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Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – People attend the opening of the Museum of Bad Gifts in Toronto, where local artists and community members display notoriously bad gifts they have received over the years. Some exhibits are original artworks created from unwanted presents that people have donated. The exhibition, now in its second year as a Christmas-season event, will be open to the public until the first week of January. Selected works are for sale, with proceeds donated to a local food bank.

Halifax (Canada) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he consulted with allies on his way to a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hours after Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles in its latest attack on the capital. During a stopover in Canada en route to Florida for the Trump meeting, Zelensky says “we discussed 20 points, our attitude to the territorial issue, to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, to money issues.”

Yangon (Myanmar) (AFP) – Displaced civilians living in makeshift jungle shelters in Myanmar’s Sagaing region denounce the upcoming election as an “unfair vote”, saying they cannot support it while their “lives are hanging between life and death”. Myanmar’s junta is set to preside over a month-long vote starting December 28, with heavily restricted polls as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government, triggering a civil war.

Chanthaburi (Thailand) (AFP) – Thailand announces that it has agreed to an “immediate” 72-hour ceasefire with Cambodia, potentially bringing an end to weeks of deadly border clashes which have killed 47 people and displaced over a million, according to official tallies. Defence Ministry Spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri says the ceasefire is “not an act of trust” but a timeframe to test Cambodia’s ability to cease the use of “weapons, provocations and threats.”

Caracas (AFP) – Venezuelans recount their experiences of abuse in detention and call for justice for the 252 immigrants detained in the United States and sent to El Salvador’s mega-prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). “We call for an end to the abuse of migrants in the United States,” says Isqueibel Penaloza, one of those deported under the anti-immigration policies of the Donald Trump administration.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Emergency responders tackle the aftermath of Russian drone and missile strikes, which pummelled the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight, killing one woman and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands. The attack comes ahead of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s latest talks with US leader Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday.

Unknown (AFP) – Images released by the Soyuzmultfilm production studio show a scene from a New Year’s special episode of the Russian cult cartoon Prostokvashino, featuring a character modelled on President Vladimir Putin. The show is a modern successor to a Soviet-era classic and centres on an animated cat and dog who argue over whether the president’s annual televised New Year address is delivered live or pre-recorded. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained Putin’s appearance in Prostokvashino by saying that he is “an integral part of children’s lives and of the country as a whole … The main thing is that the kids are interested!”

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Powerful explosions rock Kyiv as authorities warned that the Ukrainian capital was under threat of missile attack. The air alert comes as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to discuss a proposed plan to end the fighting that has killed tens of thousands since 2022. IMAGES

Musanze (Rwanda) (AFP) – In the Virunga mountains between Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, the mountain gorilla population has grown from 242 individuals in 1981 to more than 1,000 in 2020. This success has brought new challenges. Rising numbers have led to increased conflict between gorilla clans, often with fatal consequences for infants, and risk of exposure to diseases. In response, Rwanda plans to expand gorilla habitat by 23 per cent, a move that will require the relocation of around 3,400 families.

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he held a “truly good conversation” with envoys of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, discussing ideas and possible formats to move toward ending the war with Russia. “We still need to work on sensitive issues. But together with the American team we understand how to ensure all of this,” Zelensky says, with the Ukrainian Presidency later announcing that a meeting with Trump in Florida has been set for Sunday.

Hong Kong (AFP) – Filmmaker Kiwi Chow says the decision of Hong Kong censors to ban his new thriller “Deadline” based on unexplained national security concerns proves the city “is under the rule of a totalitarian state.” The 46-year-old’s career, which took off in 2015 with an award-winning dystopian tale, encapsulates how a film industry once known for its audacious spirit and sardonic humour has dimmed to leave artists describing a creative straitjacket.

Tegucigalpa (AFP) – Celebrations at the headquarters of Honduras’ president-elect Nasry Asfura as election authorities announce the right-wing candidate as the winner. IMAGES