Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Gaza war 'most dangerous ever' for journalists, says rights group

The first 10 weeks of the Israel-Gaza war have been the deadliest recorded for journalists, with the most journalists killed in a single year in one location, the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Thursday. Most of the journalists and media workers killed in the war - 61 out of 68 - were Palestinian. The report said it was "particularly concerned about an apparent pattern of targeting of journalists and their families by the Israeli military."

Norwegian cruise ship loses navigation ability in North Sea during storm

The Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud suffered a power outage after a rogue wave shattered windows on the bridge while it sailed in the North Sea, causing the vessel to lose its ability to navigate, Danish authorities and the ship's owner said on Thursday. The 266 passengers and 131 crew members were safe, according to the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

Toll from blast and fire at Guinea oil depot rises to 23 dead - statement

The death toll from a blast and fire at an oil terminal in Guinea's capital, Conakry, has increased to 23 from 13 earlier, and the number of injured has risen to 241 from 178, the government said in a statement on Thursday. The statement said that 10 remains were still to be identified, adding that the government had received reports of several people still missing.

Mass drone attack hits several Kyiv districts

Russian drones bore down on the city of Kyiv early on Friday, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko and other officials reporting strikes on widely separated residential districts. It was the sixth drone attack on the capital this month. At least two people were injured.

Twenty-four Venezuelans released as part of U.S. prisoner swap, opposition says

Twenty-four Venezuelans have been freed as part of this week's prisoner exchange deal with the United States, Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday. The United States announced on Wednesday that President Joe Biden had granted clemency to Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in exchange for the release of 10 Americans, at least 20 opposition-linked Venezuelans and the extradition of a fugitive Malaysian businessman from the South American country.

Israel intensifies Gaza strikes, Hamas fires rockets amid truce talks

Fighting in the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday with some of the most intense Israeli bombardment of the war and Hamas demonstrated its ability to rocket Tel Aviv, even as the foes engaged in the most serious talks for weeks on a new truce.

Israeli bombing was at its most intense over northern Gaza, where orange flashes of explosions could be seen from across the fence in Israel in the morning hours. Later, Israeli planes roared over central and southern areas, dropping bombs that sent up plumes of smoke, residents said.

Gunman kills 14 in unprecedented attack at Prague university

A 24-year-old Czech student shot dead his father, then killed 14 people and wounded 25 others at his Prague university on Thursday before possibly killing himself, police said, marking the country's worst-ever mass shooting. The government declared a day of mourning across the central European country for Dec. 23 to remember the victims, decided at a special cabinet meeting with President Petr Pavel.

Second North Korean nuclear reactor appears to be using fuel, IAEA says

A reactor at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex appears for the first time to be using atomic fuel, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said late on Thursday, which would mean the country has a new potential source of plutonium for its nuclear weapons. North Korea has for years used spent fuel from a 5 megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon to produce plutonium for its nuclear arsenal but a telltale discharge of warm water from a larger light-water reactor suggests that is now coming online, too, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

Red Sea attacks disrupt world trade, more ships vow to avoid waters

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd and Hong Kong's OOCL said on Thursday they would avoid the Red Sea, the latest shipping companies to do so after attacks by Yemen's Houthi group on vessels disrupted global trade, prompting the establishment of a naval task force. The hostilities have put a chokehold on ship passages through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of worldwide trade. The Suez Canal is most vital to the movement of goods between Asia and Europe, but global logistics executives warned that sending ships on alternate routes could roil global supply chains, causing backups at ports and shortages of vessels, containers and equipment that are suddenly in the wrong place.

Ahead of UN vote, US says bid to boost Gaza aid could slow deliveries

Ahead of a likely vote on Thursday, the United States said there are "serious and widespread concerns" that the current draft of a U.N. Security Council proposal that aims to boost humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip could actually slow down deliveries. Last-minute negotiations continued on Thursday to try to avoid a U.S. veto of the resolution, drafted by the United Arab Emirates, that would demand that Israel and Hamas allow and facilitate "the use of all land, sea and air routes to and throughout the entire Gaza" for humanitarian aid deliveries.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)