Today's news: Israeli raid in Damascus kills Iranian general Mousavi. Russian dissident Aleksej Naval'nyj has been tracked down, secretly moved to a camp for lifers. Eighteen dead in Indonesia nickel smelter fire, President Widodo calls for more security. Malaysia at risk of flooding, as in 2014: displaced 25,000 people.

INDIA

The Indian Navy deploys guided-missile destroyer ships to the Arabian Sea after the Israeli-flagged merchant ship MV Chem Pluto was hit off Mumbai over the weekend. the objective is to "maintain a deterrent presence", they say from News Delhi.

The Indian navy is also investigating the attack on the ship, which was reportedly hit by drones. On Saturday the Pentagon said it had evidence that the drones were traced back to Iran. A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry called the US claim "baseless".

ISRAEL-IRAN

On Monday 25 December, one of the top commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Sayyed Razi Mousavi, responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Syria, was killed in an Israeli air attack in the Zeinabiyah district, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus. and Iran, part of Iran's regional network of allies known as the “Axis of Resistance.”

The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, expressed his condolences, claiming that this act is a "further sign of the frustration and impotence of the Zionist regime in the region". The president - and the IRGC itself - have assured that Israel "will pay the price for the crime committed".

RUSSIA

Aleksej Navalnyj was found - after weeks of not even knowing about him from his lawyers - having been transferred to camp no. 3 in the village of Kharp near Vorkuta, one of the historic areas of Stalin's concentration camps in northern Russia, near the site of detention for lifers, as communicated by his press secretary Kira Jarmiš, has been visited by his lawyer and appears in good health.

AFGHANISTAN-IRAN

The interim Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, to discuss diplomatic ties between the two countries, with particular reference to the Emirate's efforts to bring back the Afghan refugees from Iran.

“Security is guaranteed [in Afghanistan]. We ask them to let them return to the country gradually and safely,” Muttaqi said. Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran are facing violence and deportations back to their country of origin.

NORTH KOREA

Pyongyang said a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea would be held soon. At the center of the agenda is his political direction of the country for 2024, with analysts predicting a greater focus on boosting nuclear capabilities with the aim of putting more pressure on the United States. Given North Korea's tradition of calling end-of-year meetings and announcing the results on New Year's Day to set policies for the following year, the meeting is likely to take place this week.

INDONESIA

The death toll from a fire at an Indonesian nickel smelter today rose to 18, local police said. Foundry operations remain suspended while authorities investigate the cause of the accident. The flames broke out on Sunday morning on the island of Sulawesi in the Tsingshan Stainless Steel factory of the Chinese group Tsingshan Holding Group.

Indonesia, the world's largest producer of nickel, but the sector has been hit by numerous fatal accidents in recent years. President Joko Widodo, while identifying nickel processing as a priority for the country's economic development, called for greater workplace safety and monitoring of environmental standards.

TAJIKISTAN

In the Sogdiana region of Tajikistan, a group of 30 workers was brought from Ghana to reconstruct a road. The reason is that the road stretch from Kanibadam to Spitamen is on the border with Kyrgyzstan, and local personnel could have been drawn into the border conflicts that often erupt in the area.

MALAYSIA-THAILAND

Flash floods in northern Malaysia have so far forced around 25,000 people to leave their homes in Kelantan and Terengganu after the Golok River reached record levels, with waters trapping entire communities in the border area with Thailand.

With no signs of abating heavy rains, there are fears of a repeat of the devastating floods of 2014. By midnight on Christmas Day, Golok had risen to 11.04 metres, higher than the 10.84 meters recorded during the flood of 2014, which ultimately led to the evacuation of over 300,000 people.

• AsiaToday