U.S. administration

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, upping the pressure on key ally Israel as heavy fighting raged in the Palestinian territory.

Harris's comments on Sunday, the most forceful to date by a U.S. administration official, came as Washington led a push to lock in a truce before Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month that begins in around one week.

Delegations from Hamas, Qatar and the United States have arrived in Egypt "to resume a new round of negotiations" for a truce in the Gaza war, state-linked Al-Qahera News reported Sunday.
A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza may be secured "within 24 to 48 hours" if Israel accepts the Palestinian group's demands in ongoing talks.

The United States' sale of new 40 F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye is not subject to any conditions as the Greek media has claimed, the Turkish sources have said, underlining that these warplanes will be used in line with the security needs of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The United States envoy to Türkiye has expressed his hopes for the Turkish-American ties following the Turkish Parliament's approval of Sweden's accession protocol to the NATO, a move which will likely prompt the U.S. administration for the sale of the 40 new F-16 jets to the latter.

Türkiye's parliament is unlikely to hold a full vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO before mid-January, parliamentary sources have told AFP.

Sweden's accession to the U.S.-led Western alliance was approved by the foreign affairs committee on Dec. 26, bringing an end in sight to a 19-month standoff.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, in a call on Dec. 27 that Türkiye expects the United States to keep its promises on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be tried at the International Court of Justice in The Hague amid escalating tensions in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

If Ukraine's allies were hoping for a breakthrough after Kyiv's forces launched a new attack in the southeast of the country last week, they were deeply disappointed, Politico writes.

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake has said that it is time for Sweden to become a member of NATO, expressing his hope that the country would join the alliance either before or during the upcoming Vilnius summit.

"American technology should not be a bulwark of Russia's authoritarian surveillance machinery. The U.S. administration should thoroughly investigate claims that the Russian regime is using American chips in its electronic facial recognition system and do whatever is necessary to deny Putin and his cronies access American technology," Wyden told Reuters.