Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav, sentenced to seven years in prison in 2011 for rape and sexual assault, will be released two years early. According to the Jerusalem Post, the parole board delayed Katsav's release from prison for a week to give prosecutors the opportunity to appeal the decision. Katsav's request for parole was granted the third time. Moshe Katsav was removed from his presidency in 2007 following allegations of multiple counts of sexual assault and harassment.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that as a result of a special operation in Grozny and its environs, seven militants were killed. Four people were detained, three of them are in hospitals, the head of Chechnya said. Whether this number includes the dead and those detained on the evening of December 17 is not specified in the report.

In Jordan, in the city of El-Karak, militants killed several people and took hostages in a medieval castle. The Associated Press writes that at first, armed men exchanged fire with police on the outskirts of the city. Another attack was directed at a 12th-century castle, one of the city's main landmarks and home to a police station. In addition, an attack was made on a patrol on the streets of the city.

In Irkutsk, at least 18 people were poisoned by the use of Hawthorn bath concentrate. Eight people died as a result, according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. According to an Interfax source in the region's emergency services, the condition of six people is assessed as extremely serious. In Sayansk, Irkutsk region, the sale of Hawthorn bath concentrate was banned due to the fact that it is often consumed as an alcoholic beverage.

Five militants were killed near Grozny, who were part of a group of criminals who attacked policemen on the night of December 18. This was announced by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. According to Kadyrov, the special operation against the militants took place in a mountainous and wooded area a few kilometers from Grozny. The dead were found with weapons that they had previously seized when attacking a policeman. The identities of the militants have not yet been established.

Update. The Department of the Investigative Committee for the Chechen Republic confirmed to Novaya Gazeta the death of three traffic police officers as a result of attacks. In Grozny, at least three police officers were killed in an attack on the night of December 18. It is reported by Life, citing a source. According to the newspaper, at about 10 pm on December 17, militants killed Senior Sergeant V. Khazigov on March 8 Street, taking his service weapon and car.

In the center of Grozny on the afternoon of December 18, shots from automatic weapons were heard, the "Caucasian Knot" reports, citing a local resident. “Now Putin Avenue is empty, there are no people. Automatic weapons fire is heard. Shooting is carried out in the area of ​​​​Putin Avenue and the streets adjacent to it, ”the source said. Eyewitnesses also report that there was an explosion on the avenue. TASS reports that the area where the shooting comes from is not cordoned off.

Police detained two men who allegedly robbed and abandoned three people on the outskirts of Moscow, whom they agreed to give a ride home from a nightclub. This was stated by the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Irina Volk.

A selection of the best educational channels from which you can learn a lot of new Many people worry that they can proclaim for hours to watch videos in YouTube. At the request of Medusa, the Internet video producer Vasily Sonkin compiled a selection of channels that will allow you to cope with guilt, acquire new knowledge, skills and just think about something important.

The Ethics Committee of the International Football Federation (FIFA) has launched a preliminary investigation into the head of the Russian Football Union, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and former Minister of Sports Vitaly Mutko. This is reported by the British newspaper The Daily Mail, citing sources. According to the publication, FIFA is investigating Mutko's role in the doping situation in Russia.

On the night of December 18, in the capital of Chechnya, the militants made several attacks on the police, trying to take possession of their weapons. There was a shootout in the city: according to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, the attackers were neutralized. Later it became known that units of the militants managed to hide; According to unconfirmed reports, they were associated with the “Islamic state”.

Chechen police launched a search for three people allegedly involved in the attack on police officers in Grozny. This is reported by TASS with reference to a source in law enforcement agencies. According to the agency, the suspects are 18-20 years old. “According to our information, they previously left their permanent place of residence and joined the ISIS cell (the Islamic State terrorist organization. - Meduza),” the agency’s interlocutor said.

US President Barack Obama rejected all options proposed by US intelligence agencies to respond to hacker attacks allegedly organized by Russia. It is reported by The New York Times, citing its sources. Among the rejected proposals was to block access to Russian President Vladimir Putin's entourage from their "secret bank accounts" in Europe and Asia, to impose sanctions against the GRU leadership, which would limit their ability to travel internationally.

In Indonesia, in the province of Papua, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft crashed. All on board - ten military personnel and three crew members - were killed. The plane with provisions on board crashed into a mountainside near the arrival airfield in Wamena at about 6:15 am local time. According to preliminary data, bad weather conditions became the cause of the crash.

China's Defense Ministry said it would return to the United States an autonomous underwater vehicle seized on December 15 in international waters in the South China Sea. The department explained that the device was detained for verification as "unidentified equipment." The fact that this is an American apparatus was only found out in China after that, according to the ministry. The report called inappropriate "blowing" of the incident by the United States.