News

These are the key developments from day 1,392 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Wednesday, December 17:

Fighting

• Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital and warned people to stay in shelters late on Tuesday night as air defences worked to repel a Russian attack.
• Russian forces launched a “massive” drone attack on Ukraine’s Sumy region, targeting energy infrastructure and causing electricity blackouts, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said on Telegram late on Tuesday night.
• Power outages were also reported in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Energy Mykola Kolisnyk said.
• A Russian attack on electrical substations and other energy infrastructure left 280,000 households in Ukraine’s Odesa region without power, Governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram.
• Electricity was later restored to 220,000 homes, Kiper said, but extensive work was still needed to repair damaged networks.

• The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is currently receiving electricity through only one of two external power lines, the facility’s Russian management said, after the other line was disconnected due to military activity.

• Russian forces shot down 180 Ukrainian drones in one day, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
• The ambassador-at-large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rodion Miroshnik, told TASS that Ukrainian attacks had killed 14 Russian civilians and injured nearly 70, including in the Russian-occupied Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine, over the past week.

Ceasefire talks

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shared details about a potential European-led multinational force being considered as part of discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.
• “We would secure a demilitarised zone between the warring parties and, to be very specific, we would also act against corresponding Russian incursions and attacks,” Merz told ZDF public television, adding that the talks “we’re not there yet”.

Regional security

• Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden said in a joint statement on Tuesday that “Russia is the most significant, direct and long-term threat to our security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area”.
• After the Eastern Flank Summit in Helsinki, Finland, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the grouping of European countries discussed an “anti-drone wall” that would require “billions in expenditure here”.
• Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defence said that it ended the deployment to Poland of its Patriot systems and soldiers from its Air and Missile Defence Task Force, after the mission concluded as planned.
• UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said the United Kingdom is spending 600 million pounds (more than $800 million) to buy “thousands of air defence systems, missiles, and automated turrets to shoot down drones” for Ukraine, during a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, according to the Kyiv Independent news outlet.
• German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the same meeting that Germany would “transfer a significant number of AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles” to Ukraine next year.

Reparations

• The leaders of 34 European countries signed an agreement in The Hague to create an International Claims Commission for Ukraine to seek compensation for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks.
• “Every Russian war crime must have consequences for those who committed them,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said before signing the agreement.
• “The goal is to have validated claims that will ultimately be paid by Russia. It will really have to be paid by Russia,” Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs  David van Weel said.

Judge sentences former Harvard Medical School morgue manager for stealing organs and various body parts for sale to others.

The former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the theft and sale of body parts, taken from cadavers that had been donated for medical research.

Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for more than two decades before being arrested in 2023, was given an eight-year sentence by a US District Judge in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

“He caused deep emotional harm to an untold number of family members left to wonder about the mistreatment of their loved ones’ bodies,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

The 58-year-old Lodge pleaded guilty to transporting stolen goods across state lines in May, with prosecutors stating that he had taken heads, faces, brains, skin, and hands from cadavers in the morgue to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, before selling them to several individuals.

Lodge’s wife, Denise, was also sentenced to one year in prison for her role in facilitating the sale of the stolen organs and body parts to several individuals, including two people in Pennsylvania, who then mostly resold them.

Prosecutors asked District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to give Lodge 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence for the crime, which they said “shocks the conscience” and was carried out “for the amusement of the disturbing ‘oddities’ community”.

Patrick Casey, a lawyer for Lodge, asked the judge for leniency, while conceding “the harm his actions have inflicted on both the deceased persons whose bodies he callously degraded and their grieving families”.

Harvard Medical School has yet to comment on Lodge’s sentencing, but has previously called his actions “abhorrent and inconsistent with the standards and values that Harvard, our anatomical donors, and their loved ones expect and deserve”.

A US court ruled in October that Harvard Medical School could be sued by family members who had donated the bodies of loved ones for medical research. In that case, Chief Justice Scott L Kafker described the affair as a “macabre scheme spanning several years”.

US President Donald Trump has said he is ordering a “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela.

In a post on Truth Social, he said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s government had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation and accused it of stealing US assets, as well as “Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking”.

“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” he added.

His remarks came a week after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In a statement, Venezuela’s government said it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat”.

In his post, Trump said Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America”.

He added that it will “only get bigger” and “be like nothing they have ever seen before”.

Trump also accused Maduro’s government of using stolen oil to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping”.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of drug smuggling, and since September the US military has killed at least 90 people in strikes on boats it alleged were carrying fentanyl and other illegal drugs to the US.

In recent months, the US has also moved warships into the region.

Venezuela – home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves – has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

The US, under both Trump and former President Joe Biden, has opposed the Maduro government for years and pressed for him to be removed by instituting stringent sanctions.

Last week, the US imposed fresh sanctions on six more ships it said were carrying Venezuelan oil.

Sanctions were also placed on some of President Maduro’s relatives and on businesses associated with what the US called his illegitimate regime.

A day earlier the US said it had seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

The White House said the seized vessel, called the Skipper, had been involved in “illicit oil shipping” and would be taken to an American port.

Venezuela’s government denounced the seizure, with Maduro saying the US “kidnapped the crew” and “stole” the ship.

The US had built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north, in the days before the raid.

It involved thousands of troops and USS Gerald Ford – the world’s largest aircraft carrier– being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — A suspect identified as Micah James Legnon has been arrested by agents from the FBI’s New Iberia office for allegedly planning an attack on federal agents.

