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Japan assessed damage and warned of potential aftershocks Tuesday following a late-night 7.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Aomori, northern Honshu. At least 33 people were injured, one seriously, mostly from falling objects, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported. The quake struck around 11:15 p.m., about 80 kilometers offshore, at a depth of 44 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A tsunami measuring up to 70 centimeters hit Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, with smaller waves along the northern Pacific coast. The Japan Meteorological Agency lifted all tsunami advisories by 6:30 a.m. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced an emergency task force to assess damage, saying the government would prioritize citizens’ safety. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara reported around 800 homes lost power temporarily, and Shinkansen bullet trains along with local lines were suspended but are expected to resume later Tuesday. About 480 people sheltered at Hachinohe Air Base, and 18 defense helicopters were deployed for damage checks. At New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, 200 passengers were stranded overnight due to ceiling damage in part of the domestic terminal. The Nuclear Regulation Authority reported a minor spill at the Rokkasho fuel reprocessing plant but confirmed safety levels remained normal. The Japan Meteorological Agency cautioned residents in 182 municipalities along the northeastern coast—from Chiba to Hokkaido—to remain vigilant for aftershocks and possible tsunamis. Officials noted a slight increase in the risk of a magnitude 8-level quake in the coming days. The region lies near the area devastated by the 2011 magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people and caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Smaller aftershocks continued Tuesday, including magnitude 6.6 and 5.1 tremors, highlighting the ongoing seismic risk.

A bomb blast in eastern Congo killed more than 30 people and injured about 20 others after a confrontation between the Congolese army and a pro-government militia, despite a recently signed Washington peace deal that was hailed as a breakthrough. Residents and civil society representatives told The Associated Press that the FARDC, Congo’s armed forces, and Wazalendo — a militia that has been fighting alongside the army — exchanged fire before the explosion shook the town of Sange in South Kivu on Sunday evening. Eastern Congo remains destabilized by more than 100 armed groups competing for control in the mineral-rich region near Rwanda’s border, with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels being the most prominent. The conflict has produced one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, displacing more than 7 million people. The blast occurred days after the U.S. finalized a peace agreement aimed at halting the conflict between the Congolese military and M23. But residents, civil society leaders and analysts say clashes continue unabated. Faraja Mahano Robert, a community leader in Sange, said FARDC soldiers returning from the front line tried to move toward Uvira but were ordered to stop. When some refused, fighting broke out between the forces, followed by the deadly explosion. Many locals fled toward Burundi for safety. Residents said the situation remained tense Monday. Amani Safari reported ongoing departures from Sange and new clashes between Wazalendo and FARDC early that morning. Another resident, David Kaserore, said civilians feel trapped and unable to distinguish between the army and armed groups, calling on the government to end the violence. The military did not immediately comment. Meanwhile, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda in a parliamentary speech of violating the peace deal, looting Congo’s natural resources, and undermining its institutions. Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington last week to sign the agreement, which the White House praised as historic. Tshisekedi claimed that Rwandan forces carried out heavy weapons attacks from the Rwandan town of Bugarama the day after the signing, calling it “proxy aggression” and rejecting suggestions of internal rebellion. Burundi’s foreign minister, Edouard Bizimana, also accused Rwanda of duplicity, saying it signs agreements while escalating drone attacks on civilians. Burundi, which fights alongside the Congolese military against M23, warned Rwanda that repeat attacks could prompt legal action. Rwandan officials did not immediately respond. Despite the peace deal, residents reported intensified fighting in South Kivu last week. Both M23 and the Congolese army have repeatedly accused one another of breaching earlier ceasefire terms. Earlier this year, M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, two major cities in eastern Congo. U.N. experts estimate the group is backed by roughly 4,000 Rwandan troops, and at times the rebels have threatened to advance all the way to the capital, Kinshasa, nearly 1,600 kilometers away.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British, French and German leaders in London on Monday, as Europe rallied behind Ukraine at what they described as a pivotal stage in U.S.-led peace efforts to end Russia’s invasion. