Mud and bullets: Retaking a labyrinth of flooded trenches outside Bakhmut

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A Ukrainian soldier is seen from above walking through a zig-zagged trench near Bakhmut, with mud and leaves either side.
A Ukrainian soldier walking through a trench in October 2023 near Bakhmut. Image used for illustration purposes only.

Kostya Liberov/Libkos via Getty Images

Russia and China are on the brink of a military alliance that could overwhelm the US

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Xi, Putin
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) reviews a military honour guard with Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) during a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 8, 2018.

GREG BAKER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Bethlehem, which relies heavily on tourism during Christmas, is a ghost town

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Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
A priest walks by the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. Bethlehem is having a subdued Christmas after officials in Jesus' traditional birthplace decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war.

(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The US military won't let Santa fly on its jets or helicopters. The same goes for the Easter Bunny. Also, no witches.

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U.S. Navy sailor Rick Pellicciotti from Follansbee, West Virginia, dressed as Santa Claus clowns around with the painted nose cone of a S-3B Viking on the deck of the USS Constellation.
US Navy sailor Rick Pellicciotti from Follansbee, West Virginia, dressed as Santa Claus on the deck of the USS Constellation.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Iranian navy receives new cruise missiles, drones, and recon helicopters as US accuses the country of striking a chemical tanker

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Iran cruise missile

IRNA

The US and China are looking into big boxes full of missiles to give their navies new firepower

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Navy USS Savannah SM-6 containerized missile
An SM-6 missile is fired from a containerized launcher during a test aboard USS Savannah in October 2023.

US Navy/Lt. Zachary Anderson

Video appears to show 'exceptional levels of rat and mice infestation' troops are facing on the front lines in Ukraine

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A military health worker is seen holding a mouse with scissors in front of the trench.

Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Image

A UN aid worker was killed in Gaza along with 70 members of his family in an Israeli airstrike

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Smoke and flame rise after Israeli air forces targeting a shopping center in Gaza Strip, Gaza on October 07, 2023.
Smoke and flame rise after Israeli air forces targeting a shopping center in Gaza Strip, Gaza on October 07, 2023.

Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A Russian brigade admits dropping tear gas on Ukrainian troops, which would violate the UN Chemical Weapons Convention

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A Ukrainian soldier in a trench surrounded by fog and burnt trees
A Ukrainian soldier digs a trench near Bakhmut, Ukraine, in October 2023.

Kostya Liberov/Libkos via Getty Images

Putin privately signaled he's open to a cease-fire in Ukraine. But Western officials remain skeptical, NYT reported

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The back of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin has privately expressed interest in a cease-fire under the condition that Russia can hold on to the territories it seized so far in Ukraine.

Contributor/Getty Images

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