Legnon, 29, was a member of the Turtle Island Liberation Front and had communicated with four members who were charged with allegedly planning a series of New Year’s Eve terrorist attacks in the Greater Los Angeles area on Monday, WDSU reported.

He is a resident of New Iberia and was arrested on Friday while driving to New Orleans after FBI agents saw him loading a military-style rifle and body armor into his vehicle and telling others in a Signal chat group that he was traveling to New Orleans.

New Iberia is located about 120 miles west of New Orleans, and Legnon allegedly shared a video that showed multiple firearms, gas canisters and body armor before leaving on Friday.

In that post, Legnon said he was “On my way to NOLA now, be there in about two hours,” but the FBI arrested him while driving east on U.S. Highway 90, according to WWL-TV.

In a Dec. 4 post, Legnon shared a Facebook post showing Customs and Border Protection agents arresting someone and said he wanted to “recreate Waco, Texas,” on the federal officers while referencing the 1993 federal siege on the Branch Davidians compound there.

He is a former Marine who was trained in combat and a self-professed satanist who used the alias “Black Witch” in group chats with four suspects accused of targeting locations throughout California.

Federal prosecutors filed a federal complaint against Legnon and asked the magistrate judge to seal it and related records due to an ongoing investigation.

They asked that it be unsealed on Tuesday, which is a day after the four suspects accused of planning the California terror attacks were charged with related crimes.

The FBI said Legnon had been communicating with the four suspects in California before the arrests were made and charges filed in the respective cases.

The Turtle Island Liberation Front is a far-left, anti-government, anti-capitalist and pro-Palestinian group, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The U.S. Air Force has confirmed it is buying two Boeing 747-8 airliners from German flag carrier Lufthansa. The jets will be used for training and as sources of spare parts as part of a larger effort to try to accelerate the entry into service of two new VC-25B Air Force One aircraft. This follows the service’s recent announcement that it now hopes to have the first VC-25B in hand by mid-2028, a slight improvement in the still much-delayed delivery timeline for the aircraft.

“As part of the presidential airlift acceleration efforts, the Air Force is procuring two aircraft to support training and spares for the 747-8 fleet,” Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokesperson, told TWZ in a statement. “Given [that] the 747-8i is no longer in active production, and is a very different aircraft than the 747-200, it is important for the Air Force to establish an overall training and sustainment strategy for the future Air Force 747-8i fleet.”

The Air Force’s two existing VC-25A Air Force One jets are based on the 747-200, a type that has become increasingly difficult to operate and maintain in recent years. The last 200-series model rolled off Boeing’s production line in 1991. This version is also the basis for the service’s four E-4B Nightwatch ‘doomsday plane’ flying command posts, which are in the process of being separately replaced with E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) jets converted from newer 747-8s.

Furthermore, Boeing shuttered the 747 line entirely in 2022. Lufthansa, Korean Air, and Air China are the only airlines that still use 747s of any kind for scheduled passenger flights. A number of other commercial operators continue to fly freighter versions, and a number of specially configured 747s also remain in VIP fleets globally.

“The Air Force is procuring the two aircraft for a total of $400M. We expect the first aircraft to arrive early next year. The second is expected to be delivered before the end of the year,” Stefanek, the Air Force spokesperson, added, though the reasons for the reverse order in delivery of the jets are not clear. She further clarified that one of the aircraft will fly and be used for training purposes, at least initially. The other aircraft will be utilized as a source of spare parts from the start. Air Force One pilot and flight engineer training has previously been contracted out.

Unconfirmed reports that Lufthansa was selling two 747-8s to the Air Force first emerged last week. The aircraft in question reportedly have the registrations D-ABYD and D-ABYG, which have been flying for the German airline since August 2021 and March 2013, respectively. There had been no prior indications that Lufthansa was looking to divest any part of its 747 fleet, and it is unclear how long this deal has been in the works.

“To be clear,  Boeing continues to modify two 747-8i aircraft for the VC-25B program, the first of which is expected to deliver in mid-2028,” Stefanek stressed. “The two aircraft mentioned above are additional aircraft to be used for training and spares.”

As mentioned, the VC-25B program has repeatedly faced delays due to technical and other issues. Earlier this year, the White House confirmed the first of these aircraft was not expected to arrive until sometime in 2029 at the earliest, representing a new schedule slip. The Air Force had originally hoped to take delivery of the first jet in December 2024.

Pushing the timeline to the left to 2028 would notably give President Donald Trump a better chance of flying in one of the VC-25Bs before the end of his second term. Trump has been particularly outspoken and active in regards to the program since before his first term. In December 2016, as president-elect, he had publicly called for the purchase of the two new Air Force One jets to be cancelled. Trump subsequently became a supporter of the program after claiming to have single-handedly been responsible for slashing the cost of the aircraft, though this remains debatable.

He has, however, continued to be critical of the progress, or lack thereof, on the new VC-25Bs. This is said to have contributed to the acquisition of a highly-modified ex-Qatari VVIP 747-8i aircraft earlier this year, ostensibly as a gift from that country to the United States. The process of converting that jet into an ‘interim’ Air Force One, reportedly helmed by L3Harris, began in September. The Air Force has said previously that it expects the conversion to cost less than $400 million. TWZ has previously questioned the feasibility of this plan in detail, given the strenuous operational and other requirements the jet will have to meet to truly serve in the Air Force One role.

