On this day in 2013: Mesut Ozil completes move to Arsenal from Real Madrid

Associated Press
Azerbaijan's president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia, albeit not intentionally
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally. Aliyev told Azerbaijani state television the aircraft was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev on Saturday for what he called a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.
AFP
At least 177 dead in South Korea's worst plane crash
A Jeju Air plane carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea crashed on arrival Sunday, smashing into a barrier and bursting into flames, leaving all but two feared dead.Only two people were rescued, both flight attendants, and 177 people were confirmed dead by Sunday evening, the fire department said.
AFP
Croatia elects president as incumbent looks favourite
Croatians cast their votes Sunday to elect a new president, with the outspoken incumbent Zoran Milanovic appearing set to come out on top according to opinion polls.Milanovic, backed by the left-wing Social Democrats party, is supported by 37 percent of the electorate while Primorac has 20 percent, according to an opinion poll released Friday.
Associated Press
Syria's dwindling Jewish community can visit one of the world's oldest synagogues again
In this Damascus suburb, the handful of remaining Jews in Syria can again make pilgrimages to one of the world’s oldest synagogues where people from throughout the region once came to pray. Syria’s 13-year civil war left the synagogue partially destroyed. Since insurgents overthrew President Bashar Assad in early December, people have been able to safely visit the widely destroyed Jobar suburb that was pounded for years by government forces while in the hands of opposition fighters.
NBC News
Death toll rises to 127 after plane crashes at South Korean airport
At least 124 people died when a commercial airplane crashed Sunday at South Korea's Muan International Airport, officials said.
Reuters
Experts question bird strike as cause of deadly South Korean airliner crash
Uncertainties surround the deadliest crash on South Korean soil, experts said on Sunday, questioning initial suggestions that a bird strike might have brought down Jeju Air flight 7C2216. The apparent absence of landing gear, the timing of the twin-engine Boeing 737-800's belly-landing at Muan International Airport and the reports of a possible bird strike all raised questions that could not yet be answered. The single-aisle aircraft was seen in video broadcast on local media skidding down the runway with no visible landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris.
Reuters
Chad holds parliamentary election likely to cement president's grip on power
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadians were voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election boycotted by the opposition that will likely consolidate President Mahamat Idriss Deby's power and complete the oil-producing nation's transition towards constitutional rule. Deby was elected in a disputed vote in May, three years after seizing power and declaring himself interim leader when rebels killed his father, President Idriss Deby, on the battlefield. Opposition leader Succes Masra's Transformateurs party and several other parties boycotted Sunday's legislative election, the country's first in over a decade.
Politico
Is the Democratic brand toxic? A growing number of Dems wonder if going ‘independent’ will help them win
After devastating losses across the map, some Democrats are thinking about a serious rebrand.
AFP
Chad votes in triple elections after three years of army rule
Chad began voting on Sunday in a general election that is presented by the government as a key step towards ending military rule but has been boycotted by the opposition.The government has presented the elections as the final stage in the transition to democracy.
AFP
Georgia's new president sworn in amid political showdown
Georgia inaugurated a far-right governing party loyalist as president Sunday, escalating a political showdown moments after his pro-EU predecessor declared herself the "only legitimate president".Opposition parties have refused to enter parliament after the October elections, and Zurabishvili has declared the newly elected legislature, the government and president-elect "illegitimate".
CNN
More than 170 killed after South Korean jet crash-lands at airport. Here’s what we know
Scores of people were killed on Sunday when a passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in southwestern South Korea, with the aircraft careening down the runway on its belly before bursting into flames.
AFP
Jailed PKK leader says 'ready' to support Turkey peace drive
Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), is "ready to make a call" to back a new initiative by the Turkish government to end decades of conflict, Turkey's pro-Kurd party said Sunday."In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call."
Associated Press
Netanyahu is getting his prostate removed as he faces crises on multiple fronts
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is having his prostate removed on Sunday, his office said, a procedure that comes as he manages multiple crises at once, including the ongoing war in Gaza and his own trial for alleged corruption. Netanyahu, 75, is among a cohort of older world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, 82, and President-elect Donald Trump, 78, whose health and physical fitness are under deep scrutiny both at home and abroad because of their advanced age and the effect that could have on their leadership. Netanyahu, who has had a string of health issues in recent years, has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a fully healthy, energetic leader.
USA TODAY
Puzzle solutions for Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024
Find answers to the latest online sudoku and crossword puzzles that were published in USA TODAY Network's local newspapers.
USA TODAY
Sunday marks date of 'cold-blooded massacre,' but military review is still unresolved
134 years ago, hundreds of Lakota were massacred at South Dakota's Wounded Knee Creek. The U.S. is reviewing medals awarded to soldiers who took part.
Associated Press
Kavelashvili is inaugurated as Georgia's president, complicating its path toward EU
Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of Georgia on Sunday, cementing the ruling party's grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. Outgoing pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said Sunday morning that she would vacate her residence at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, but insisted she was still the legitimate office holder. ... This presidential residence was a symbol as long as there was a president here who was legitimate.
CNN
Democratic attorneys general gear up for return of Trump court battles
When the frequent court foes of Donald Trump’s first administration look back at the early days of his presidency, they recall “building the airplane as we were flying it,” as outgoing Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has described it. That was especially true of the intense and quick-moving court fight over the so-called travel ban, a seminal 2017 lawsuit that set the tone for four more years of legal confrontations.
Reuters
Turkey's jailed PKK leader is reported to suggest he might be ready to end insurgency
The jailed leader of Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, has been quoted as indicating he may be prepared to call for militants to lay down arms, after a key ally of President Tayyip Erdogan urged him to end the group's decades-old insurgency. DEM requested the visit after a key Erdogan ally expanded on a proposal to end the 40-year-old conflict between the state and Ocalan's PKK. Ocalan did not specify what the call would be but his comments came after the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, said Ocalan should make a call for the militants to lay down arms.
Associated Press
North Korea's Kim vows the toughest anti-US policy before Trump takes office
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to implement the “toughest” anti-U.S. policy, state media reported Sunday, less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North's nuclear program. Many experts however say a quick resumption of Kim-Trump summitry is unlikely as Trump would first focus on conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
AFP
Three die in clandestine Channel crossing attempt
Three migrants died Sunday in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to Britain, a local mayor told AFP. The deaths take this year's casualty toll from failed clandestine crossings to a confirmed 76.Favourable winds since last weekend have encouraged migrants to attempt the crossing, with around 1,500 migrants making it in small boats to English waters between Wednesday and Saturday, according to British authorities.

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