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Sydney (AFP) – Australian surf lifesavers line the shore of Sydney’s Bondi Beach and fall silent to honour the 15 people killed when gunmen fired into crowds at a Jewish festival by the sea.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says that US military action in Venezuela would spark a “humanitarian catastrophe,” as he opened a summit of the South American Mercosur bloc. In an interview with NBC News conducted on December 18, US President Donald Trump said he could not rule out the possibility of war with Venezuela.

Taipei (AFP) – Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te calls for enhanced couter-terror police after a “terrifying and premeditated violent attack” in Taipei’s metro that left at least three civilians dead and eleven injured. He says that rapid response units “should no longer be just standard rapid-response teams for public order but must be trained and deployed as counter-terrorism police forces” to protect the stability of Taiwanese society.

Kardzhali (Bulgaria) (AFP) – In the heart of the Rhodope mountains of southern Bulgaria, Matey Mateev’s beluga caviar farm on Lake Kardzhali is working flat out to fulfil orders from around the world. Bulgaria ranks among Europe’s largest producers of the “king of caviars”, with annual production exceeding 520 kilos in 2023, according to Eurostat. In the large lake, the sturgeon “have natural conditions similar to those in the Black and Caspian Seas”, Mateev explains.

Taipei (AFP) – Attacks at metro stations in Taipei, which killed three people, were “deliberate,” says Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai. The suspect, who officials have confirmed is dead, “threw five or six gasoline bombs or smoke bombs” at Taipei’s Main Station, Jung-tai says, with the city’s Zhongshan station also targeted. According the the fire department, five people were wounded in the attacks, for which the motive is not yet clear.

Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) (AFP) – Foreign ministers of the South American Mercosur bloc pose for a photo during a meeting in Brazil, as EU diplomatic sources say a long-delayed trade deal may now be signed on January 12. IMAGES

Warsaw (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Russia will attack Poland if its invasion of Ukraine is not stopped. Speaking in Warsaw, Zelensky says “without Ukraine’s independence, without our state’s independence, Moscow will inevitably come here.”

Bokurdak (Turkmenistan) (AFP) – “The village used to be on a hill north of this place,” says Kakabai Baimedov, an elderly resident in the Turkmen village of Bokurdak, which has in recent years been forced to move by encroaching desert sands. While sand and the steppe have always been part of life in Central Asia, scientists have warned that climate change and other human activities are speeding up the processes of desertification and land degradation, with UN data showing the region to be especially vulnerable to rising temperatures.

Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – European Union leaders announce a deal to provide Ukraine with a loan of 90 billion euros to plug its looming budget shortfalls. The agreement, reached late in the night as leaders met in Brussels, offers Kyiv a much-needed lifeline as US President Donald Trump pushes for a quick deal to end the nearly four-year war. The loan was agreed by member states after a scheme to tap around 200 billion euros of Russian assets frozen in the EU fell by the wayside, with Belgium — where the assets are held — demanding guarantees on shared liability.

London (AFP) – As the UK government clamps down on overseas workers — particularly for low-wage employees — in response to growing anti-immigrant sentiment, migrants who do the night shift speak to AFP about their experiences working in the shadows.

Buenos Aires (Argentina) (AFP) – Thousands of Argentines demonstrate against President Javier Milei’s plans to drastically overhaul the country’s labor laws to make work more flexible, restrict the right to strike, and make it cheaper to fire workers. The protests were called by Argentina’s biggest union, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), which argues that the reforms erode workers’ rights. IMAGES

Mexico City (AFP) – Police patrol a street in Mexico City following a shooting during an anti-extortion operation that left one officer injured, local authorities said. IMAGES