World News Roundup: Israel bombs northern Gaza; Palestinians say 166 killed in 24 hours; Moldova's pro-European president Sandu says she will seek second term and more

As Israel fights to wrest full control of northern Gaza from Hamas militants, the scene in the Jabalia refugee camp reflects the deadly risk posed to Palestinians by relentless air strikes and shelling. Ukraine says it shoots down 14 of 15 Russian drones Russia launched 15 drones at Ukraine, mostly in the south of the country, overnight with air defences destroying 14 of them, Ukrainian military said on Sunday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israel bombs northern Gaza; Palestinians say 166 killed in 24 hours

Israel bombed areas of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, with fighting throughout Sunday morning, residents and Palestinian media said, as Gaza health authorities and the Israeli military both announced mounting death tolls. Israel says it has achieved almost complete operational control over northern Gaza and is preparing to expand a ground offensive against Hamas militants to other areas. But Jabalia residents reported persistent aerial bombardment and shelling from Israeli tanks, which they said had moved further into the town on Saturday.

Moldova's pro-European president Sandu says she will seek second term

Moldova's pro-European President Maia Sandu said on Sunday she intends to run for a second presidential term in late 2024 to bring the issue of the country's European integration to its logical conclusion. "We still have important steps to take and I pledge to continue, if you will give me your trust for a new term," Sandu said in a statement published on the presidential website.

Lorries start crossing border after Polish farmers end blockade, Kyiv says

Polish farmers have ended their blockade of one of the border crossings between Ukraine and Poland and the movement of lorries has been fully restored, the Ukrainian border service said on Sunday. "Truck traffic has been restored: Polish farmers have ended the blockade in front of the Medyka - Shehyni crossing," the service said on the Telegram messaging app.

Iran navy receives new cruise missiles amid growing regional tension

The Iranian navy has taken delivery of cruise missiles with a range of 1,000 km (621 miles) as well as reconnaissance helicopters, state media reported on Sunday, as the U.S. accused Iran of a drone attack on a chemical tanker in the Indian ocean.

"The Talaeiyeh cruise missile has a range of over 1,000 km and is a smart missile that can change targets mid-mission," state media cited the head of Iran's navy, Shahram Irani, as saying.

Israel's Netanyahu says military acts based on Israeli calculations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports that the United States had convinced Israel not to expand its military activity during a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. "I have seen false publications claiming that the U.S. prevented and is preventing us from operational operations in the region," Netanyahu said, without elaborating on the reports. "This is not true. Israel is a sovereign state. Our decisions in the war are based on our operational considerations, and I will not elaborate on that."

Beijing records most hours of sub-zero temperatures in December since 1951

China's capital Beijing has broken its record for hours of sub-zero temperatures in December dating back to 1951, after a cold wave swept swathes of the country and brought blizzards in its wake, sending temperatures towards historic lows. Northern and northeastern parts of the country have experienced a record-breaking chill since last week, with some areas in the northeast hitting minus 40 Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) and below as biting cold air flowed down from the Arctic.

Security hiked at Cologne Cathedral for Christmas amid attack threat

German police said on Saturday they were heightening security at Cologne Cathedral following indications of an attack planned for New Year's Eve and in the wake of government warnings in recent weeks about the rising threat of Islamist violence. The police said in a statement they would use tracker dogs to check the cathedral after evening mass and then close it off. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, they would carry out a security check on all visitors, and recommended they get to services early.

Gaza workers wrap bodies in shrouds in bombed-out northern Gaza

On a patch of sandy ground between collapsed masonry, burnt out buildings and damaged cars, civil defence workers move from body to body, wrapping white shrouds around a group of people killed in Gaza's 11-week-old war. As Israel fights to wrest full control of northern Gaza from Hamas militants, the scene in the Jabalia refugee camp reflects the deadly risk posed to Palestinians by relentless air strikes and shelling.

Ukraine says it shoots down 14 of 15 Russian drones

Russia launched 15 drones at Ukraine, mostly in the south of the country, overnight with air defences destroying 14 of them, Ukrainian military said on Sunday. "As a result of air combat, Ukraine's Air Force and defence forces destroyed 14 shaheds in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Khmelnytskyi regions," the Ukrainian Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia short of around 4.8 million workers in 2023, crunch to persist - Izvestia

Russia was short of around 4.8 million workers in 2023 and the problem will remain acute in 2024, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Sunday, citing experts and research from the Russian Academy of Science's Institute of Economics. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said last month that Russia's depleted labour force was causing acute labour shortages and threatening economic growth as Moscow pumps fiscal and physical resources into the military.

(With inputs from agencies.)