With the ex-Qatari jet and the two 747s from Lufthansa, the plans around the future VC-25B fleet have ballooned from two aircraft to five, four of which will be flyable. This also reflects a broader trend under the Trump administration to expand U.S. government executive aircraft operations.

Separate from the VC-25B program, the Air Force’s acquisition of the two 747-8s from Lufthansa highlights broader potential challenges for operating any aircraft based on this design, also including the E-4Cs, as time goes on. It is worth noting here that with no new 747s in production, at least the initial tranche of E-4Cs are being converted from ex-Korean Air jets. Many more 747-200-series jets were made than -8 versions, as well.

Ensuring there is a sufficient logistical base to support the VC-25B and E-4C fleets will be critical going forward, and the secondary market looks set to continue playing an important role.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

BREAKINGBREAKING,

The order comes a week after the US military seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

United States President Donald Trump has ordered “a total and complete” blockade of all US-sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump said.

“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” he said.

Trump’s comments come a week after US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela and as Washington has ordered a huge build-up of US military forces off the Venezuelan coast in an operation said to target drug smuggling.

The US military has killed at least 90 people since September in attacks on dozens of vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, in what international law experts have criticised as extrajudicial killings.

Washington claimed the vessels were involved in drug trafficking but has provided no evidence to support its allegations.

Caracas has long said the deployment of US forces to the region was aimed at allowing “external powers to rob Venezuela’s immeasurable oil and gas wealth“.

Despite holding the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has faced severe restrictions on its exports in recent years under US sanctions first imposed during the first Trump presidency.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow shortly.

As Afghanistan reevaluates its economic geography in light of the deteriorating relations with Pakistan, India has become a major option for Kabul in its quest for diverse trade routes. The recent top-level meetings between the Taliban and the Indian government indicate a desire on the part of the former to diminish their reliance on the Pakistani transit corridors and to gain more strategic independence. However, India’s role is more a matter of political calculation than of geographical convenience. Afghanistan has no direct land route to India, and therefore its trade with India is expensive routes via Iran with limited air corridors, making it very difficult for a sanctions-hit and cash-strapped economy to scale up. Although the engagement with New Delhi gives the Afghan government the chance to send diplomatic signals and obtain very limited economic relief, it also poses the question of whether India is going to be a long-term trading partner or merely a geopolitical counterweight in Kabul’s broader regional strategy.

Taliban officials have begun signalling a recalibration of economic policy. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar publicly urged Afghan traders to explore alternative transit corridors, accusing Pakistan of using border closures as a tool of political pressure. Shortly thereafter, Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan, had an official visit to New Delhi on 19 November 2025 for official discussions aimed at increasing bilateral trade, enhancing the mechanisms for import and export and finding out different ways for Afghan businesses to trade. This visit comes after the Afghanistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi’s trip to India in October that lasted for eight days, which was his first trip to India, for which he was granted a temporary UN sanctions exemption, even though India has not yet recognized the Taliban government.

Over the past two decades, the Taliban’s propaganda has been persistently depicting India as a Hindu “kafir” state that is supporting the “anti-Islam” forces in Kabul, making Indian diplomats look like enemies and Indian consulates like secret intelligence stations working against Afghanistan and Pakistan. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas was declared as a holy war against the “un-Islamic idols” and the whole Buddhist-Hindu civilization, which was a clear indication of the Emirate’s hardline ideological approach. However, this narrative has changed for political and economic reasons.

Moreover, the Taliban, having once described the Indian state as their ideological enemy, are now actively courting India, even sending their foreign minister and commerce minister to New Delhi to get access to trade routes and investment in infrastructure. However, the newly established open channels of communication between the two parties are indicative of a major pragmatism shift, wherein the former rhetoric of enmity and ideological purity has been replaced by the language of using one another in business transactions, thus, signaling the willingness of Afghanistan to retrieve economic lifelines and gain a strategic position in a region.

Historically, Taliban’s official communications are filled with references to Islamic unity, historical connections, and the values of Muslim brotherhood in its relationship with Pakistan. However, when relations with Islamabad were strained over the Tehrik-i-Taliban support, as well as border management and refugees; the Emirate quickly turned to engagement with other regional states instead of reconciliation with its closest Muslim neighbor. This selective realism reveals a definite order of priorities; Afghanistan is ignoring Pakistan’s main security issues but is ready to do anything for a state that is Hindu-majority and can offer trade routes, investment, and international legitimacy.

This transactional approach is not only limited to regional politics but also encompasses the global economic system. The Taliban constantly criticized “Western economic slavery“, interest-based financial systems and considering themselves as an ideological alternative to the West. Nowadays, the Taliban are lobbying India who is heavily involved in the Western capital markets and global financial networks positively to get banking access, reconstruction projects, and investments. The ideological rigidity at home is sharply contrasted with the foreign policy flexibility; those states which were once labelled as anti-Islamic are now being courted for material and political gains.

The Taliban’s selective pragmatism is also evident in the territorial and security sensitive issues. On one hand, they keep on challenging the issue of the Durand Line with Pakistan, an internationally recognized border between both states, while on the other hand, they are quite liberal with India. Likewise, in the past, Taliban-associated clerics and militants celebrated jihad in Kashmir, denounced Indian government actions toward Muslims there and such discourse got muted during visits to Delhi. It is very clear that economic and diplomatic goals are prioritized over ideological or sectarian consistency.

