Police in Kenya suspect a man was attacked by a lion while riding a motorcycle (abcnews.go.com)
Hindu bus conductor fired for helping Muslim passengers: Does it reflect an increasingly polarised India? (www.straitstimes.com)
Israel denies visas to UN staff as it hits back against Gaza war criticism (www.aljazeera.com)
US Navy helicopters destroy Houthi boats in Red Sea after attempted hijack (www.bbc.com)
The US Navy has destroyed Houthi “small boats” attempting to board a container ship in the Red Sea....
Bill Granger, Australian chef who brought avocado toast to the world, dies at 54 (abc7chicago.com)
SAN FRANCISCO – Bill Granger, the Australian chef, food writer and restaurant owner who brought Aussie-style food to international capitals from London to Seoul, has died. He was 54....
Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza as combat focuses on enclave's main southern city (apnews.com)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Thousands of Israeli soldiers are being shifted out of the Gaza Strip, the military said Monday, in the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began as forces continued to bear down on the main city in the southern half of the enclave....
Afghan schoolgirls are finishing sixth grade in tears. Under Taliban rule, their education is over (apnews.com)
A year after China ended its harsh COVID policies, it's struggling to rebound (www.kuow.org)
…...
Trump's rhetoric is increasingly mirroring Nazi talking points, and nobody is paying attention, an expert on extremism warns (www.businessinsider.com)
German officials detain a fifth suspect in connection with a threat to attack Cologne Cathedral (apnews.com)
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities said Monday they detained another suspect in connection with an alleged threat of an attack on the world-famous Cologne Cathedral over the holidays, bringing the overall number of people detained in connection with the alleged plot to five....
Somaliland grants Ethiopia sea access in exchange for recognition – president (hornobserver.com)
HARGEISA (HORN OBSERVER) – Somaliland’s President, Muse Bihi Abdi, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali on Monday, granting Ethiopia a lease for a 20-kilometer sea base in the Red Sea....
North Korea dismisses any reconciliation with the South (www.lemonde.fr)
At the meeting that ended Saturday, Kim accused the United States of posing “various types of military threat” and ordered his armed forces to maintain “overwhelming war response capability,” according to KCNA. It is a “fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula due to reckless moves by...
South Korea's opposition chief stabbed in the neck, local media reports (www.cnbc.com)
South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck during a visit to the southern port city of Busan on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported....
[Norway] Direct sales of weapons and defense-related products to Ukraine permitted from 1 January 2024 (www.regjeringen.no)
The Norwegian government has decided to permit direct sales of weapons and defense-related products from the Norwegian defense industry to the defense authorities in Ukraine. This policy change will enter into force on January 1 2024....
Lee Jae-myung, Head of South Korean Opposition Party, Is Stabbed (www.wsj.com)
SEOUL—The head of South Korea’s opposition party was stabbed in the neck during a Tuesday visit to the port city of Busan....
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty in national security trial (www.reuters.com)
Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to all charges against him in a high-profile national security trial that could see the city’s leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party jailed for life.
Israel’s Supreme Court overturns a key component of Netanyahu’s polarizing judicial overhaul (www.politico.com)
Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday struck down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul, a decision that threatens to reopen the fissures in Israeli society that preceded the country’s ongoing war against Hamas....
Britain’s Home Secretary apologizes for joke about spiking his wife’s drink with date-rape drug (edition.cnn.com)
Xi Jinping says Chinese business having ‘tough time’ in new year message (www.theguardian.com)
China’s president, Xi Jinping, acknowledged in his new year’s message that “some enterprises had a tough time” in 2023 as data showed a weakening of factory production deepened this month, but he vowed to step up the pace of the economy’s recovery....
Xi says China will ‘surely be reunified’ with self-ruled Taiwan in New Year’s address (apnews.com)
Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would “surely be reunified” with Taiwan during his televised New Year’s address, renewing Beijing’s threats to take over the self-ruled island, which it considers its own....
Ukrainian Bombers Just Blew Up Another Russian Warship. ‘Russia’s Fleet Is Getting Smaller And Smaller!’ (www.forbes.com)
IDF kills Hamas Nukhba commander who helped lead October 7 massacre (m.jpost.com)
Israeli forces killed Adil Mismah, a commander in Hamas’s Nukhba force who helped lead and direct the October 7 massacre of southern Israeli communities, the IDF said Monday morning....
Strong quake prompts tsunami warning for Japan's western coast (www.japantimes.co.jp)
Danish Queen Margrethe announces surprise abdication after 52 years on the throne (www.cnn.com)
Iran arms Hezbollah ahead of wider conflict with Israel (www.ynetnews.com)
Advanced weapons include precise missiles, surface to air missiles and air defenses transported mostly via Damascus airport which has come under repeated strikes attributed to Israel...