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street to strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position amid growing impatience from U.S. President Donald Trump. Afterward, the leaders contacted other European partners, calling for sustained pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Starmer’s office said they agreed this was a “critical moment” requiring increased support for Ukraine and tougher economic measures against Russia. Starmer’s spokesman, Tom Wells, said progress was being made but that “outstanding issues” remain. Macron’s office noted the meeting helped coordinate European additions to the U.S. proposal. Speaking to reporters later, Zelenskyy said the latest U.S. peace plan had been reduced from 28 to 20 points after removing what he described as “obviously anti-Ukrainian” elements. He emphasized that Ukraine still needs clarity on security guarantees, especially regarding the risk of renewed Russian aggression after the war. Trump, in comments Sunday night, expressed frustration that Zelenskyy “hasn’t read the proposal,” while Zelenskyy insisted Trump wants the war to end but does not see the conflict the way Ukrainians do. Before the meeting, Starmer, Macron and Merz emphasized support for Ukraine. Starmer called the peace effort “critical” and urged a “just and lasting ceasefire.” Merz said he was wary of aspects of the U.S. documents and that the coming days could be decisive. European leaders want any ceasefire backed by firm U.S. and European security guarantees, though Trump has not publicly committed to any. Zelenskyy said his meetings in London and Brussels would focus on defense support and long-term funding, stressing that Ukraine depends on both Europe and the United States. Starmer’s office added that national security advisers will keep negotiating in the coming days. Challenges in the peace plan U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators concluded three days of talks Saturday to close gaps in the U.S. proposal. Zelenskyy said discussions were “substantive” and that senior Ukrainian officials were returning to brief him. A major dispute concerns a U.S. suggestion that Kyiv give up control of the Donbas region, most of which Russia occupies. Ukraine and its European partners reject ceding territory. Starmer said he would not pressure Zelenskyy to agree. Trump, who has urged Ukraine to surrender land to end the war and has criticized the cost of U.S. aid, continues to take a fluctuating stance toward Kyiv. U.S. national security strategy released The London talks came shortly after the U.S. unveiled a new national security strategy that unsettled European governments but drew praise from Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the document aligned with Russia’s views and welcomed its call for improved relations and reduced tensions. The U.S. strategy said Washington aims to stabilize its relationship with Russia and sees ending the war as key to that goal. It also argued NATO should not expand indefinitely and criticized European allies’ migration and free-speech policies. The U.K. government declined to comment on the U.S. document. Continued attacks on Ukraine Despite diplomatic efforts, Russian drone strikes continued. In Okhtyrka, drones hit an apartment block, injuring seven people. In Chernihiv, another drone blast wounded three people and damaged residential buildings and infrastructure. Ukraine said Russia launched 149 drones overnight, of which 131 were intercepted. Russia reported downing 67 Ukrainian drones over 11 regions.

A year ago, Mohammad Marwan found himself stumbling, barefoot and dazed, out of Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus as rebel forces pushing toward the capital threw open its doors to release the prisoners. Arrested in 2018 for fleeing compulsory military service, the father of three had cycled through four other lockups before landing in Saydnaya, a sprawling complex just north of Damascus that became synonymous with some of the worst atrocities committed under the rule of now-ousted President Bashar Assad. He recalled guards waiting to welcome new prisoners with a gauntlet of beatings and electric shocks. “They said, ‘You have no rights here, and we’re not calling an ambulance unless we have a dead body,’” Marwan said. His Dec. 8, 2024, homecoming to a house full of relatives and friends in his village in Homs province was joyful. But in the year since then, he has struggled to overcome the physical and psychological effects of his six-year imprisonment. He suffered from chest pain and difficulty breathing that turned out to be the result of tuberculosis. He was beset by crippling anxiety and difficulty sleeping. He’s now undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and attending therapy sessions at a center in Homs focused on rehabilitating former prisoners, and Marwan said his physical and mental situations have gradually improved. “We were in something like a state of death” in Saydnaya, he said. “Now we’ve come back to life.” A country struggling to heal On Monday, thousands of Syrians took to the streets to celebrate the anniversary of Assad's fall. Like Marwan, the country is struggling to heal a year after the Assad dynasty’s repressive 50-year reign came to an end following 14 years of civil war that left an estimated half a million people dead, millions more displaced, and the country battered and divided. Assad's downfall came as a shock, even to the insurgents who unseated him. In late November 2024, groups in the country’s northwest — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist rebel group whose then-leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, is now the country’s interim president — launched an offensive on the city of Aleppo, aiming to take it back from Assad’s forces. They were startled when the Syrian army collapsed with little resistance, first in Aleppo, then the key cities of Hama and Homs, leaving the road to Damascus open. Meanwhile, insurgent groups