Afghanistan’s trade pivot underscores the delicate balance between ambition and structural reality. While the Taliban’s efforts to diversify transit routes reflect a desire for economic autonomy and greater regional leverage, geographic constraints, limited infrastructure, and entrenched economic patterns impose severe limitations. Engagement with India offers symbolic and partial relief, yet Pakistan remains the linchpin of Afghan commerce, providing the fastest and most cost-effective access to global markets. The Emirate’s strategy is as much a political signal-demonstrating flexibility, pragmatism, and a quest for de facto recognition as it is an economic maneuver. Ultimately, Afghanistan’s “strategic heart of Asia” narrative will be tested not by intent but by its capacity to reconcile aspiration with the unyielding realities of terrain, logistics, and regional interdependence.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — Officials are warning that conditions could worsen parts of Washington state already reeling from deadly flash flooding as a blizzard conditions approach amid evacuations and warnings of further flooding.

At least one person has been reported dead after the body of a 33-year-old male was recovered from a vehicle that was completely submerged in water at 1:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday in Snohomish County, ABC News reported.

“The vehicle left the roadway and entered a lower farmland/ditch area containing approximately 6 feet of water,” officials with Snohomish County Fire District 4 said in a prepared statement.

“Upon arrival, deputies located the vehicle in the water,” they said. “Fire rescue swimmers made contact with the vehicle and removed the driver from the car.”

The motorist had driven past road closure signs warning drivers of localized flooding and was pronounced dead at the scene after first responders attempted lifesaving treatment.

Two levees were breached as strong rainstorms passed through the Pacific Northwest in recent days. Weather conditions are now expected to take a turn for the worse.

The National Weather Service has issued wind and blizzard warnings in the same areas impacted by flash flooding.

Heavy rainfall is predicted to continue into Tuesday night before changing to snow after 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

Outdoor temperatures are expected to fall to 24 degrees, with a west wind of 28 mph creating a wind chill of between 7 and 17 degrees, according to the NWS.

Snow could be heavy at times on Wednesday and Thursday, with between 8 and 12 inches possible by Wednesday night and wind gusts of up to 49 mph on Wednesday. That’s on top of possibly between 4 and 8 inches of snowfall on Thursday and wind gusts of up to 31 mph.

Snow is expected through the next seven days, with lows in the low 20s and highs near 32 degrees.

The wind and blizzard warnings come as major flooding is possible on Wednesday morning along the Skagit River and potentially cresting on Thursday morning in Mount Vernon, the Seattle Times reported.

An estimated 2,100 residents of Pacific in the state’s King County are subject to an evacuation warning telling them to leave now due to a levee failure on the White River.

Highway 2 also could stay closed until further notice, while Highway 167 remained closed between Auburn and Kent, two small cities south of Seattle, on Tuesday morning.

Protesters called on President Pellegrini, usually an ally of Prime Minister Fico, to veto the changes.

Thousands of people have rallied across Slovakia to protest against changes to the judicial system that opposition politicians and critics say are destroying the rule of law, Slovak media reported.

Protesters filled much of a central square in the capital of Bratislava, and there were protests in eight other cities on Tuesday.

The biggest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, called the protest after Prime Minister Robert Fico‘s leftist-nationalist government pushed legislative changes through parliament last week that dismantle the whistleblower protection agency and change the way the state deals with crown witnesses.

“They took a chainsaw to the rule of law,” Michal Simecka, the leader of Progressive Slovakia, told the crowd in Bratislava, according to a live video that streamed online.

“Slovakia is the only country where the government approves laws to make life easier for criminals and mafia,” he also said.

People carried Slovak and European Union flags as well as placards with slogans, such as “Fico’s government is helping Mafia”, and chanted “Enough of Fico” and “Shame!”

Fico’s critics claim that, under his government, Slovakia is following Hungary’s lead under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Fico’s administration argues that the old whistleblower agency was politically abused. The administration has also weakened criminal codes for financial crimes, revamped the public broadcaster and pushed constitutional changes asserting national sovereignty over some EU laws, which has raised European Commission scrutiny.

Fico’s government has faced several large protests since coming to power in 2023. Tuesday’s rally was one of the biggest since last February, when tens of thousands demonstrated against what critics say is an increasingly pro-Russian foreign policy.

A Canadian lawmaker who was denied entry to the occupied West Bank, alongside fellow politicians and civil society leaders, has dismissed Israel’s claims that the delegation posed a threat to public safety.

Jenny Kwan, a Canadian MP with the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP), questioned whether Canada’s recognition of an independent Palestinian state earlier this year contributed to Israel’s decision to block the group.

“How is it that members of parliament are a public safety concern?” she said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “How is it that civil society organisations who are doing humanitarian work… [are] a security concern?”

Kwan and five other MPs were among 30 Canadian delegates denied entry to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday after Israel deemed them a risk to public safety.

The delegation, organised by nonprofit group The Canadian-Muslim Vote, was turned back to Jordan at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge crossing, which connects Jordan with the West Bank and is controlled by Israel on the Palestinian side, after an hours-long security check.

Kwan said another female MP in the group was “manhandled” by Israeli border agents while attempting to keep an eye on a delegate who was being taken for additional interrogation.

“She was shoved – not once, not twice, but multiple times – by border agents there,” Kwan said. “A member of parliament was handled in that way – If you were just an everyday person, what else could have happened?”

