A newborn baby froze to death in a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza, on Wednesday, highlighting the stark challenges to survival faced by Palestinian children displaced from their homes amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the strip.

Sela Mahmoud Al-Fasih “froze to death from the extreme cold” in Al-Mawasi, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, posted on X on Wednesday.

Al-Mawasi, a coastal region west of Rafah, previously designated by Israel as a “humanitarian area,” has repeatedly come under Israeli attacks. Thousands of displaced Palestinians have moved there in search of refuge, living for months in makeshift tents made of cloth and nylon.

Israel’s assault, launched after the Hamas-led October 7 attack, has gutted Gaza’s once-lively neighborhoods, erased entire families, and spawned a humanitarian crisis of starvation, displacement and rampant disease. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed and 107,000 people injured, the health ministry there reported on Monday.

‘War on children’

Human rights advocates have warned that Palestinian children are bearing the brunt of Israel’s bombardment and siege.

More than 17,600 children have been killed since the war started, Dr Al-Bursh said on Wednesday. One child in Gaza is killed every hour, the chief of the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Tuesday, citing UN data.

As many as 17,000 children have been left unaccompanied or separated from their parents and caregivers, the International Rescue Committee reported in October. Others struggle to find enough food, water and warmth, as Israel’s siege has drained supplies.

The UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF, warned that many displaced children in Gaza are wearing little more than the clothes on their backs – after many were forced to flee Israel’s bombardment in summer clothes, earlier this year.

“For over 14 months, children have been at the sharp edge of this nightmare… In Gaza the reality for over a million children is fear, utter deprivation and unimaginable suffering,” Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF communications specalist, said in a statement on December 20.

“The war on children in Gaza stands as a stark reminder of our collective responsibility. A generation of children is enduring the brutal violation of their rights and the destruction of their futures.”

Saudi Arabia executed 330 people this year, the highest number in decades, despite de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 assertion that the death penalty had been eliminated except for murder cases under his vision for a new open kingdom.

The country is spending billions to transform its reputation for strict religious restrictions and human rights abuses into that of a tourism and entertainment hub under the Vision 2030 plan launched by the crown prince, who is also known as MBS.

The latest execution toll, compiled from execution announcements by human rights NGO Reprieve and verified by Reuters, is a big jump from the 172 total for last year and 196 for 2022. Reprieve said it was the highest ever recorded.

“This reform is built on a house of cards that is built on record numbers of executions,” said Jeed Basyouni, who works with Reprieve.

Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says its actions are aimed at protecting national security.

More than 150 people were executed for non-lethal crimes this year, according to the tally, which rights groups say is contrary to international law.

Those executions were mainly related to alleged drug smuggling amid a flood of amphetamine-like captagon from Syria under ousted President Bashar al-Assad. They also included people charged with non-lethal terrorism, a charge rights groups say is often used against those who have participated in anti-government protests.

The total includes more than 100 foreign nationals from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The Saudi government communications office did not respond to detailed questions from Reuters on the execution figures.

After taking power in a palace coup in 2017, MBS faced international censure for cracking down on dissent and for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Saudi Arabia has maintained that Khashoggi’s killing was carried out by a rogue group, although MBS has said that he bears ultimate responsibility because it happened under his watch.

Western governments largely shunned the kingdom following Khashoggi’s death. U.S. President Joe Biden, during his 2020 candidacy for the office, said he would make Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” but in 2022 visited the kingdom and fist bumped MBS.

Rights groups have accused the country of sentencing minors to death and using torture to extract confessions.

For decades Saudi Arabia held weekly executions by beheading with a sword in a public square; now that same area is dominated by cafes and restaurants with almost no sign of its bloody past.

“Repression is increasing, but you don’t see it,” said Dana Ahmed, MENA researcher at Amnesty International.

Relatives of people on death row, who did not wish to share their names due to security concerns, told Reuters they faced difficulties with the Saudi legal system.