in the country’s south mobilized to make their own push toward the capital. The rebels took Damascus on Dec. 8 while Assad was whisked away by Russian forces and remains in exile in Moscow. But Russia, a longtime Assad ally, did not intervene militarily to defend him and has since established ties with the country's new rulers and maintained its bases on the Syrian coast. Hassan Abdul Ghani, spokesperson for Syrian Ministry of Defense, said HTS and its allies had launched a major organizational overhaul after Assad’s forces regained control of a number of formerly rebel-controlled areas in 2019 and 2020. The rebel offensive in November 2024 was not initially aimed at seizing Damascus but was meant to preempt an expected major offensive by Assad’s forces in opposition-held Idlib intending to “finish the Idlib file,” Abdul Ghani said. Launching an attack on Aleppo “was a military solution to expand the radius of the battle and thus safeguard the liberated interior areas," he said. In timing the attack, the insurgents also took advantage of the fact that Russia was distracted by its war in Ukraine and that the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, another Assad ally, was licking its wounds after a damaging war with Israel. When the Syrian army’s defenses collapsed, the rebels pressed on, “taking advantage of every golden opportunity,” Abdul Ghani said. Successes abroad, challenges at home Since his sudden ascent to power, al-Sharaa has launched a diplomatic charm offensive, building ties with Western and Arab countries that shunned Assad and that once considered al-Sharaa a terrorist. In November, he became the first Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946 to visit Washington. In a speech in Damascus on Monday, al-Sharaa described his vision of Syria as “a strong country that belongs to its ancient past, looks forward to a promising future and is restoring its natural position in its Arab, regional and international environment" and will join “the ranks of the most advanced nations.” But the diplomatic successes have been offset by outbreaks of sectarian violence in which hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze minorities were killed by pro-government Sunni fighters. Local Druze groups have now set up their own de facto government and military in the southern Sweida province. There are ongoing tensions between the new government in Damascus and Kurdish-led forces controlling the country’s northeast, despite an agreement inked in March that was supposed to lead to a merger of their forces. Israel is wary of Syria's new Islamist-led government even though al-Sharaa has said he wants no conflict with the country. Israel has seized a formerly U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and launched regular airstrikes and incursions since Assad’s fall. Negotiations for a security agreement have stalled. Remnants of the civil war are everywhere. The Mines Advisory Group reported Monday that at least 590 people have been killed by landmines in Syria since Assad’s fall, including 167 children, putting the country on track to record the world’s highest landmine casualty rate in 2025. Meanwhile, the economy has remained sluggish, despite the lifting of most Western sanctions. While Gulf countries have promised to invest in reconstruction projects, little has materialized on the ground. The World Bank estimates that rebuilding the country’s war-damaged areas will cost $216 billion. Rebuilding largely an individual effort The rebuilding that has taken place has largely been individual owners paying to fix their own damaged houses and businesses. On the outskirts of Damascus, the once-vibrant Yarmouk Palestinian camp today largely resembles a moonscape. Taken over by a series of militant groups then bombarded by government planes, the camp was all but abandoned after 2018. Since Assad’s fall, a steady stream of former residents have come back. The most damaged areas remain largely deserted but on the main street leading into the camp, bit by bit, blasted-out walls have been replaced in the buildings that remain structurally sound. Shops have reopened and families have come back to their apartments. But any larger reconstruction initiative appears to still be far off. “It’s been a year since the regime fell. I would hope they could remove the old destroyed houses and build towers,” said Maher al-Homsi, who is fixing his damaged home to move back, although the area doesn't even have a water connection. His neighbor, Etab al-Hawari, was willing to cut the new authorities some slack. “They inherited an empty country — the banks are empty, the infrastructure was robbed, the homes were robbed," she said. Bassam Dimashqi, a dentist from Damascus, said of the country after Assad’s fall, “Of course it’s better, there’s freedom of some sort.” But he remains anxious about the precarious security situation and its economic impacts. “The job of the state is to impose security, and once you impose security, everything else will come," he said. "The security situation is what encourages investors to come and do projects.” The U.N refugee agency reports that more than 1 million refugees and nearly 2 million internally displaced Syrians have returned to their homes since Assad’s fall. But without jobs and reconstruction, some will leave again. Among them is Marwan, the former prisoner, who says the post-Assad situation in Syria is “far better” than before. But he is struggling economically. Sometimes he picks up labor that pays only 50,000 or 60,000 Syrian pounds daily, the equivalent of about $5. Once he finishes his tuberculosis treatment, he said, he plans to leave to Lebanon in search of better-paid work.

