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Putin Makes Surprise Trip to Mariupol

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, visit a children's arts-and-crafts center, part of Chersonesos Taurica historical and archeological park on the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in Sevastopol, Crimea, 18 March 2023. EPA/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, visit a children's arts-and-crafts center, part of Chersonesos Taurica historical and archeological park on the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in Sevastopol, Crimea, 18 March 2023. EPA/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
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Putin Makes Surprise Trip to Mariupol

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, visit a children's arts-and-crafts center, part of Chersonesos Taurica historical and archeological park on the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in Sevastopol, Crimea, 18 March 2023. EPA/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, visit a children's arts-and-crafts center, part of Chersonesos Taurica historical and archeological park on the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, in Sevastopol, Crimea, 18 March 2023. EPA/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL

President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Mariupol, Russian state media reported on Sunday, in what would be the Kremlin leader's first trip to the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine's Donbas region since the start of the war.

The visit came after Putin travelled to Crimea on Saturday in an unannounced visit to mark the ninth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine, and just two days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader.

Mariupol, which fell to Russia in May after one of the war's longest and bloodiest battles, was Russia's first major victory after it failed to seize Kyiv and focused instead on southeastern Ukraine.

Putin flew by helicopter to Mariupol, Russian new agencies reported citing the Kremlin. It is the closest to the front lines Putin has been since in the year-long war. Driving a car, Putin travelled around several districts of the city, making stops and talking to residents.

Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, was reduced to a smoldering shell after weeks of fighting. The Organization for Security and Cooperation and Europe (OSCE) said Russia's early bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol was a war crime.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, a highly symbolic move that isolates the Russian leader further.

While Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made a number of trips to the battlefield to boost the morale of his troops and talk strategy, Putin has largely remained inside the Kremlin while running what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

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World

Israel’s Supreme Court Suspends Govt Move to Shut Army Radio

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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Israel’s Supreme Court Suspends Govt Move to Shut Army Radio

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Israel's Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country's decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station.

In a ruling issued late Sunday, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said the suspension was partly because the government "did not provide a clear commitment not to take irreversible steps before the court reaches a final decision".

He added that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the suspension.

The cabinet last week approved the closure of Galei Tsahal, with the shutdown scheduled to take effect before March 1, 2026.

Founded in 1950, Galei Tsahal is widely known for its flagship news programs and has long been followed by both domestic and foreign correspondents.

A government audience survey ranks it as Israel's third most listened-to radio station, with a market share of 17.7 percent.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged ministers to back the closure, saying there had been repeated proposals over the years to remove the station from the military, abolish it or privatize it.

But Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government's legal adviser and is facing dismissal proceedings initiated by the premier, has warned that closing the station raised "concerns about possible political interference in public broadcasting".

She added that it "poses questions regarding an infringement on freedom of expression and of the press".

Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that Galei Tsahal broadcasts "political and divisive content" that does not align with military values.

He said soldiers, civilians and bereaved families had complained that the station did not represent them and undermined morale and the war effort.

Katz also argued that a military-run radio station serving the general public is an anomaly in democratic countries.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid had condemned the closure decision, calling it part of the government's effort to suppress freedom of expression ahead of elections.

Israel is due to hold parliamentary elections in 2026, and Netanyahu has said he will seek another term as prime minister.

World

Thai Army Accuses Cambodia of Violating Truce with over 250 Drones

Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)
Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)
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Thai Army Accuses Cambodia of Violating Truce with over 250 Drones

Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)
Displaced residents rest in a bunker in Thailand's Surin province on December 11, 2025, amid clashes along the Thai-Cambodia border. (AFP)

Thailand's army on Monday accused Cambodia of violating a newly signed ceasefire agreement, reached after weeks of deadly border clashes, by flying more than 250 drones over its territory.

The Thai army said "more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side, intruding into Thailand's sovereign territory" on Sunday night, according to a statement.

"Such actions constitute provocation and a violation of measures aimed at reducing tensions, which are inconsistent with the Joint Statement agreed" during a bilateral border committee meeting on Saturday, it added.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said in remarks aired on state television on Monday that the two sides had discussed the incident and agreed to investigate and "resolve it immediately".

Prak Sokhonn described it as "a small issue related to flying drones seen by both sides along the border line".

Thailand and Cambodia agreed to the "immediate" ceasefire on Saturday, pledging to end renewed border clashes that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.

The reignited fighting spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.

Under the agreement signed on Saturday, the Southeast Asian neighbors agreed to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime.

World

Mexican Train Derailment Kills at Least 13 People, 98 Injured

Authorities work at the site of train derailment on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a railway line connecting Mexico's Pacific and Gulf coasts, where several passengers were killed and injured near Nizanda, Oaxaca state, Mexico, December, 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Authorities work at the site of train derailment on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a railway line connecting Mexico's Pacific and Gulf coasts, where several passengers were killed and injured near Nizanda, Oaxaca state, Mexico, December, 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Mexican Train Derailment Kills at Least 13 People, 98 Injured

Authorities work at the site of train derailment on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a railway line connecting Mexico's Pacific and Gulf coasts, where several passengers were killed and injured near Nizanda, Oaxaca state, Mexico, December, 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Authorities work at the site of train derailment on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a railway line connecting Mexico's Pacific and Gulf coasts, where several passengers were killed and injured near Nizanda, Oaxaca state, Mexico, December, 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Mexican authorities said on Sunday that at least 13 people ​were killed after an Interoceanic Train carrying 250 people derailed in the southern state of Oaxaca.

The Mexican Navy said the train, which derailed near the town of Nizanda, was carrying nine crew members and 241 passengers.

Of those on board, 139 were reported to be out of ‌danger, while 98 ‌were injured, including 36 ‌who ⁠were ​receiving medical assistance.

President ‌Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that five of the injured were in critical condition, adding that senior officials had been dispatched to the site to assist the families of those killed.

The governor of Oaxaca, Salomon Jara Cruz, expressed condolences to the families ⁠of those killed in the accident and said state authorities ‌were coordinating with federal agencies to ‍assist those affected.

Mexico's Attorney ‍General's Office has already opened an investigation into ‍the incident, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said in a social media post.

The Interoceanic Train, inaugurated in 2023 under former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, forms ​part of the broader Interoceanic Corridor project.

The initiative was designed to modernize the rail link across ⁠the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, connecting Mexico's Pacific port of Salina Cruz with Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf Coast.

The Mexican government has sought to develop the isthmus into a strategic trade corridor, expanding ports, railways and industrial infrastructure with the goal of creating a route that could compete with the Panama Canal.

The train service is also part of a broader push to expand passenger and freight rail ‌in southern Mexico and stimulate economic development in the region.