The delegates had been expected to meet with Palestinian community members to discuss daily realities in the West Bank, where residents have faced a surge in Israeli military and settler violence.

They were also planning to meet with Jewish families affected by the conflict, said Kwan, who described the three-day trip as a fact-finding mission.

“I reject the notion that that is a public safety concern,” she said of the delegation’s mission.

Lack of information

Global Affairs Canada, the country’s Foreign Ministry, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s questions about the incident.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Tuesday afternoon that the ministry was in contact with the delegation and had “expressed Canada’s objections regarding the mistreatment of these Canadians while attempting to cross”.

The Israeli military did not respond to Al Jazeera’s repeated requests for comment.

In a statement to Canada’s public broadcaster CBC News, the Israeli military agency that oversees affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory, COGAT, said the Canadian delegates were turned back because they arrived “without prior coordination”.

COGAT also said the group’s members were “denied for security reasons”.

But the delegates said they had applied for, and received, Israel Electronic Travel Authorization permits before they reached the crossing. Kwan also said the Canadian government informed Israel ahead of time of the delegation’s plans.

“I’m not quite sure exactly what kind of coordination is required,” Kwan told Al Jazeera.

“We followed every step that we’re supposed to follow, so I’m not quite sure exactly what they mean or what they’re referring to.”

Canada-Israel ties

Canada, a longstanding supporter of Israel, faced the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it joined several European allies in recognising an independent Palestinian state in September.

“Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats,” Netanyahu said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

The recognition came after months of mass protests in Canada and other Western countries demanding an end to Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people since October 2023.

Rights advocates also called for action to stem a surge in deadly Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Against that backdrop, members of the Canadian delegation questioned whether their entry refusal was part of an Israeli effort to prevent people from witnessing what is happening on the ground in the Palestinian territory.

“‘What are they trying to hide?’ is the question that comes to mind,” Fawad Kalsi, the CEO of the relief group Penny Appeal Canada and one of the delegates, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

Kwan, the Canadian MP, raised a similar question, saying, “If people cannot witness” what is happening on the ground in the West Bank, “then misinformation and disinformation will continue”.

She added that she also saw foreign doctors being turned back to Jordan at the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge crossing as they tried to bring medicine and baby formula into the West Bank.

“If we as members of parliament could face denial of entry,” she said, “imagine what is going on on the ground with other people, and the difficulties that they face, that we do not know about.”

US adds five Arab and African countries to travel ban list as right-wing politicians intensify Islamophobic rhetoric.

United States President Donald Trump has added five countries to the list of nations whose citizens are banned from entering the US, including Palestine and Syria.

The White House announced the expansion of the ban on Tuesday, as it intensifies its crackdown on immigration.

Tuesday’s order imposed a travel ban on six new countries – Palestine, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria – in addition to the 12 initially made public in June.

The decree did not refer to Palestine, which Washington does not recognise as a state, by name or even as the occupied Palestinian territory.

Instead, it describes the Palestine category as “Palestinian Authority Documents” and refers to Palestinians as “individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents”.

The decision comes weeks after Trump declared a “permanent pause” on migration from what he called “all Third World Countries” in response to the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, DC.

“Several US-designated terrorist groups operate actively in the West Bank or Gaza Strip and have murdered American citizens. Also, the recent war in these areas likely resulted in compromised vetting and screening abilities,” the White House said.

“In light of these factors, and considering the weak or nonexistent control exercised over these areas by the PA, individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents cannot currently be properly vetted and approved for entry into the United States.”

Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, slammed the ban, accusing Trump and his top aide Stephen Miller of pushing to alter the demographics of the country.

“This administration’s racist cruelty knows no limits, expanding their travel ban to include even more African and Muslim-majority countries, even Palestinians fleeing a genocide,” she said in a social media post.

The move to ban Palestinians from entering the US comes as Israel continues its daily deadly attacks in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers have killed at least two US citizens this year.

Meanwhile, the ban on Syrians coincides with rapprochement between Washington and Damascus after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the White House in November.

“While the country is working to address its security challenges in close coordination with the United States, Syria still lacks an adequate central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures,” the White House said.

On Thursday, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard cited the mass shooting that killed 15 people at a Jewish festival in Australia to laud Trump’s immigration restrictions.

“Islamists and Islamism is the greatest threat to the freedom, security, and prosperity of the United States and the entire world. It is probably too late for Europe – and maybe Australia,” she wrote on X.

“It is not too late for the United States of America. But it soon will be. Thankfully, President Trump has prioritized securing our borders and deporting known and suspected terrorists, and stopping mass, unvetted migration that puts Americans at risk.”

Trump’s Republican allies have been increasingly using Islamophobic rhetoric, and calling for Muslims to be blocked from entering the country.

On Sunday, Senator Tommy Tuberville called Islam a “cult”, baselessly accusing Muslims of aiming to “conquer” the West.

“Stop worrying about offending the pearl clutchers,” he wrote in a social media post. “We’ve got to SEND THEM HOME NOW or we’ll become the United Caliphate of America.”

When Trump first ran for president in 2015, he called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the US, and when he started his first term, he imposed a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — Tesla shares closed at a record-high $489.88 on Tuesday, days after CEO Elon Musk announced the company had been testing driverless vehicles in Texas.

