Israel’s top general resigns over Oct. 7 failures, adding to pressure on Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s top general has resigned, citing the security and intelligence failures related to Hamas’ surprise attack that triggered the war in Gaza. His departure announced Tuesday adds to the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long delayed any public inquiry that could potentially implicate his leadership. The Oct. 7, 2023, attack was the deadliest on Israel in its history as a state. While a fragile new ceasefire in Gaza holds, Israel has launched a “significant and broad” operation in the occupied West Bank against Palestinian militants. Palestinian health officials say at least nine people have been killed.

At least 76 people killed in a hotel fire at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Officials in Turkey say that a fire has raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in the northwestern part of the country during a school holiday, killing at least 76 people. They said at least two of died when they jumped from the building to escape the flames. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says at least 51 people also were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers east of Istanbul. The fire occurred near the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the region are packed.

Landslides and flash floods on Indonesia’s Java island leave 17 dead and 8 missing

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian rescuers have recovered the bodies of at least 17 people who were swept away in flash floods or buried under tons of mud and rocks that hit hilly villages on the country’s main island of Java. Eight people were reported missing. Torrential rains Monday caused rivers to burst their banks, tearing through villages in Central Java province, as mud, rocks and trees tumbled down on mountainside hamlets. The head of the local disaster management agency said 11 people managed to escape with injuries and were hospitalized.

South Korea’s Yoon defends his martial law decree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s impeached president has denied that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting to reject his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time before the Constitutional Court that will determine his fate. Yoon Suk Yeol’s presence Tuesday at the court was his first public appearance since becoming South Korea’s first sitting president to be detained over his short-lived declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into political turmoil.