Israeli bulldozers tore through a four-storey building in east Jerusalem on Monday, leaving scores of Palestinian residents unsure where to go after their doors were broken down in the middle of the night by authorities enforcing hasty evictions.

The building was the latest in a series of residential structures to be razed as Israeli officials target what they describe as unauthorised construction in the city's annexed east -- a campaign that local Palestinian officials characterised as a "systematic policy" to displace residents.

ANKARA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A high-level Turkish delegation will visit Damascus on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and the implementation of a deal for integrating the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Syria's state apparatus, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.

The visit by Turkey's foreign and defence ministers and its intelligence chief comes amid efforts by Syrian, Kurdish and U.S. officials to show some progress with the deal. But Ankara accuses the SDF of stalling ahead of a year-end deadline.

Dec 22 (Reuters) - The U.S State Department's independent watchdog is reviewing a request from two Democratic senators to investigate whether Trump officials Steve Witkoff and David Sacks broke ethics rules in connection with deals involving the United Arab Emirates, Semafor reported on Monday.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Australia's New South Wales state parliament was recalled on Monday to vote on proposed new laws that would impose major curbs on firearm ownership, ban the display of terror symbols and restrict protests, following a mass shooting at Bondi Beach.

The state parliament was recalled for two days from Monday to debate the firearm legislation, which would cap the number of firearms a person can own at four, or up to 10 for certain groups, such as farmers.

Iranians of all religions and walks of life mark the ancient Persian festival of Yalda Sunday, though many say economic hardships fanned by international sanctions will put a damper on this year's celebrations.

Yalda falls on the winter solstice and is characterised by family gatherings and the eating of nuts, sweets and fruits.

"We mostly spend time with our families, our grandparents, aunts, cousins," Maral Bagherpour, a smiling 16-year-old student, told AFP in northern Tehran's Tajrish Bazaar.

PARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - France will build a new aircraft carrier to boost its capacities as a maritime power, President Emmanuel Macron told French troops gathered at a military base in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

"The decision to launch this vast programme was taken this week," Macron said.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Hundreds of Colombian ex-soldiers have been drawn to Sudan with the promise of bumper Emirati paychecks. What many found instead was death in a faraway war marked by mass killing, rape, famine and child recruitment.

An AFP investigation has uncovered how Colombian mercenaries ended up on the other side of the world through a network of profit and silence stretching from the Andes to Darfur.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had given the official go-ahead to replace his country's flagship, the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

That vessel, the only nuclear-powered carrier outside the US Navy, entered service in 2001 following more than a decade of construction.

"In line with the last two military programming laws, and after a thorough and comprehensive review, I have decided to equip France with a new aircraft carrier," Macron said, speaking during a visit to French troops in the United Arab Emirates.

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Lebanon is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani River, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Saturday, as the country races to fulfil a key demand of its ceasefire with Israel before a year-end deadline.

The U.S.-backed ceasefire, agreed in November 2024, ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and required the disarmament of the Iran-aligned militant group, starting in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel.

Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is set to be briefed by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any expansion of Iran's ballistic missile program poses a threat that could necessitate swift action, NBC News reported on Saturday.

Israeli officials are concerned that Iran is reconstituting nuclear enrichment sites the U.S. bombed in June, and are preparing to brief Trump for options on attacking the missile program again, the NBC report added.

Reuters could not verify the report.