Shares rose 3.1% for the day and were up 21% for the year, CNBC reported. This came after Tesla’s worst quarter since 2022 when it dropped 36% in the first quarter of this year.

Techstock² reported that in addition to the roboatxi announcement, Tesla saw a boost on the stock market in response to a fresh round of filings with the Securities Exchange Commission.

The filings showed that WT Wealth Management increased its Tesla stake by 178.7%, Carter Financial Group opened a new Tesla position, Orion Portfolion solutions increased its holdings of Tesla by 14.8%, National Wealth Management Group increased its stake by 26.3% and Momentum Wealth Planning purchased a new stake of 9,802 shares worth about $3.11 million.

Tesla also invested $1.2 billion in a battery cell plant in Berlin.

With Tuesday’s bounce, Tesla’s market cap reached $1.63 trillion, making it the seventh-most valuable company in trading behind Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, CNBC reported.

Winter cold ‘becomes lethal’ as Israel restricts entry of tents, blankets and other shelter supplies to ravaged enclave.

A Palestinian infant has frozen to death in the Gaza Strip, local authorities say, as Israel continues to restrict the entry of shelter supplies and other humanitarian aid to the enclave despite the harsh winter conditions there.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Tuesday that the two-week-old baby, Mohammed Khalil Abu al-Khair, died a day earlier after seeking treatment for severe hypothermia, brought on by the extreme cold gripping Gaza.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum noted that the child’s death comes as basic protections in Gaza have been “systematically dismantled” due to Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the territory.

“Families are living in tents on wet ground without heating, electricity or sufficient clothing,” Abu Azzoum said. “When food, fuel, shelter and aid are banned, cold absolutely becomes lethal.”

Israel’s two-year war has decimated more than 80 percent of the structures across Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of families to take refuge in flimsy tents or overcrowded makeshift shelters.

A huge storm that recently hit the Strip killed at least 11 people as torrential rains and fierce winds flooded tents and caused damaged buildings to collapse.

“We try to dry the children’s clothes over the fire,” Umm Mohammed Assaliya, a displaced Palestinian mother, told Al Jazeera from Gaza City.

“There are no spare clothes for them. I am exhausted. The tent we were given cannot withstand winter conditions. We need blankets,” she said.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to allow unimpeded deliveries of aid to Gaza.

But the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which the UN says is best suited to distribute supplies in the territory, says the Israeli government has blocked it from bringing aid directly into Gaza.

“People have reportedly died due to the collapse of damaged buildings where families were sheltering. Children have reportedly died from exposure to the cold,” UNRWA said in a social media post on Tuesday.

“This must stop. Aid must be allowed in at scale, now.”

Hamas slams Israeli ceasefire violations

Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned Israel for its repeated violations of a ceasefire deal that came into effect in October.

At least 393 Palestinians have been killed and 1,074 others wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the first full day of the ceasefire on October 11, according to the latest figures from the enclave’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli military also killed a senior Hamas leader, Raed Saad, in a targeted attack on a vehicle in western Gaza City on Saturday, further straining the tenuous truce.

On Tuesday, Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad accused Israel of “manipulating” the text of the US-brokered agreement.

“We want to make it absolutely clear: the ceasefire agreement is straightforward, detailed, and unambiguous. However, it’s evident that the Israeli occupation has distorted the text, manipulating and violating every single article,” Hamad said.

“Since day one, Hamas has fully abided by the agreement and honoured its commitments. In contrast, Israel has deliberately committed several systematic and preplanned breaches.”

Chile has joined South America’s shift to the right, electing Jose Antonio Kast, a hardline conservative, as president.

He tapped into voters’ fears about a rise in crime and migration, and an economic crisis.

His victory marks a significant shift since the end of military rule more than 30 years ago.

It also comes as other populist conservatives have taken office in the region.

From Bolivia to Argentina to El Salvador, the move to the right is being watched closely, particularly by the United States.

But what does it all mean for the political dynamics in South America?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Claudio Barrientos – Professor at the School of History at Diego Portales University

Jose Ragas – Historian and assistant professor at the Catholic University of Chile

Christopher Sabatini – Senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House

The UK is set to rejoin the Erasmus scheme, the BBC understands, five years after announcing that it would end its participation as part of the Brexit deal with the European Union.

The EU provides funding through the scheme for people to study, train or volunteer in other European countries for up to a year.

The UK replaced it with its own Turing scheme in 2021, which funds similar placements worldwide.

The government said it would not comment on ongoing talks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had suggested in May that a youth mobility scheme could be part of a new deal with the EU.

The BBC understands that UK students will be able to participate in the Erasmus scheme from 2027.

Alex Stanley, from the National Union of Students (NUS), said it was “fantastic that another generation of students will be able to be part of the Erasmus programme”, adding that it would represent “a huge win for the student movement”.

“Students have been campaigning to rejoin Erasmus from the day we left,” he said.

The Erasmus scheme was scrapped in the UK in December 2020, when the government announced its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

Boris Johnson, prime minister at the time, said it was a “tough decision”, but the scheme had become “extremely expensive”.

He said it would be replaced by the Turing scheme, which has operated since then.

Both schemes are open not just to university students, but also to people doing vocational courses, as well as apprentices and people training at college or school.

In 2020, the last year in which the UK participated in Erasmus, the scheme received 144m euros (£126m) of EU funding for 55,700 people to take part in Erasmus projects overall.

