Morning Briefing: Dec. 16, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday with, including US strikes on alleged drug boats in eastern Pacific, reported progress in Europe toward ending the Russia-Ukraine war, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejecting an Israel appeal in a Gaza war crimes investigation.

TOP STORIES

• US carries out strikes on 3 vessels in eastern Pacific

The US on Monday conducted strikes on three vessels allegedly engaged in narco-trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people on board, the US Southern Command said.

According to Southern Command, the operation took place Monday under the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, executed in international waters by Joint Task Force Southern Spear.

"Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking.

"A total of eight male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions—three in the first vessel, two in the second and three in the third," it said on US social media company X.

• Trump 'really pleased' with progress on Ukraine peace deal: US official

US President Donald Trump is "really pleased" with the progress made towards an agreement on a Ukraine peace deal during talks in Europe, a US official said Monday.

The official, who was one of two who participated in the negotiations and briefed reporters on their progress, said "literally 90% of the issues between Ukraine and Russia" have been resolved, but acknowledged that "there's some more things that have to be worked out."

"We've moved considerably closer in narrowing the issues between the Ukrainians and the Russians. That's clear," the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, said. "We've got multiple different solutions to bridge the gap between the parties that we're suggesting to them."

• ICC rejects Israel appeal, backs Gaza war crimes investigation

The ICC’s appeals chamber has rejected an Israeli challenge to the legality of the court’s investigation into war crimes committed in Gaza after October 2023.

In a judgment issued Monday, judges confirmed an earlier ruling by the pre-trial chamber, finding that there had been no “new situation” requiring the prosecutor to restart the process or issue a fresh notification to Israel.

The appeals chamber ruled that the investigation since October 2023 concerns “the same type of armed conflicts, concerning the same territories, with the same alleged parties to these conflicts” as those already under investigation in the long-running Palestine case.

Israel had argued that the scale of the conflict after Oct. 7, 2023, marked a fundamental change, triggering new legal obligations under Article 18 of the Rome Statute.

​​​NEWS IN BRIEF

• A drone detected to have gone out of control while approaching Turkish airspace over the Black Sea was shot down, Türkiye's National Defense Ministry said on Monday.
• US President Donald Trump said Monday that a terror attack by ISIS (Daesh) in central Syria that killed three Americans over the weekend had "nothing to do" with the country's president, reaffirming confidence in his counterpart.
• The UN General Assembly on Monday overwhelmingly adopted a draft resolution reaffirming the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, including the right to an independent State of Palestine.
• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday reiterated the need for Belgium’s backing as the bloc heads into a meeting to decide whether to use frozen Russian state assets for Ukraine, saying they would not leave without a result.
• Trump on Monday signed an executive order designating fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
• Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) chief on Monday dismissed demands by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect nuclear sites attacked by the US and Israel in June.
• Venezuela’s government on Monday issued a statement sharply rejecting the EU’s renewal of sanctions and what it described as unilateral coercive measures against the country.
• Schools across parts of Cambodia and Thailand closed on Monday as border clashes between the two countries continued, pushing the death toll to at least 40 and displacing hundreds of thousands of people, according to officials and local media.
• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks on Monday with the head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to discuss efforts to achieve security and stability in the war-torn country.
• The UN on Monday warned that humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip has declined due to Israeli restrictions, as needs continue to outpace the ability of aid agencies to respond.
• At least 37 people were killed in flash floods that ravaged Morocco’s western city of Safi, authorities said on Monday.
• China’s new high-altitude, high-speed, stealth long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, the CH-7, has successfully completed its first flight in northwest China, marking a key milestone in the program.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Germany unveils 10-point plan to deepen arms industry cooperation with Ukraine

The German government on Monday announced a 10-point plan aimed at expanding defense industry cooperation with Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The plan includes proposals to establish a liaison office for Ukraine’s arms industry in Berlin and to strengthen collaboration on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

It also highlights the need for both countries to take steps to combat corruption in defense procurement.

• Erdogan says Türkiye targets $60B mid-term, $100B long-term trade with Turkic states

Türkiye aims to boost its trade with the Turkic states to $60 billion in the medium term and to $100 billion in the long term, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

"The integration of energy corridors, logistics lines, and digital infrastructure projects will transform the Turkic world into a rising economic powerhouse on a global scale," Erdogan said during the Justice and Development (AK) Party's Turkic World Vision Document launch program.

Multifaceted efforts in the fields of language, history, and art would contribute to keeping cultural ties alive, he noted.