A relative of one foreign national arrested on drug charges said he had simply been fishing near the coast and had no lawyer or representative in Saudi Arabia.

A family member of another defendant said they had heard no evidence against him despite attending sessions in the criminal court for more than three years.

Reuters was unable to verify the accounts independently.

MBS told the Atlantic in a 2022 interview that Saudi Arabia had eliminated the death penalty, except in cases of murder, which he said he was powerless to change since it is punishable by death according to the Koran.

King Charles III has used his Christmas message to hail the efforts of healthcare workers and all those who support others, praising the medical staff who provided “strength, care and comfort” during his and the Princess of Wales’ cancer treatments.

In his third Christmas address, the 76-year-old British sovereign spoke of how “all of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical.”

“The degree to which we help one another – and draw support from each other, be we people of faith or of none – is a measure of our civilization as nations,” he added, as footage showed the sovereign and his wife Queen Camilla visiting a cancer treatment center in London back in April as he returned to public-facing duties after his own diagnosis.

As the King spoke about the royal family meeting and listening to those who “dedicate their lives to helping others,” William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, were seen in a video from October talking with emergency responders who were called out to the fatal stabbings in Southport, northwest England, over the summer.

King Charles, whose message was filmed at a former hospital chapel in central London, said he was “thinking especially of the many thousands of professionals and volunteers here in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth who, with their skills and out of the goodness of their heart, care for others – often at some cost to themselves.”

The annual festive broadcast is generally recorded at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. But this year the British monarch opted for an external location with links to the medical community to reflect the themes of his message.

Charles’ decision marked the first time in over a decade that the address has not been filmed on the royal estate. The last message recorded outside a royal residence was in 2006 when the late Queen Elizabeth II recorded her message at Southwark Cathedral.

The King expressed his gratitude to the medical teams who helped him and his family this year.

“From a personal point of view, I offer special heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” he said.

“I am deeply grateful too to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”

Amid wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, the King said that “on this Christmas Day, we cannot help but think of those for whom the devastating effects of conflict in the Middle East, in Central Europe, in Africa and elsewhere pose a daily threat to so many people’s lives and livelihoods.”

He also spoke of “the humanitarian organizations working tirelessly to bring vital relief” and pointed to the Gospels which “speak so vividly of conflict and teach the values with which we can overcome it.”

King Charles and Camilla are spending the holiday at Sandringham, a country estate in rural Norfolk about 100 miles north of London, where 45 members of the family are expected to be gathering for Christmas Day.

Earlier Wednesday, the Windsors attended the traditional Christmas Day service on the estate. Many royal fans, some wearing Christmas hats, waited for hours to watch as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children joined King Charles and Camilla on a walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church.

One royal who did not join the clan’s Christmas gathering at the private Norfolk estate this year was Prince Andrew who hit the headlines again in recent weeks over his links to an alleged Chinese spy. The Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, were expected to spend the day together at their Royal Lodge home in Windsor Great Park, according to multiple British media reports.

In the King’s festive message, he reflected on his trip to Samoa in October, where he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting – his first as head of the organization. During the biennial summit, Britain faced renewed calls from some members to pay compensation for its historical role in slavery.

“Across the Commonwealth, we are held together by a willingness to listen to each other, to learn from one another, and to find just how much we have in common,” Charles said. “Because, through listening, we learn to respect our differences, to defeat prejudice, and to open up new possibilities.”

In the United Kingdom, he also hailed community cohesion in the wake of violent riots sparked after three girls were killed and ten injured in a stabbing attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July. He expressed his “deep sense of pride” at how people came together “not to repeat these behaviors, but to repair.”

“To repair not just buildings, but relationships. And, most importantly, to repair trust; by listening and, through understanding, deciding how to act for the good of all,” he said, as footage showed the cleaning up operation with residents sweeping streets and clearing bricks.

The broadcast ended with a rendition of “Once in Royal David’s City” sung by Inner Voices, a London-based youth choir with video overlaid showing highlights of the royal family conducting engagements over the past 12 months.