The Suez Canal has recorded a notable rise in traffic and revenue since the start of Egypt’s current fiscal year in July, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said Monday. SCA Chairman Osama Rabie told an IMF mission that 5,874 vessels transited the waterway since July 1, generating 1.97 billion U.S. dollars — a 17.5 percent year-on-year increase. Net tonnage grew 14.4 percent to 247.2 million tonnes, while total vessel numbers rose 5.2 percent. Rabie said long-term indicators point to continued recovery, projecting revenues of 8 billion dollars in FY 2026/27 and 10 billion dollars in FY 2027/28. Last month, he estimated revenues would reach 4.2 billion dollars in 2025, compared with 3.9 billion dollars in 2024 — still below the record 10.2 billion dollars in 2023, when regional tensions disrupted traffic. Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi forces in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since late 2023 prompted many shipping lines to reroute around Africa, sharply reducing canal transits. Rabie noted that attacks have stopped since the Gaza ceasefire in October.

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck northeastern Japan late Monday night (December 08, 2025), prompting a tsunami warning for wide stretches of the Pacific coastline, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The quake struck at 11:15 p.m. local time at a depth of 50 km and registered upper 6 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale of 7 in the hardest-hit areas, the agency said. Read more: Earthquake: Matlab Bridge crack triggers fears as thousands cross every day Tsunami warnings have been issued for coastal regions of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate prefectures, where waves as high as 3 meters are expected. The epicenter was located off the eastern coast of Aomori at 41.0 degrees north latitude and 142.3 degrees east longitude. A tsunami advisory was also issued for Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures following the strong tremor. Authorities urged residents in the warned areas to move to higher ground immediately as aftershocks are likely. Read more: Earthquake Alerts: Best Free Mobile Apps in 2025-26

More than a year after a fragile ceasefire took hold along the Israel-Lebanon border, residents of war-battered towns like Metula say they are still struggling to rebuild their lives as renewed tensions unsettle the region. In Metula, Israel’s northernmost town, Ilan Rosenfeld walks through the burnt-out remains of the café and farm he built over four decades. Clay plates lie shattered on the ground and twisted metal from Hezbollah rockets is scattered in the rubble. “Everything I had, everything I built is gone,” Rosenfeld said, adding that he now wakes up each day “with only tears left.” He was among tens of thousands forced to flee when fighting erupted between Israel and Hezbollah in October 2023, after Hamas’ attack in southern Israel triggered a wider regional conflict. Although the Israeli government says most displaced residents have returned, large parts of the border communities remain half-empty. Metula has seen just over half of its 1,700 residents come back. Many returned to damaged homes, ruined orchards and businesses unable to recover. Local authorities say around 60% of homes in the town were hit by rocket fire. Others, left untended for months, were destroyed by rats. Tourism and agriculture — the backbone of the local economy — have been devastated, prompting some business owners to bring in workers from Thailand to fill labour gaps. Jacob Katz, who runs a produce business, said many workers never came back after the war. “We’ve lost a lot, and we can’t read the future,” he said. Rosenfeld now sleeps in a small shelter next to the ruins of his café, steps away from a military watchtower and armoured vehicles. He says repeated appeals for government aid have gone unanswered. Metula’s deputy mayor, Avi Nadiv, said residents feel abandoned. “The government needs to do much more for us. People living on Israel’s northern border are the country’s human shield,” he said. A spokesman for the Cabinet minister overseeing reconstruction claimed local officials had failed to use funds already allocated, blaming “political considerations.” Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have continued, with several reported weekly. Hezbollah has refused to disarm fully unless Israel withdraws from disputed areas, keeping the border tense despite the ceasefire reached in late 2024. A November U.N. report said at least 127 civilians had been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire, calling some of the Israeli strikes “war crimes.” Israel insists its operations target Hezbollah positions and that the group uses civilians as shields. Last week, Israel killed Hezbollah’s top military commander in Beirut, raising fears of further escalation. The group has yet to respond. On the ground in Metula, signs of tension are everywhere. Public shelter maps have been updated and explosions from military drills echo through the hills. Farmer and reservist Levav Weinberg said his children are too frightened to ride their bikes. His family returned in July to keep their business alive but now they are reconsidering. “The army cannot protect me and my family,” he said. “Living in Metula means sacrificing your family these days. It’s not an easy life, and at some point the kids pay the price.”  