The UK sent out 9,900 students and trainees to other countries as part of the scheme that year, while 16,100 came the other way.

Glasgow, Bristol and Edinburgh were the three universities to send the most students, and Spain, France and Germany were the most popular countries which UK students went to.

In the 2024/25 academic year, the Turing scheme had £105m of funding, which paid for 43,200 placements, with 24,000 of those being in higher education, 12,100 in further education and 7,000 in schools.

The majority (38,000) were from England, with 2,900 from Scotland, 1,000 from Wales and 1,200 from Northern Ireland.

Ministers who introduced the Turing scheme in 2021 said it was designed to benefit more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and provide greater support for travel costs than the Erasmus scheme did.

It is not yet clear what will happen to the Turing scheme once Erasmus is reintroduced for UK students.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Tuesday a bipartisan settlement between 35 states and automakers Hyundai and Kia over selling millions of vehicles without standard anti-theft technology.

Hyundai and Kia’s alleged omission of standard security technology fueled a surge of car thefts, enabled further crime and caused deaths nationwide, including in Minnesota, Ellison’s office announced.

“Maintaining public safety means holding people who commit crimes accountable, but it also means holding corporations accountable when their greed helps criminals harm the people of Minnesota,” Ellison said in a statement.

A 2015 report found that just 26% of Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the U.S. had engine immobilizers, while other makers averaged 96%.

Under the settlement, Hyundai and Kia will give eligible owners free ignition cylinder protectors, add engine immobilizers to all future U.S. vehicles and provide up to $4.5 million in restitution for theft damages.

In addition, they will pay another $4.5 million to cover state investigation costs.

The settlement concludes Minnesota’s March 2023 investigation into Kia and Hyundai for knowingly omitting standard anti-theft tech from their manufactured cars.

Minnesota’s chief law enforcement official stated that Hyundai and Kia “unleashed a wave of auto thefts that cost Minnesotans their cars, their hard-earned money, and sometimes even their lives.”

“In short, they put their profits ahead of people’s safety,” he added.

The multi-state legal effort included Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement that Tuesday’s settlement revelation “should prevent these thefts from continuing and provides additional relief” to victimized consumers.

In 2022, Minneapolis saw Kia and Hyundai thefts linked to a slew of violent crimes and hundreds of crashes, in addition to New York and multiple states.

On Tuesday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the manufacturer’s “lack of urgency and their desire to save money inexcusably prolonged this crisis.”

“Now, the companies must take measures to protect their vehicles from theft,” New York Attorney General Letitia James posted on X.

Meanwhile, consumers who had or were scheduled for software updates but still experienced theft or attempted theft on or after April may file a claim for related expenses.

Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organisation,  has raised concerns over the dire humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, following the capture of Uvira town by M23/AFC rebels.

In a statement released on Monday, Dec. 15, Human Rights Watch reported that the offensive launched by M23/AFC, with support from Rwanda in Uvira and the surrounding areas, has resulted in a significant displacement of populations. It stated that access to humanitarian assistance has been severely diminished.

According to figures from the United Nations, approximately 200,000 people have fled the fighting, including over 30,000 who have crossed the border into Burundi. Congolese refugees arriving in Burundi have informed UN officials that they are receiving little to no humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch reports that local hospitals and health centres are overwhelmed amid a decline in humanitarian aid due to limited access and financial resources.

The organisation emphasises the suspension of food assistance in the province, stating that the UN World Food Programme has halted its support throughout South Kivu, worsening the living conditions of displaced populations still in areas affected by conflict. They are urging all forces present on the ground to ensure humanitarian access and the protection of civilians. In particular, they demand that the Rwandan authorities and the M23 guarantee access to essential items for the population’s survival, including water, food, and medicine.

Human Rights Watch states that the lack of progress in humanitarian aid, despite recent diplomatic efforts, is concerning.

“The Washington Accords dealing with the situation in the Eastern DR Congo have not permitted improved security nor better access to aid for the civilians near Uvira in South Kivu,” said Clementine de Montjoye, Human Rights Watch’s principal researcher for the Great Lakes region.

While humanitarian needs are rapidly increasing, Human Rights Watch exhorts its international partners to act quickly.

 “The situation faced by civilians in South Kivu is more and more perilous, and the humanitarian needs are considerable,”  the non-governmental organisation said, calling for an urgent reinforcement of assistance and the adequate protection of civilian populations.

Saying the unedited video of a September 2 strike on a boat in the Caribbean is “top secret,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that its viewing will be restricted to select lawmakers, not the general public.

The latest Chinese military aircraft to appear in flight test is a tactical transport aircraft, known, unofficially for now, as the Y-30. Not perhaps as headline-grabbing as China’s string of new crewed and uncrewed combat aircraft designs, the transport is nonetheless highly significant, reflecting the People’s Liberation Army’s growing ambitions to be able to conduct out-of-area operations, including from unprepared airfields.

A product of the Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation, the Y-30 (the alternative Y-15 designation has also been proposed) is expected to be a partial replacement for the same company’s Y-9 four-turboprop transport. Video and photos of the new aircraft began to circulate on social media for the first time today. The aircraft is reportedly flying from the Xi’an Aircraft Corporation (XAC) airfield in the city of Xi’an in central China, with XAC having been absorbed by Shaanxi.