The monarch’s speech is a tradition going back 90 years. The first Christmas message was broadcast over the radio in 1932 by George V. It wasn’t until Elizabeth II in 1957 when it was first televised and is now a staple element for many Britons and one of the most watched programs on Christmas Day.

Families and relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza lit the first candle of Hanukkah on Wednesday, marking the start of the second such holiday without their loved ones, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.

Thousands of people attended a silent protest led by Shift 101 on Wednesday, which aims to put pressure on the government to work on releasing the hostages, it said. “Mothers and female relatives of the hostages, joined by many supporters, held a three-hour silent protest in white clothing, demanding an immediate deal to return all hostages,” the statement continued.

The vigil was followed by a candle-lighting ceremony at Beit Ariela in Tel Aviv. “Shira Albag, mother of (hostage) Liri Albag, lit the first candle while participants prayed together for the return of the 100 hostages,” the statement said.

“We won’t let the light go out. We must light the first candle and begin the deal. May each candle light the next until all our light returns with the homecoming of 100 hostages through a deal,” Shay Dickmann, cousin of hostage Carmel Gat, who was killed during captivity, said during the ceremony, according to the Forum statement.

Top US, Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials have all touted progress in the negotiations to the Gaza hostage and ceasefire last week. While officials caution that a deal is neither sealed nor guaranteed, recent upbeat language and diplomatic activity have signaled momentum toward reaching a deal.

Israeli negotiators returned home from talks in Qatar Tuesday for “internal consultations.”

Hamas is holding 100 hostages in Gaza – 96 taken on October 7, 2023, and four others who were kidnapped before that, according to Israeli authorities. The hostages include 13 women and two children under the age of five, according to the authorities.

At least 36 of the hostages have now been confirmed dead by Israel.

Israeli leaders also recalled the hostages at ceremonies marking the first night of Hannukah.

“I don’t believe that last year during Channukah (Hanukkah), anyone thought that a hundred of our brothers and sisters would still be in the hands of Hamas terrorists,” President Isaac Herzog said at Beit HaLochem in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, per a statement from his office.

“We are in a critical period for their return,” Herzog added, calling on Israel’s government “to act with all its might, using every tool at our disposal, to secure a deal. This is your duty.”

The first candle of Hanukkah was also lit at the Western Wall in Jerusalem along with other areas across the country on Wednesday as people gathered there to pray for the return of the hostages.

“Families of the hostages, we all pray that even today, they will return to Jerusalem, to the Holy Land, safe and well,” Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday also marked Hanukkah at his office in Jerusalem with a more hawkish tone.

“Today we light the first candle of Hanukkah to mark the victory of the Maccabees of that time and the victory of the ‘Maccabees of today,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement released by the prime minister’s office, referring to a group of Jewish warriors and freedom fighters in the 2nd century BCE.

“Like then – we are hitting the oppressors and those who thought they would cut the thread of our lives here so it will apply to everyone. The Houthis will also learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and the Assad regime and others have learned, and even if it takes time, this lesson will be learned throughout the Middle East,” Netanyahu added in the statement.

He made no mention of the hostages held in Gaza.

Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group’s October 7, 2023, cross-border attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the health ministry in the enclave.

A prison riot in Mozambique’s capital Maputo left 33 people dead and 15 injured, the country’s police general commander Bernardino Rafael said on Wednesday.

About 1,534 people escaped from the prison in the incident but 150 of them have now been recaptured, Rafael said.

Mozambique is experiencing escalating civil unrest linked to October’s disputed election, which extended long-ruling party Frelimo’s stay in power. Opposition groups and their supporters claim the vote was rigged.

While Rafael blamed protests outside the prison for encouraging the riot, Justice Minister Helena Kida told local private broadcaster Miramar TV that the unrest was started inside the prison and had nothing to do with protests outside.

“The confrontations after that resulted in 33 deaths and 15 injured in the vicinity of the jail.” Rafael told a media briefing.

The identities of those killed and injured were unclear.

