While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 12
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Over 500 militants from Hamas and smaller group Islamic Jihad have been apprehended so far in Gaza.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Israel has no intention on staying permanently in Gaza, defence minister says
Israel’s defence minister on Dec 11 said his country has no intention of staying permanently in the Gaza Strip and that it was open to discussing alternatives about who would control the territory, as long as it was not a group hostile to Israel.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also said that Israel was open to possibly reaching an agreement with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, on the condition any agreement included a safe zone along the border and proper guarantees.
“Israel will take any measures in order to destroy Hamas, but we have no intention to stay permanently in the Gaza Strip,” he told reporters.
Zelensky, in Washington, urges Congress not to play into Putin’s hands
via REUTERS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told a US military audience on Dec 11 that he hoped he can still count on the United States and urged Congress not play into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands, as he started a critical visit to Washington to shore up security assistance.
“We won’t give up. We know what to do and you can count on Ukraine. And we hope just as much to be able to count on you,” Zelensky said in an address to the National Defense University.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has warned Congress that a failure to renew military assistance to Ukraine could tip the nearly two-year-old war in Russia’s favour, creating national security threats for the West.
Poland’s parliament votes in favour of Donald Tusk becoming prime minister
REUTERS
Poland’s parliament voted in favour of Donald Tusk becoming prime minister on Dec 11, putting an end to eight years of nationalist rule and setting the stage for a thawing of relations with the European Union.
Poland has seen tens of billions of euros of European Union funds frozen due to a dispute with Brussels over democratic standards, but Tusk, a former European Council president, has vowed to mend relations and unblock the cash.
248 were in favour of Tusk becoming prime minister and 201 were against.
Trump increases polling lead in Iowa ahead of first Republican contest
REUTERS
Donald Trump has a huge and expanded lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in a new poll in Iowa, the state that kicks off the party’s nominating contest on Jan 15.
The former president has 51 per cent first-choice support from people likely to take part in the Iowa caucuses in January, according to a NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll released on Dec 11, up from 43 per cent in the same poll conducted in October.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has 19 per cent first-choice support in the poll - up from 16 per cent in October - while former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is at 16 per cent, unchanged since the last poll.
German football league clubs give green light for investor stake in Bundesliga
AFP
Germany’s first and second league football clubs voted on Monday in favour of letting a financial investor take a stake in the Bundesliga media rights company, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The decision comes as football leagues in Europe are increasingly eyeing external funding via broadcasting arrangements to boost revenues and increase their global reach.
Its future partner will receive up to 8 per cent of Deutsche Fussball Liga’s (DFL) license income from the exploitation of commercial rights, DFL said, which would correspond to a value of between 900 million and 1 billion euros (S$1.3 billion).
