US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to take control of the Panama Canal, one of the world's busiest waterways. However, Panamanian President Jose Raul Molino has described his threat as 'unrealistic'.

This information was published in a BBC report on Friday (December 27).

The report said that Donald Trump has threatened to take control of the Panama Canal by accusing Panama of imposing additional tariffs on US ships. Trump said that if Panama does not operate the canal in an acceptable manner, he will demand that it be handed over to the United States.

In a message posted on his Truth social account on Wednesday, Trump wrote, "Merry Christmas to all the wonderful Chinese soldiers who are illegally operating the Panama Canal."

Panama's President Molino called Trump's claim 'unrealistic' and said that there is absolutely no Chinese interference in the canal. There is not even a single Chinese soldier there.

Molino said that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama. And it will remain under Panama's ownership. There is no possibility of any discussion around this reality.

The Latin American country of Panama is an ally of the United States. The United States played a major role in the excavation of the Panama Canal. The United States originally built the canal and controlled the administrative system in the area around it for several decades. After that, it jointly operated the canal with Panama for a few days. In 1999, the US government completely relinquished control of the canal. Panama took over the responsibility of operating the canal.

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The length of the canal is 82 kilometers. It is one of the two most important artificial shipping canals in the world. The other is the Suez Canal. Without the Panama Canal, any ship traveling from the east coast of the United States to the west coast would have had to travel an additional 15,000 kilometers by passing through Cape Horn in South America.

Israel has bombed the airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN staff were present at the airport when the attack took place on Thursday (December 26). However, they are safe.

On Friday (December 27), the BBC reported that the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced his safe location on social media.

In the post, he wrote that he and the staff were about to board the plane when the bomb hit the airport.

He also wrote, (in the Israeli attack) one of our crew members was injured. At least two were reported killed at the airport. Other UN staff stationed at the airport is also safe. However, their journey was delayed.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that they targeted Houthi military installations on the west coast and inside Yemen. This led to airstrikes targeting Sanaa International Airport, Hejiaz and Ras Qanatib Power Stations, and Al-Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Qanatib Airports on the west coast.

The WHO chief visited Yemen to secure the release of UN staff members who were held captive. He also went to assess the health and humanitarian situation in the war-torn country. He said that their work was completed on Thursday. Then they were about to board the plane from the airport when the attack occurred. It damaged the airport's air traffic control tower, runway and some infrastructure. 

Dozens of people have died in a passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan, local officials said. So far, 25 people have been rescued alive.

The British media outlet BBC reported this information on Wednesday (December 25).

A passenger plane of Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, with 67 passengers and 5 crew members on board, the BBC reported, citing local officials in Kazakhstan. Dozens of people have died. The number may rise.

Meanwhile, the country's Ministry of Emergency Services said in a statement that 25 people have been rescued alive so far. Of these, 22 have been identified. Rescue operations are still ongoing.

The plane was carrying passengers from Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. However, there were more Azerbaijani citizens.

Citing Russian news agencies, Reuters reported that the plane belonged to Azerbaijan Airlines. It was flying from Baku to Grozny in Chechnya, Russia. However, fog forced the plane to change direction in Grozny.

Kazakh authorities have launched an investigation into possible causes of the crash, including technical problems, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

Azerbaijan Airlines said that flight J2-8243, an Embraer 190, had taken off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku for the city of Grozny in Chechnya, Russia. But the plane was forced to make an emergency landing about 3 kilometers from Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Embraer told the BBC that it was "ready to assist relevant authorities with rescue operations."

However, the BBC has not yet received a comment from Azerbaijan Airlines, which said it was continuing to contact them.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who was visiting Russia shortly after the plane crash, returned home. He was scheduled to attend a summit in Russia on Wednesday.

Pakistan has launched a massive airstrike in Afghanistan. At least 15 people have been killed. It is claimed that women and children are among the dead.

On Wednesday (December 25), Indian news agency ANI and Afghan media outlet Khaama Press reported this information in separate reports.

According to the report, at least 15 people, including women and children, were killed in a series of airstrikes by the Pakistani military in the Barmal district of Paktika province in Afghanistan. It is feared that the death toll may rise further.

A Khama Press report says that Pakistan launched these airstrikes on seven villages including Laman in the Barmal district of Paktika province on Tuesday night. Five members of a family were killed in the attack.

The airstrikes have caused serious casualties and widespread destruction to civilians, which have further increased the ongoing tension in the region.

Meanwhile, after the airstrikes in Afghanistan, the Taliban's Defense Ministry has condemned the attack and vowed to take revenge.

Pakistani officials have yet to officially confirm the airstrike.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months, and Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of harboring the militants.