President Donald Trump on Sunday said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “hasn’t read” the latest U.S.-drafted peace proposal aimed at ending the war with Russia, suggesting this is delaying progress in negotiations. Speaking to reporters on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors, Trump voiced frustration after U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators wrapped up three days of talks in Florida. “I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” he said. Trump claimed Ukrainian officials were positive about the plan and added, “Russia is, I believe, fine with it,” although Moscow has not publicly endorsed it. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said parts of the proposal were unworkable, even though earlier drafts were viewed as favorable to Moscow. Trump has had an uneven relationship with Zelenskyy during his second term, repeatedly criticizing the war as a burden on U.S. taxpayers and urging Ukraine to hand over territory to end the nearly four-year conflict. Zelenskyy said Saturday he had a “substantive phone call” with U.S. officials involved in the negotiations and that Ukraine remained committed to working “in good faith” toward a genuine peace deal. Russia on Sunday welcomed the Trump administration’s new national security strategy, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling Russia’s Tass news agency that the updated document aligned with Moscow’s preference for dialogue over confrontation. The strategy outlines Washington’s intent to improve relations with Russia and identifies ending the war as essential for restoring “strategic stability.” Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday, said efforts to finalize a deal were “in the last 10 meters.” He said the main unresolved issues involve the status of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, both largely under Russian control. Kellogg, who leaves his post in January, did not attend the Florida talks. Officials also said leaders of the UK, France and Germany are set to meet Zelenskyy in London on Monday. As discussions concluded, Russian missile, drone and artillery strikes killed at least four people across Ukraine between Saturday night and Sunday. A man died in a drone strike in Chernihiv region, while attacks on Kremenchuk knocked out power and water supplies in the industrial city. Three more people were killed and 10 wounded in shelling in Kharkiv region, according to prosecutors. Ukraine and its Western partners say Russia aims to plunge civilians into darkness and cold for a fourth winter by targeting power infrastructure.  

Israeli police forcibly entered the East Jerusalem compound of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees early Monday, escalating Israel’s campaign against an organisation already banned from operating on its territory. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said in a statement that “sizeable numbers” of Israeli forces, including motorcycle units, trucks and forklifts, entered its Sheikh Jarrah compound and cut its communications. The agency called the move an “unauthorized and forceful entry” and described it as a violation of its U.N.-granted privileges and immunities. Photos taken by an AP photographer showed police vehicles outside the facility and an Israeli flag placed on the roof. Images shared by UNRWA staff showed Israeli officers inside the compound. Police said the entry was part of a “debt-collection procedure” led by the Jerusalem municipality, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The raid is the latest step in Israel’s push against UNRWA, which provides aid and services to about 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with 3 million more in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Established after the 1948 war to support Palestinians forced from their homes, the agency has long been politically contentious. UNRWA’s supporters say Israel wants to erase the refugee issue by dismantling the agency, while Israel argues the refugees should be permanently resettled elsewhere. During the Israel-Hamas war that began on Oct. 7, 2023, UNRWA served as Gaza’s main humanitarian lifeline amid widespread destruction and strict Israeli restrictions on goods entering the territory. Israel has accused the agency of being infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the U.N. denies. After months of criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right allies, Israel formally banned UNRWA in January. The U.S., once its largest donor, halted funding in early 2024. UNRWA says it has struggled to continue working in Gaza, even as other U.N. agencies such as WFP and UNICEF try to fill what the agency calls an unfillable gap. Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA’s communications chief, said at the Doha Forum on Saturday that the agency has also been excluded from U.S.-led talks on Phase 2 of the ceasefire. The Jerusalem compound had already been closed since May after far-right protesters, including at least one Israeli lawmaker, pushed through its gate in front of police. Members of Israel’s far-right have urged the government to turn the compound into a settlement, and the housing minister said last year he had instructed officials to explore reclaiming the land for state use and housing development.  

Greenland on Monday began its annual meetings with U.S. officials to discuss bilateral cooperation, closing a year in which U.S. President Donald Trump revived talk of a potential U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich, semiautonomous Danish territory. The two-day meetings include a bilateral “joint committee” session focusing on cooperation in key areas, according to Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Science. A separate “permanent committee” meeting will involve Danish government officials. Last year, similar discussions were held in the United States. Vivian Motzfeldt, head of the ministry, said Greenland is “pleased” to host the talks. “Through these successful meetings, we ensure that the interests of the Greenlanders and the Americans are respected for the benefit of all parties,” she said, noting the aim is to “develop cooperation in areas of common interest.” Earlier this year, Trump raised concerns in Greenland, Denmark, and the European Union by again suggesting a U.S. takeover of Greenland after beginning his second term. The matter drew renewed attention in August when Danish officials summoned the U.S. ambassador following reports that at least three Trump-connected individuals carried out covert influence operations on the island. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also visited a remote military base on Greenland this year, criticizing Denmark for underinvestment. Trump has described Greenland as vital to U.S. security and has not ruled out using military force, despite Denmark being a NATO ally.