Hello,

Christmas Day saw the United States conduct air strikes against ISIL in Nigeria following attacks President Donald Trump said targeted Christians.

This while Poland intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft near its airspace, and as Algeria's parliament criminalised French colonisation and demanded reparations.

More below ⤵️

Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇵🇱 🇷🇺 Poland intercepts Russian aircraft, tracks balloons: Poland said its air force intercepted and escorted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near the edge of Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea, while also tracking unidentified objects from the direction of Belarus that were later assessed to be smuggling balloons, prompting a temporary closure of civilian airspace in the country’s northeast. Polish authorities said neither incident posed an immediate security threat, noted that monitoring remained under control, and reported no response from Russian or Belarusian embassies to requests for comment.

2️⃣ 🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Zelenskyy floats conditional withdrawal proposal: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would consider withdrawing Ukrainian forces from parts of eastern Ukraine if Russian troops also pull back and the area becomes a demilitarised zone overseen by international forces, presenting the idea as a possible compromise in efforts to end the war. The situation remains uncertain as Russia has not publicly responded.

3️⃣ 🇩🇿 🇫🇷 Algeria criminalises French colonisation: Algeria’s parliament unanimously passed a law declaring France’s colonisation of Algeria a crime, criminalising the glorification of colonialism, and demanding an apology and reparations. The law comes amid longstanding disputes over casualty figures from the colonial period, France has not issued an official apology despite past acknowledgements, and Paris has not yet commented on the vote as bilateral relations remain strained.

4️⃣ 🇰🇵 🚢 North Korea unveils claimed nuclear-powered submarine: North Korea released state media images of what it claims is its first nuclear-powered submarine, with leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the vessel at an indoor construction facility, indicating it has not yet been launched. Kim described South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines, with U.S. support, as a threat to North Korean security that must be countered.

5️⃣ 🇮🇱 🇱🇧 Israel strikes Hezbollah-linked sites in southern Lebanon: Israel carried out multiple airstrikes in southern Lebanon on locations it said were Hezbollah launching sites and military infrastructure, as a year-end deadline approaches for the Lebanese state to remove Hezbollah weapons and personnel from areas south of the Litani River. Lebanese officials said they are largely complying with disarmament commitments, while Israel said Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild and cited this as justification for continued strikes.

Major Story

🇺🇸 🇳🇬 U.S. STRIKES ISIL TARGETS IN NIGERIA

US President Donald Trump said the United States carried out an air strike against ISIL fighters in northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day, describing it as a “powerful and deadly strike”. In a Truth Social post, he said ISIL fighters had “targeted and viciously” killed “primarily, innocent Christians”.

US Africa Command said the strike was conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities and killed “multiple ISIS terrorists”, adding that it occurred in what it called “Soboto state”, an apparent reference to Sokoto State. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked Nigeria for cooperation and warned of “more to come”, without details.

Nigeria’s government said it was engaged in structured security cooperation with partners and confirmed precision air strikes in the northwest by air.

Other News

1️⃣ 🇹🇷 Turkey detains suspected ISIS members nationwide: Turkish police detained 115 suspected ISIS members in coordinated nationwide raids after arrest warrants were issued for 137 suspects accused of planning attacks in Turkey linked to Christmas and New Year celebrations. Authorities said searches at 124 locations led to the seizure of weapons and documents, operations to detain remaining suspects are ongoing, and further details will be released as the investigation continues.

2️⃣ 🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Ukraine strikes Russian energy facilities: Ukraine launched British-made Storm Shadow missiles and domestically produced drones against Russian energy facilities, with officials saying strikes hit the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the Rostov region and ignited two oil storage tanks at the port of Temryuk, burning an area of about 2,000 square metres. Ukrainian authorities said the refinery supplies Russian forces, while Russian regional officials confirmed fires at the affected sites.

3️⃣ 🇭🇳 Asfura declared winner of Honduras election: Nasry Asfura, the conservative National Party candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared the winner of Honduras’ presidential election with 40.3% of the vote, narrowly defeating Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla after delays caused by technical failures and allegations of fraud. Nasralla said he would not accept the result but urged calm, as protests, political disputes, and international calls for a peaceful transition followed the announcement.

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