While a new Chinese medium/heavy airlifter had been anticipated for some time, there was speculation that it would be powered by a pair of turbofan engines: The result would have been something like a scaled-down Y-20, with a shorter fuselage and a new wing, somewhat similar in concept to the Kawasaki C-2. In the event, the so-called Y-30 is powered by four turboprops, meaning it looks much more like the Airbus A400M, although it would appear to be in a different class to the European transport.

Other features in common with the A400M include the wide fuselage, offering useful internal volume, especially compared to the Y-9, a rear loading ramp, and heavy-duty landing gear, which should make it suitable for operating out of short, poorly prepared landing strips. Like the Airbus transport, the Y-30 has a T-tail empennage, but its high-lift wing is not swept. The wingtips of the Chinese design additionally feature winglets, which improve fuel efficiency by reducing drag and increasing lift. There is a suggestion that the aircraft might also have asymmetric fuselage-side sponsons, a feature of the C-17 that you can read about here; on the other hand, this may just be a feature of the AI-enhanced version of one of the images.

The Y-30 is reportedly powered by either WJ-10 or WJ-16 turboprops, which are said to develop 6,800 horsepower or 5,140 horsepower each, respectively. While the A400M’s engines drive distinctive eight-bladed ‘scimitar’ propellers, the Y-30, at least at this stage, has more conventional six-bladed props.

Both the WJ-10 and WJ-16 are notably less powerful than the 11,000-horsepower Europrop TP400-D6 engines used in the A400M, suggesting an aircraft that is smaller overall and with a more limited load capacity, closer to the C-130J Hercules. This would make sense, since the A400M, as you can read about here, was designed as a gap-filler between the C-130 at the smaller end of the transport segment, and the larger C-17 Globemaster III at the other end.

With China already building the Y-20 as a broad equivalent to the C-17, the Y-30 is likely intended to be more of an equivalent to the C-130/Y-9, probably slightly larger than the Hercules, rather than being a ‘mid-market’ transport like the A400M.

Unconfirmed accounts suggest the Y-30 will have a payload capacity of around 30 metric tonnes (around 66,000 pounds), which compares with around 145,000 pounds for the Y-20, 82,000 pounds for the A400M, 55,000 pounds for the Y-9, and 47,000 pounds for the C-130J-30.

In keeping with its test status, the Y-30 seen in the imagery available so far features a long air-data boom on the nose. This boom is used to obtain data on air pressure, temperature, and airflow direction, etc., vital for flight-testing. There is no sign of an aerial refueling probe, although this may well be added in the future, as was the case with certain variants of the Y-9.

In fact, the Y-30 first appeared in model form at the Zhuhai Airshow, back in 2014, after which the project went quiet.

Currently, according to Western estimates, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) operates around 24 Y-9s in a transport role, together with 80 of the older Y-8 four-turboprop transports.

The PLAAF is rapidly introducing the Y-20, which is expected to eventually replace the roughly 26 Soviet-designed Il-76 Candid transports that remain in use. Indeed, by now, Y-20 numbers already eclipse those of the hard-worked Il-76.

Meanwhile, should the Y-30 prove successful, it will presumably supplant the Y-9 and allow the retirement of the aging Y-8 fleet.

While the Y-20 offers truly strategic range to support PLA operations (and humanitarian missions) around the globe, a modern turboprop-powered transport like the Y-30 would be especially well-suited to operations from more dispersed and even austere bases. For example, the new airlifter could fly troops and equipment in and out of China’s island outposts, as well as conduct airdropping as part of any future effort to retake Taiwan; it would also be of notable value during a conflict involving India.

As well as its core transport role, it might be expected that the Y-30 could eventually be adapted for special missions, as has been the case with the Y-8 and Y-9. Between them, dozens of electronic warfare, maritime patrol, and airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft have been produced for the PLA on these airframes, in numerous different sub-variants. On the other hand, with the Y-9 now well-proven as a special missions platform, it could be the case that continued production of this type will fulfill these niche roles, while the Y-30 production run is dedicated to transports.

It is worth noting that the PLAAF’s ability to conduct airborne assault operations is a relatively recent addition to its core missions. It was only in the 1990s that the Airborne Corps was transformed into a division, and its overall strength was boosted. At the same time, the first Il-76 transports were delivered, but for a long time these remained the extent of the PLAAF’s rapid-reaction transport force. Paratroopers operating as part of a combined-arms force are also a relatively new addition and part of the PLA’s wider modernization.

In terms of airlift capacity, the Y-20 has more recently spearheaded this continued transformation, and the Y-30 looks set to continue the process.

Like other Chinese designs, the Y-30 also has the major advantage of being immune to the tight export restrictions that typically apply to Western designs in the same class. Beijing would be likely to grant export licenses for the transport to countries that might be prohibited from buying a Western design, something that was the case with the Y-9, exported to Myanmar and Namibia, for example. Meanwhile, other markets could also provide an opportunity for the Y-30, as China becomes a more relevant competitor to the West across the military aviation segment.

Overall, the appearance of the Y-30 tops off a remarkable year for China’s military aircraft industries. The last 12 months have also seen the flying debuts, at least in the public realm, of two new combat jets, various collaborative combat aircraft (CCA)-type drones, at least three flying-wing type drones, a ‘drone mothership,’ an advanced jet trainer, a new AEW&C platform, as well as crewed and uncrewed tiltrotors, and coaxial helicopter concepts.

Given the rate at which new Chinese aircraft designs are appearing, it would be wise not to bet against further revelations before this year is out.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com