QUICK NEWS: December 29th 2024

Here are the latest headlines of the day:

• Mikheil Kavelashvili, a vocal critic of the West, was sworn in as the president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis following the government's decision to freeze European Union application talks, a move that has sparked major protests.

  
  

• The death toll from the Jeju Air crash in Muan, South Korea, has climbed to at least 179 as officials investigate potential causes, including a possible landing gear malfunction and reports of a bird strike.

  
  

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was hospitalized on Sunday to undergo prostate removal surgery due to a urinary tract infection caused by benign prostate enlargement. His lawyer informed the court that Netanyahu would be sedated and hospitalized for several days, requesting the cancellation of his testimony scheduled for this week. The court agreed. During his recovery, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, will serve as acting prime minister. Netanyahu's health is a concern, given the ongoing regional tensions.

  
  

• Hostages held in Gaza were subjected to torture, including sexual and psychological abuse, starvation, burns, and medical neglect, according to a new report by the Israeli Health Ministry that is set to be submitted to the United Nations this week.

  
  

• Israeli forces, conducting a weeks-long offensive in northern Gaza, ordered any remaining residents of Beit Hanoun to leave the town on Sunday, citing Palestinian militant rocket fire from the area, according to residents.

  
  

• Russia announced plans to end its moratorium on deploying intermediate and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles, citing U.S. deployment of similar weapons worldwide, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Sunday.

  
  

• Finnish police said on Sunday that they had discovered tracks stretching for dozens of kilometers along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, where a tanker carrying Russian oil is suspected of damaging a power line and four telecom cables with its anchor.

  
  

• German politicians from both government and opposition criticized Elon Musk for endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in an opinion piece published in Welt am Sonntag. Musk, set to serve as an adviser in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, praised the AfD's stance on regulation, taxes, and market deregulation, calling it the only party that could "save Germany."