Russia is moving advanced air defense systems and weapons from Syria to Libya following the ouster of long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a close ally, Libyan officials said Thursday.

The United Nations’ top atomic regulator has warned that reviving a nuclear deal with Iran is “no longer useful” as the Islamic Republic is on the verge of having nuclear weapons.

The United States military says it has killed 12 fighters of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, in Syria amid concerns it will carve out a caliphate in central areas of the country.

Europe’s largest economy plunged into political turmoil Tuesday after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence, while in neighboring France, new Premier François Bayrou struggled to raise support for France’s budget without being overthrown.

At least 14 people were dead and hundreds injured Wednesday after an earthquake of magnitude 7.3, described as the region’s worst in decades, rocked the island nation of Vanuatu, officials said.

Senior U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal that Turkey and its allied militias are amassing military forces along the Syrian border, preparing for a possible large-scale operation against American-backed Syrian Kurdish forces in Northern Syria.

A general accused by Kyiv of ordering the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops has been assassinated in Moscow using a bomb hidden in an electric scooter, Russian officials said Tuesday.

The UK government announced on December 11 that an existing emergency measure banning puberty blockers for minors under the age of 18 will now be kept in place “indefinitely” in light of an “unacceptable safety risk.”

Investigators revealed Tuesday that hundreds of thousands of Syrians who were “tortured to death by Bashar al-Assad’s regime” are believed to be burried in mass graves, including near Syria’s capital, Damascus.

A quarter of a billion dollars was reportedly airlifted from Syria to Russia by Bashar al-Assad long before the autocratic Syrian leader was ousted by Islamic rebels this month.