Israeli media released footage of Major General Roman Gofman, a candidate to lead the Mossad, retreating under Hamas fire near Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

Gofman, with no intelligence background, was named the next Mossad chief by Netanyahu.

DR Congo: President Félix Tshisekedi calls for the total and verifiable withdrawal of all foreign armed forces from Congolese territory, “whether official or hidden.”

Saudi Arabia has widened access to alcohol sales, allowing non-Muslim expatriates earning at least 50,000 riyals ($13,300) a month to buy from the country’s only liquor store in Riyadh.

Shoppers must show proof of income and are capped by a monthly points-based system.

Source: Bloomberg

Merz-Starmer-Zelensky-Macron meeting has begun.

Putin:

The measures taken in the field of demography are insufficient, and the birth rate continues to decline.

Viktor Orban met with Turkish President Erdogan in Istanbul.

China’s Ministry of National Defense of China launched its official account on X, posting in English.

Nigeria: ISWAP says it has executed three pro-government CJTF militiamen captured earlier in Duma village, Borno State.

DR Congo: President Tshisekedi says Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 has launched a major new offensive, pushing toward Goma and Bukavu and spreading attacks across North and South Kivu.

Burkina Faso: Under Ibrahim Traoré, authorities have taken over all French-owned TotalEnergies gas stations and rebranded them as “Baraka Energies.”

South Africa: Businesses will begin paying Chinese suppliers in yuan, as Standard Bank becomes the first African bank integrated into China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System.

Lieutenant Colonel Yevhenii Ivanov, senior navigator of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade, was killed while carrying out a combat mission in an Su-27, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The incident occurred around noon on December 8, 2025, in eastern Ukraine.

Peace negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine are stalled over one key issue:

Washington is pushing Kyiv to relinquish the entire Donbas region, even though Russia has failed to fully seize it after nearly three years of war.

Ukraine, which still controls about 30 percent of Donbas, insists any deal should freeze the war along current front lines.

Source: POLITICO

Tanzania: Police were reportedly seen patrolling the streets at night ahead of the massive planned protests on 9 December.

Hungary's Orban in Türkiye:

We believe the Ukraine–Russia war has no solution on the battlefield, and that peace is necessary.

We commend President Erdogan’s efforts as the only successful mediator so far.

Hungary's Orban in Türkiye:

Without Türkiye protecting Europe from the south, life in Hungary and across Europe would be unlivable.

We would be drowning in illegal migration—this has been prevented thanks to Türkiye.

On this day in 1991, leaders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine signed the Belovezh Accords, declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and creating the CIS.

On December 26, the USSR’s parliament officially confirmed its end.

Netanyahu:

I speak with Putin on a regular basis, and this relationship serves our vital interests.

Netanyahu:

What you describe as the supposed collapse of Israel’s international standing is completely detached from reality.