Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Dec. 26, 2022

ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

The perpetrator of a shooting Friday in the French capital that left three people dead has a “pathological” hatred of foreigners, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.

Greece plans to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles to the south and west of the island of Crete in March, local media reported.

At least 16 people have been killed and 72 injured by airstrikes in Ukraine's Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, authorities said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow has always sought to resolve all disputes through negotiations. Putin also said that Russia is not refusing to hold talks on the war in Ukraine and is ready to engage with those involved.

Pope Francis said that those having “political responsibilities” should lead the way to make food “solely an instrument of peace.”

Polls opened in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as residents began voting in Sunday's local elections.

Türkiye’s mediator role between Russia and Ukraine helped achieved the Black Sea grain deal in Istanbul in July, the country's president said.

Türkiye has deported 119,817 irregular migrants so far this year as its efforts to combat irregular migration continue uninterrupted.

Emphasizing that Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be compared, the Turkish president said the latter was subjected to a "political ban" in the World Cup.

Brazilian football icon Pele's family gathered at Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital to spend Christmas morning with him.

The death toll in Saturday’s gas tanker explosion in South Africa has risen to 15, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said.