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FBI tells telecom firms to boost security following Chinese hacking campaign

Federal authorities on Tuesday urged telecommunication companies to boost network security following a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.

The guidance issued by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. Officials who briefed reporters on the recommendations said the U.S. still doesn't know the true scope of China's attack or the extent to which Chinese hackers still have access to U.S. networks.

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No-confidence vote could topple French government for first time since 1962

France's far-right and left-wing forces are expected to join together Wednesday to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government in a historic no-confidence vote prompted by budget disputes. If the motion succeeds, it would mark the first time a French government has been toppled this way in more than 60 years.

President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027 despite growing opposition calls for his departure amid the turmoil. However, Macron will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time this year, further reshaping France's political balance after his party's losses in July's legislative elections.

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Ceasefire monitoring committee to hold first meeting Friday

A U.S.-led committee that is supposed to monitor the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel will hold its first meeting Friday, an informed source told local al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The committee also includes France, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), Lebanon, and Israel.

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Settlers attack Palestinian towns in West Bank

Jewish settlers mounted a string of attacks on Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank overnight, burning homes and clashing with Israeli troops.

There were no immediate reports of any Palestinian casualties.

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South Korean opposition parties file motion to impeach president

South Korea's opposition parties Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over the shocking and short-lived martial law that drew heavily armed troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers climbed walls to reenter the building and unanimously voted to lift his order.

Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament and at least six justices of the nine-member Constitutional Court would have to support it to remove him from office. The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.

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Israel returns bodies of militants who crossed border from Jordan

Israel’s military said Wednesday it had returned the bodies of two militants who crossed into Israel from Jordan in October and shot two soldiers.

The militants entered Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea on Oct. 18, shooting and wounding two soldiers before being shot dead by Israeli troops. Hamas praised the incursion but not claim responsibility for it.

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Israel says killed Hezbollah liaison with Syria army in Damascus strike

Israel's military confirmed it killed a senior member of Hezbollah responsible for coordinating with Syria's army on rearming and resupplying the Lebanese militant group.

Syrian state media said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a car in a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing one person, without saying who was killed.

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Lebanese who returned home skeptical that Israel will abide by ceasefire

In destroyed areas of southern Lebanon, residents clearing away rubble on Tuesday said they didn’t trust Israel to abide by the week-old ceasefire with Hezbollah.

“The Israelis are breaching the ceasefire whenever they can because they are not committed,” said Hussein Badreddin, a vegetable seller in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, which was pummeled by Israeli airstrikes over several weeks. “This means that they (can) breach any resolution at any time.”

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US forces in eastern Syria conduct 'self-defense strike'

U.S. forces conducted a self-defense strike Tuesday in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a U.S. base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said presented “a clear and imminent threat” to U.S. troops.

The self-defense strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired that landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder said. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — that there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area.

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Netanyahu ordered to take stand in corruption trial after repeated delays

An Israeli court on Tuesday ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the stand next week in his long-running corruption trial, ending a series of delays.

Netanyahu's lawyers had filed multiple requests to put off the testimony, arguing first that the war in Gaza prevented him from properly preparing for his testimony, and later that his security could not be guaranteed in the court chamber.

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