Continents

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay a formal visit to Athens from January 2-4 and sign the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Greece, Israel and Cyprus for the East Med pipeline with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

Libya's UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) said it had destroyed 12 armed vehicles and killed 10 militants of rival Khalifa Haftar forces as fresh clashes hit southern Tripoli.

In April, Haftar's forces launched a military campaign to capture Tripoli from the internationally recognized government.

Terrorist group al-Shabaab on Dec. 30 evening claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide truck bombing in Somalia that killed some 80 people, including two Turkish citizens, and wounded over 150 others.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning a visit to Cyprus in early January as he returns from a trip to Asia, according to Turkish Cypriot media.

Pompeo will meet with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to realize the Kanal Istanbul project despite the opposition and said the government plans to build two "modern cities" as part of the project.

With regional tensions simmering, Athens and Nicosia see Ankara's moves in the Eastern Mediterranean over the last six months as part of an organized plan developed by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted three resolutions taking stock of the human rights situation in Russia, Afghanistan and Burkina Faso.

Russia

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning a visit to Cyprus in early January as he returns from a trip to Asia, Cypriot media have reported.

The 46 people which were injured in the plane crash near Almaty remain in hospital, said Kazakhstan's Health Minister E.A. Birtanov, quoted by the BGNES.

On Friday, a plane crashed shortly after take-off from the Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan, Euronews reported.

The aircraft was carrying 98 people onboard.

The Greek Cypriot Administration's cooperation with East Libyan-based commander Khalifa Haftar is unacceptable, the prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Dec. 29.