constitutional judge reversed the decree in December.

(Swiss Info)

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The Parliament of Ghana prevents a potential government shutdown by approving a provisional budget of ₵68.1 billion ($4.65 billion) to fund government operations through March, amid a transition to John Mahama's presidency.

(Reuters)

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The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, begins a historic three-day trip to Antarctica along with civil, scientific and military authorities. According to the Chilean Government, the codenamed Operación Estrella Polar III seeks to strengthen the country's presence in the territory.

(Government of Chile)

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Jenniffer González Colón takes office as Governor of Puerto Rico.

(PBS)

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Science and technology

The largest site of dinosaur footprints of the Cetiosaurus and Megalosaurus dating back to the Middle Jurassic Bathonian stage 166 million years ago is discovered at a quarry in Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.

(BBC News)

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January 2, 2025 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents

International relations

Politics and elections

Science and technology