Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli bulldozers tear through a four-storey residential building in east Jerusalem, displacing scores of Palestinians in what activists say is the largest such demolition in the area this year. The building, located in the Silwan neighbourhood near the Old City, comprised a dozen apartments housing approximately 100 people, many of them women, children and elderly residents.
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Thailand’s top diplomat says that a now-broken pact with Cambodia to prolong a truce in their deadly border conflict was rushed by Washington ahead of a signing ceremony overseen by US President Donald Trump. “I’ve noted that we were sometimes in a rush to do the (joint) declaration. Because the United States wanted the declaration signed in time by the visit of President Trump,” Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow says of an agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur in October and paused the following month.
Sheffield (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In July, British folk musician Emily Portman received a message congratulating her on a new album, despite her not having released one since 2022. Uploaded to Portman’s streaming profiles, under her name, was an album on AI-generated songs that she believes were modelled on her previous work. The Sheffield-based musician is one of a growing cohort of artists sounding the alarm over AI impersonation. On the other side of the globe, in Melbourne, Australia, bassist Paul Bender has experienced a similar case of AI fraud and believes streaming platforms need enhanced security to prevent scammers using artists’ profiles to make money.
(AFP) – Footage posted on social media by US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem shows what American authorities say is a second oil tanker being intercepted off the coast of Venezuela. For the second time in two weeks, US forces have seized a tanker in the region, with the latest action coming days after US President Donald Trump announced a blockade of “sanctioned oil tankers” going into or out of Venezuela. Homeland Security has identified the vessel as the Centuries and said it was “suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions.”
Bekkersdal (South Africa) (AFP) – An attack at a bar near Johannesburg, South Africa, in which nine people were killed and 10 others injured, was “out of the blue, unprovoked,” says deputy provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana. The shooting took place in the impoverished Bekkersdal township, with Kekana reporting that authorities are working to track down 10 armed suspects.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Israelis rally in the city of Tel Aviv in protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for an objective probe into the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Much of the Israeli public has been calling — in vain — for an independent state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to the attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people. State commissions of inquiry investigate major state-level failings, with the one established after the October 1973 Arab-Israeli war leading to the resignation of then prime minister Golda Meir.
Rome (AFP) – From February, people visiting Rome’s famed Trevi Fountain will have to pay a two-euro entrance fee in a bid to tackle overtourism. Some 30,000 people visit the fountain each day, with the large crowds making the area a target for pickpockets. The fountain will remain viewable from a distance, but only ticket holders will be able to get a closer look. Rome residents will be exempt from the charge.
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (AFP) – Divers dressed as Santa Claus swim in the tanks of AquaRio, an annual tradition in the Rio de Janeiro aquarium. “Seeing the sparkle in the children’s eyes as they watch Santa Claus diving with the shark is incredible,” says diver Felipe Luna.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Moscow has no say in the organisation of elections in Ukraine, after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested halting strikes for Kyiv to hold a presidential ballot.
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.