Mozambique’s interior minister said on Tuesday that at least 21 people were killed in unrest after the country’s top court on Monday confirmed Frelimo’s victory.

Perched high atop Corcovado Mountain, Christ the Redeemer is more than a religious symbol or tourist attraction — it’s an enduring icon of Brazilian identity. The Cristo Redentor, as Brazilians call it, is a postcard not only for the city of Rio de Janeiro but for the entire country.

The statue’s wide-open arms, spanning 92 feet, seem to personally welcome the more than 3 million visitors who make the trek to see the monument each year. But now, its management and future are at the center of a growing debate over religion, conservation, and governance.

In October, a bill was introduced proposing transferring the management of the land where the statue sits from federal oversight to the Catholic Church. Proponents argue that the church’s stewardship will resolve longstanding infrastructure and accessibility issues. Critics, however, see the move as a threat to Brazil’s secular state and its environmental commitments.

A monument in the forest

Built in 1922 by the Catholic Church, the Christ the Redeemer statue is inside the Tijuca National Park, a sprawling 3,953-hectare expanse of restored Atlantic Forest recognized as one of the world’s first large-scale reforestation projects.

Replanted in the mid-19th century to mitigate the effects of deforestation caused by coffee plantations, Brazil’s government established the national park to preserve ecologically significant ecosystems and provide a sanctuary for biodiversity. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2012, and today, it is home to 1,619 plant species and 328 animal species, many of which are endangered.

“This park is far more than just a backdrop to the Redeemer,” says Mauro Pires, president of Brazil’s national parks and conservation units agency, ICMBio. “It’s a vital ecological system that sustains local wildlife and plays a role in regulating Rio’s climate and water supply.”

The park’s attractions include panoramic viewpoints of the city, Guanabara Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean, cascading waterfalls, and historic ruins. It is a magnet for tourists and locals alike, who come to hike, cycle, or take guided tours to drink up Rio’s natural beauty.

However, the balance between tourism and conservation is delicate, particularly in high-traffic areas like Corcovado.

An agreement between Church and State

The current arrangement splits responsibilities between the church and the federal government. Despite being on federal land, the archdiocese has special authorization to worship at the statue and adjoining chapel any time, and is responsible for their maintenance, though not the infrastructure around it. The federal government oversees the entirety of the park and its infrastructure – including roads, transportation, bathrooms, escalators, and ticketing to the statue (a portion of which is paid to the Church, according to a park spokesperson).

This partnership has allowed the site to continue to function as a religious destination within a secular site. Masses, baptisms, and weddings can be celebrated at the foot of the Christ, as long as the general public still have access to the park during visiting hours.

The Church and proponents of the bill, on the other hand, say more should be done to capitalize on the monument’s fame. “If a soap brand wants to adopt our bathroom and renovate it and put their name all over it, why shouldn’t they be able to do it?” asked Claudine Milione Dutra, legal coordinator for the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro.

Dutra argues that federal bureaucracy is also getting in the way of addressing some of the needs for which it is currently responsible. At the introduction of the bill in October, lawmakers described escalators, bathrooms, and water fountains that were out of order for months at a time.

“We cannot accept that Christ the Redeemer, Brazil’s most recognizable international icon, remains in a state of neglect,” said Senator Carlos Portinho, author of the bill, when he introduced it in the senate chambers. “The church has historically cared for the statue and is best positioned to manage it effectively.”

Pires, the president of the national parks agency, acknowledged that repairs are needed but said that privatization is not the answer. Under the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, national parks budgets were slashed and only now are funds coming back, Pires said. Many of the necessary renovations, at Tijuca and other national parks, could not be carried out for that simple reason.

But for 2025, the agency has earmarked BRL $75 million to carry out renovations at the top of Corcovado Mountain – including repairs to the foundation of the statue.

‘A dangerous precedent’

Under the proposed legislation, the Church would gain control over the statue and its immediate surrounding area, along with its infrastructure, and become separate from the National Park. Though that area would be less than 0.02% of the park’s total area, the national parks agency warns that the proposal could set a dangerous precedent.

