Dec 26 Watch 9:57 Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed Azerbaijani plane, U.S. official says By Stephanie Sy, Zeba Warsi, William Brangham, Dan Sagalyn There are early indications a Russian air defense system may have hit the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, a U.S. official says. Some of the speculation focuses on damage to the plane's tail section that could have been… Continue watching
Dec 26 Watch 4:38 News Wrap: 5 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike on TV broadcast van In our news wrap Thursday, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a TV broadcast van, Israel escalated attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen, authorities in Finland detained a ship with suspected Russian ties to investigate whether it… Continue watching
Dec 26 Watch 8:31 How the Assad regime made billions producing and exporting party drugs By Leila Molana-Allen, Abdul Razzaq Al-Shami Now that the Assad regime in Syria has fallen, the full scale of that government’s production and distribution of illicit drugs is coming to light. Leila Molana-Allen reports from the drug factories in Syria. Continue watching
Dec 26 Uneasy calm, heightened security after flare-up of violence in Syrian city of Homs By Abby Sewell, Associated Press Syria's new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs on Thursday, a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country's fragile peace could break down. Continue reading
Dec 26 Watch 3:57 As Arctic warms, Indigenous communities there face dramatic changes to their way of life By Casey Kuhn Since the 1980s, temperatures in the Arctic have risen at nearly triple the global rate. This past summer was the wettest on record, while a heatwave in August set records in northern Alaska and Canada. Digital producer Casey Kuhn explains… Continue watching
Dec 26 Israeli attorney general orders probe into allegations that Sara Netanyahu harassed opponents By Josef Federman, Associated Press Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and a witness in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial. Continue reading
Dec 26 North Korean troops suffering heavy battlefield losses in Russia, Ukrainian intelligence says By Samya Kullab, Associated Press Ukraine’s military intelligence said Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka in Russia's Kursk region inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. It said North Korean troops also faced supply issues and shortages of drinking water. Continue reading
Dec 26 PHOTOS: Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations around the world By Silvia Stellacci, Colleen Barry, Associated Press Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message on Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine,… Continue reading
Dec 26 Aid groups concerned after U.S. says it pushed retraction of famine warning for northern Gaza By Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press U.S. officials say they asked for — and got — the retraction of an independent monitor's warning of imminent famine in north Gaza. Continue reading
Dec 26 Manmohan Singh, India's former prime minister and architect of economic reforms, dies at 92 By Associated Press India’s former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, has died. Continue reading