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The US has killed an Islamic State “planner” in retaliation for Thursday’s suicide bombing in Kabul.

Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said the US military had conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State member in Afghanistan’s Nangahar Province, which borders Pakistan.

The strike killed one person and there were no known civilian casualties, he said.

The move was in retaliation for a devastating suicide bombing by Islamic State offshoot ISIS-K, which killed more than 160 Afghans and 13 military personnel, along with two Britons.

It is not clear whether the planner killed by the US had been involved in Thursday’s attack near the city’s airport, where thousands of people had been trying to reach evacuation flights to escape the incoming Taliban regime.

Friday’s airstrike goes some way to fulfilling a promise made by US President Joe Biden to retaliate against those behind the airport attack.

In a message to the perpetrators on Thursday evening, he had said: “We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

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More than 2,400 US service members died in the 20-year war in Afghanistan but the attack outside Kabul’s airport was the deadliest day since 2011.

The 13 were also the first US casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020, despite Mr Biden insisting that the withdrawal of troops was intended to stop American lives being lost.

The US and other foreign troops have until Tuesday to get out of Afghanistan, although most countries have finished their efforts to evacuate citizens and Afghans.

The White House said that, as of Friday morning, about 12,500 people had been evacuated from Kabul in the previous 24 hours on US and coalition aircraft.

In the 12 hours that followed, another 4,200 were airlifted out and the US State Department was working with around 500 more Americans who want to leave.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the final few days would be “our most dangerous period to date”, as the US State Department issued a warning telling American citizens still in Kabul to stay away from the airport gates for their own safety.

Meanwhile, British troops are preparing for a final push in their evacuation efforts.

More than 1,000 eligible people are set to be left behind and there have been warnings that another attack in the area is likely.

The Ministry of Defence has said that only those UK nationals and Afghans already processed will be allowed on evacuation planes, so that space can be found for the remaining UK diplomats and military personnel.

The evacuation operation centre at the Baron Hotel, which was being used to process those leaving, has now closed.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that between 800 and 1,100 Afghans eligible to come to the UK would be left behind, while up to 150 Britons will be left in Afghanistan, some of them having decided to remain.

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‘NATO Santa’ shot down over Moscow in apparent Russian propaganda video

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'NATO Santa' shot down over Moscow in apparent Russian propaganda video

Father Christmas, driving a sleigh filled with NATO-branded rockets, is shot out of the sky above Moscow in an apparent new piece of Russian propaganda.

“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” says a second Santa in Russian, sitting in what appears to be a control room.

Ukraine Centre for Countering Disinformation shared the video, saying that Russia’s “paranoia about the ‘NATO threat’ has reached new heights”.

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Still from apparent Russian propaganda showing Santa over Moscow
Image:
Still from apparent Russian propaganda showing Santa over Moscow

Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko reported that it was released after the Azerbaijani Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day – amid speculation it was shot down by Russian air defences.

Sky News has not yet been able to verify the timing of the video’s release, which appeared on pro-Russian social media channels and not from an official source.

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The video begins with Santa, dressed in red, flying in a sleigh above the Russian capital, saying: “Ho, ho, ho! Hi Russians, here are your presents! Happy New Year!”

It then shows a missile blowing up the sleigh and cuts to the control room, where an alternative Father Christmas dressed in blue asks “Is that it?” and a man in uniform replies: “Yes, the target is destroyed.”

“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” the Santa says in response.

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Eurostar passengers ‘trapped for hours’ in Channel Tunnel after train breaks down between London and Paris

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Eurostar passengers 'trapped for hours' in Channel Tunnel after train breaks down between London and Paris

Passengers on a Eurostar train from London to Paris say they were stuck for hours in the Channel Tunnel after a train broke down.

The 06.01am train left on time and was supposed to arrive at Paris Gare du Nord at 9.20am local time – but travellers were told they would get to Paris with a delay of about six hours.

Eurostar said on its live departures and arrivals page: “Due to a technical problem, your train cannot complete its journey. It will now terminate at Calais Frethun where you’ll be transferred onto another train to your destination.”

Lisa Levine posted on X: “What a mess. We were trapped for hours and hours in a tunnel. No idea of when we were go get out. Now transferred to another train and literally missing our entire day in Paris.

“Do better Eurostar. Communicate with your paying customers.”

Gaby Koppel, a television producer, told The Independent: “We stopped in the tunnel about an hour into the journey, so roughly 7am UK time.

“There were occasional loudspeaker announcements saying they did not know what the fault was.”

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Alicia Peters, an operations supervisor, was on the train taking her daughter to Disneyland Paris.

She told The Independent: “Sitting for 2.5 hours on a stationary train with my eight-year-old daughter was very stressful.

“She was very worried as we heard a noise and then there was no power.

“It was very hot and we didn’t really know when we would be moving as they were unable to provide any timeframe.”

In a post on X the rail company said: “Service update: Train 9080 had a technical issue this morning.

“This train is now running at reduced speed to Calais where passengers will be transferred to another Eurostar train to continue their journey to Paris. Thank you for your understanding and our apologies for the delay.”

X users reported long queues on the motorway to the Channel Tunnel following the train breakdown.

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South Korea’s parliament impeaches acting president

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South Korea's parliament impeaches acting president

South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.

The move could deepen a constitutional crisis triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.

After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos.

The opposition brought impeachment proceedings against him over his refusal to immediately fill three places on South Korea’s Constitutional Court – where the former president is on trial.

Three justices had been approved by parliament – where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority – but Mr Han said he would not formally appoint them without bipartisan agreement.

South Korea’s constitution says that six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Mr Yoon.

The court has said it can deliberate without the full nine-member bench.

Leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung had vowed to go ahead with the impeachment, accusing Mr Han of “acting for insurrection”.

A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest.
Pic: AP
Image:
A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest. Pic: AP

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Now that Mr Han – who is also prime minister – has been impeached, his finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.

Politicians in the 300 parliament voted 192-0 to impeach him. Governing party politicians boycotted the vote.

Following the vote, Mr Han said he would respect the decision and will await a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment motion.

Mr Han will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him – the same as with Mr Yoon.

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