24 Dec 2018; DW: Leaders in Israel's governing coalition have decided to dissolve parliament and hold elections seven months early. Coalition disagreements over a military conscription bill appear to have caused the move.

Israel will hold a general election on April 9 after leaders moved to dissolve parliament, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. /TASS/. The death toll in the Kabul attack at government offices has reached 43 people, Xinhua reported on Tuesday citing Afghanistan's Healthcare Ministry.

Earlier reports said 27 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack. Xinhua said 10 more people were injured.

Mumbai, Dec 23 (PTI) The Bombay High Court has overturned a 1997 trial court order acquitting a 41-year-old man in a rape case of a minor girl in 1996.

A division bench of Justices Indrajit Mahanty and V K Jadhav Saturday convicted Macchindra Sonawane (who was 19 years old at the time of the incident) and sentenced him to seven years in jail for raping the 11-year-old girl.

The bench, in its judgment, said the trial court had erred and acted in a "casual or cavalier" manner, in determining the victim's age as that of being a major.

KANPUR: Angered with the police personnel’s sudden change in behaviour, the villagers could not control themselves and beat them with lathi and danda. The police reached Sachendi village in Ghatampur Block of Kanpur Nagar district on Sunday. The police freed one person who was taken hostage by the villagers for molesting a woman.

Police freed the accused Rajkumar and this heedlessness infuriated the villagers who beat them severely.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Irritated with the criticism and fallout from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation, President Donald Trump on Sunday pushed the Pentagon chief out the door two months earlier than planned, an acrimonious end to a tense relationship that had been eroding in recent months.

In a series of tweets, Trump appeared to question why he had put Mattis in his Cabinet in the first place and said Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary on Jan. 1 to cover the accelerated departure.

RAMALLAH, Palestine; 24 Dec 2018; AA: Israeli forces rounded up 15 Palestinians in overnight raids carried out across the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli military on Monday.

The individuals were arrested for “suspected involvement in popular terrorist activities”, the army said in a statement, without elaborating on the nature of these activities.

Jakarta, Dec 24 (AFP) The death toll from a volcano-triggered tsunami in Indonesia has risen to 281, with more than 1,000 people injured, the national disaster agency said Monday, as the desperate search for survivors ramped up.

"The number of victims and damage will continue to rise," said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which slammed into the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9:30 pm (1430 GMT) on Saturday after a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa erupted.

London, Dec 23 (PTI) An Indian man who was convicted of 23 counts of sexual abuse of a male child within his family has been stripped of his British citizenship and faces deportation to India.

The man, who can only be identified as RSD for legal reasons, came to the UK from India in 1997 and was granted British citizenship in 2004. In 2011, he was found guilty of grooming and raping a 7-year-old child.

TORONTO, Canada; 24 Dec 2018; AA: A Turkish pizza maker living in Canada distributed food and winter clothing to the homeless.

Zeynel Ari, who became famous for his wood fire pizzeria in the city of Toronto, fed and provided the winter wear to the people living on the streets and in shelter homes.

Ari told Anadolu Agency that he has made it a tradition extending support to the homeless since 2016.

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military on Sunday pledged to stand by President Omar Bashir, according to a tweet by the country’s state news agency, a timely show of support as the embattled leader faces ongoing street protests decrying worsening economic conditions and demanding that he step down.

“The armed forces assert that it stands behind its leadership and its keen interest in safeguarding the people’s achievements and the nation’s security, safety along with its blood, honor and assets,” said the tweet, quoting a military statement.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China will become the second largest contributor to the United Nations regular budget starting next year, surpassing Japan.

China's contribution will rise to 12.01 percent in the next three years from 7.92 percent for the 2016-2018 period, according to a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

Japan's contribution will fall to 8.56 percent from 9.68 percent.

Assessments for member countries' contributions are made based on several elements and criteria, including estimates of gross national income.

ANKARA; 23 Dec 2018; AA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the Israeli prime minister is heading "state terror", responding to his tweet attacking the Turkish president. 

Speaking at a mass opening ceremony in Istanbul's Arnavutkoy district, Turkish president said: "Erdogan is the voice of oppressed and you [Benjamin Netanyahu] are the voice of oppressors. You are conducting state terror."