“This isn’t just about the Redeemer; it’s about the integrity of all conservation areas in Brazil,” Pires explained. “Carving out sections of national parks for private management could undermine decades of progress in environmental protection.”

The bill proposes carving out the Christ statue and surrounding area from the Tijuca National Park, making it a separate and independent portion to be administered by the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro. The Church being solely responsible for this area, it would have to take on any needed renovations — but it could also start collecting the revenue from ticket sales.

The park’s fragile ecosystem includes species like the golden lion tamarin and the muriqui monkey, both of which face extinction. Increased noise, pollution, and construction could disrupt these habitats.

But Dutra dismisses these concerns, asserting that the church shares an interest in conservation. “We’ve maintained the statue and its immediate surroundings responsibly. Our aim is to enhance the visitor experience, not to harm the environment,” she said.

At its core, the debate isn’t just about land use or conservation. Brazil’s secular constitution prohibits government favoritism toward religious institutions, but Christ the Redeemer is pushing the discussion to a decidedly gray area, raising questions about how Brazil can balance its Catholic roots with its secular and environmental commitments.

The bill — co-sponsored by Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son — has already passed in the Senate and is being weighed by a subcommittee on tourism. If approved there, it will move to Brazil’s House of Representatives.

Whether Christ the Redeemer’s future lies with the church or the state — or some reimagined collaboration — will shape not only its role as a tourist attraction but also its place in Brazil’s cultural and environmental narrative.

At least 14 law enforcement personnel were killed in western Syria overnight in an “ambush” by the former forces of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, the new interior ministry said on Thursday.

The attack in the countryside of the Tartus region also injured 10 officers, according to the ministry. It came hours after the new government’s military operations command said its forces killed “a besieged group of remnants of the former regime” in the same area.

The new authorities have set a deadline for former regime forces and gangs to hand over their weapons, less than three weeks after Assad fled the country as rebels advanced on the capital Damascus.

Syria’s military operations command said additional forces have been deployed “to establish security and hold accountable the remnants of the former regime who are trying to destabilize security and terrorize people in some areas of the Syrian coast.”

“We will not tolerate any criminal gang that seeks to undermine the security and safety of our people,” the director of public security in Latakia, a western governorate on the country’s Mediterranean coast, told state-run news agency SANA on Wednesday.

Footage by news agency Agence France-Presse filmed earlier last week showed former Assad regime security forces handing in their weapons to the rebel-linked transitional government in Latakia. Syrian state media reported that other cities in Syria, such as Daraa, have implemented similar schemes for returning weapons.

The new authorities also issued former regime forces temporary cards to give them freedom of movement in Syria while their “legal proceedings are completed,” according to a notice posted outside the government office, which can be seen in the AFP video. The notice gave no further details about the legal proceedings.

The Assad regime and the Syrian forces that served his government were responsible for many atrocities as they cracked down on political dissent, including torture and ill-treatment of prisoners. More than 306,000 civilians in Syria were killed between the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and March 2021, according to the most recent estimate by the UN.

The demonstrations took place about the same time as a video began circulating on social media that purports to show the desecration of a site in Aleppo that part of the Alawite community claims as a shrine.

The new interior ministry issued a statement acknowledging the incident, but said it occurred weeks ago, and that the perpetrators are unknown.

Syria’s Alawite community, which predominantly lives in coastal areas, was propelled to key political, social and military posts during the rule of Assad, and that of his father and predecessor Hafez.

The video shows fire blazing inside the shrine as four dead bodies lie outside on the ground, surrounded by several armed militants.

“We confirm that the circulating video is an old video dating back to the period of the liberation of the city of Aleppo, made by unknown groups, and that our agencies are working day and night to preserve property and religious sites,” the interior ministry said.

“The goal of re-publishing such clips is to stir up strife among the Syrian people at this sensitive stage.”