Top 10 world news: Israel used 2,000-pound bombs to kill Gazans, Macron to be chief guest at India's R-Day

American media reports have claimed that the Israeli military used its most destructive MK-84 bombs in the first week of counter-offensive military operations in the Gaza Strip after Hamas launched an attack on Oct 7. A report by The New York Times (NYT) on Friday (Dec 22) said that Israel used these bombs on areas it called "safe" for civilians.

Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old US-Israel dual national whom the Hamas terrorists had taken hostage by Hamas militants has died in captivity. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Haggai's wife was still held by Hamas, adding she was injured

In other news from around the world, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Friday that he would be the chief guest for the 2024 Indian Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

Israel used its most destructive MK-84 bombs in the first week of counter-offensive military operations in Gaza, following the events of October 7, US media reports have claimed.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (Dec 22) confirmed that he would be the chief guest for the 2024 Indian Republic Day parade in New Delhi. In a post on X, President Macron said, "Thank you for your invitation, my dear friend Narendra Modi. India, on your Republic Day, I’ll be here to celebrate with you!"

Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old US-Israel dual national whom the Hamas terrorists had taken hostage after the events of October 7 has died in captivity, a group representing hostages’ families said on Friday (Dec 22). Haggai was among the 240 people abducted by Hamas from southern Israel and used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing truce deal negotiations.

Just weeks before the Taiwanese elections, Beijing announced that it will permit imports of high-value fish from the island, a problem which was raised specifically by the main opposition party Kuomintang on his visit to mainland China earlier this year.

A North Korean nuclear reactor at the country's Yongbyon complex appears to be operating for the very first time, said the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts on Thursday (Dec 21).This indicates an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

A court in Hong Kong rejected a request to lift sedition charges levelled against pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai on Friday (Dec 22). During the hearing, Lai' lawyer Robert Pang argued that the charges should be dropped as the prosecution did not lay themwithin six months of the alleged crime.

Kerala, the southern Indian state, has reported 265 new Covidcases a one death in the last 24 hours, says the data from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This has brought the total active cases of Covid-19 to 2997. The country recorded 594 fresh COVID-19 cases.

United States President Joe Biden has pardoned thousands of American citizens convicted of using or possessing marijuana on certain federal lands. According to a report by the news agency Bloomberg on Friday (Dec 22), President Biden commuted the sentences of nearly a dozen non-violent drug offenders.

Zack Snyder, the mastermind behind visually stunning yet narratively vacuous epics, has graced us once more withRebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire. Snyder, working with fellow screenwriters Kurt Johnstad and Shay Hatten, unleashes a torrent of clichés and derivative tropes from the opening moments.

Olympic bronze medalist Bajrang Punia is set to return his Padma Shri award after the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) elections on Thursday (Dec 21). The decision was announced by the Indian grappler on Friday, a day after the elections to protest against new President Sanjay Singh.