Morning Briefing: Dec. 23, 2024

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday with, including Yemen’s Houthis claiming to down a US fighter jet, a tragic helicopter crash in Türkiye, and the rising death toll in Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• Yemen’s Houthis claim to down US fighter jet over Red Sea

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed to have shot down a US F/A-18 fighter jet in an attack on an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that Houthi forces successfully "foiled a US-UK attack on Yemen."

• Ambulance helicopter crashes into hospital in Türkiye, killing four

An ambulance helicopter crashed into a hospital in Türkiye's southwestern Mugla province, killing four people, according to the province's governor, Idris Akbiyik.

Two pilots, a doctor and a health care worker lost their lives as the helicopter crashed into the Training and Research Hospital building in Mugla's Mentese district.

• Gaza death toll surpasses 45,250 amid relentless Israeli attacks

At least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 45,259, the Health Ministry in the enclave said.

A ministry statement added that 107,627 others were injured in the ongoing assault.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Türkiye’s foreign minister met with the leader of the new Syrian administration

• Syria's territorial integrity is ‘non-negotiable’ and there is no place for the PKK/YPG terror group in the country, said Türkiye’s foreign minister

• Russia’s president met with the Slovak prime minister in Moscow

• South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party warned acting President Han Duck-soo to immediately sign special counsel bills against President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee or face consequences, according to local media.

• By arming Taiwan, the US is playing with fire, China warned.

• Japan began research to make Moon habitation a reality

• Germany’s defense chief warned of hybrid threats from Russia

• Israeli opposition leaders accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging a hostage swap deal with Palestinians

• Russia claims it took control of two settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Kharkiv regions

• China imposed sanctions on two Canadian organizations and 20 individuals

• Iraq and Oman discussed the Gaza war and post-Assad Syria

• Germany said Saudi Arabia warned about the Magdeburg Christmas market attack suspect

• An Israeli minister called for a “comprehensive deal” to end the Gaza war and retrieve the hostages

• 60,000 more Rohingya have fed Bangladesh amid escalating conflict in Myanmar

• Georgia’s prime minister says President Salome Zourabichvili must leave office before Dec. 29

• Pope Francis called Israeli attacks on Gaza a ‘great cruelty’

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine must do everything to make 2025 a “year of just peace.”

• The Israeli army handed over seven Lebanese detainees to a UN peacekeeping mission

• US President-elect Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a meeting to discuss the Ukraine war.

• Egypt and Russia’s foreign ministers discussed Gaza and Syria

• US President-elect Donald Trump dismissed suggestions that he has “ceded the presidency” to Elon Musk

• The death toll in Mozambique from Cyclone Chido rose to 94

• A man was arrested after setting a woman on fire on a New York subway train

SPORTS

• Liverpool win 9-goal thriller at Tottenham Hotspur in English Premier League

Leaders Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 in a English Premier League match to go four points clear of Chelsea.

Colombian forward Luis Diaz and Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah scored double each against Spurs at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to play key roles in the victory.

• Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-2 in Jesus Navas' last game as a professional footballer

Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-2 in 39-year-old veteran right winger and full-back Jesus Navas' last game as a professional footballer.

The Sevilla captain came off the bench in the second half as the crowd at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium paid tribute to him.

BUSINNESS & ECONOMY

• Starbucks strike expands to Boston, Dallas and Portland as dispute escalates

Starbucks workers in the US have expanded their strike to Boston, Dallas and Portland amid an escalating labor dispute and just days before Christmas, the company’s union announced.

The strike, now in the third day of a planned five-day escalation, has already shut down nearly 50 stores nationwide, with more joining in solidarity, according to a statement from Starbucks Workers United.

• Panama's president rejects Trump's threat to retake control of canal

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino dismissed a threat from US President-elect Donald Trump to retake control of the Panama Canal if transit fees are not reduced, particularly for US vessels.

Mulino said in a video he published on his X account that the canal belongs to Panama.