Egypt’s sitting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has won a new six-year term with 89.6 percent of the vote, the country’s election authority announces. Over 39 million voted for former army chief Sisi, who has ruled Egypt for a decade. His win comes as no surprise despite Egypt being gripped by its worst-ever economic crisis and high tensions around the Israel-Hamas war in neighbouring Gaza.
Ingham (Australia) (AFP) – A crocodile swimming in a flooded creek is removed by wildlife officers after being spotted by locals as heavy downpours forced evacuations and flood warnings in northeastern Australia. Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science said the 2.5 metre (8.2 feet) reptile was captured and removed after locals in Ingham reported it to the authorities.
Belgrade (AFP) – Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says his party clinched a commanding victory during parliamentary elections, extending the Serbian Progressive Party’s (SNS) rule in the Balkan country. Official results are set to be announced late on 18 December. The opposition have claimed foul play was involved, including allegations of vote-buying, but the announcement was welcomed by Serbia’s historic ally Russia.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin calls on the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah to avoid provoking a wider conflict amid near-daily skirmishes along the Israel-Lebanon border since Israel’s war with Hamas.
Lahore (Pakistan) (AFP) – The government of Punjab province uses artificial rain for the first time in Pakistan to combat the smog that is harmful to people’s health in the city of Lahore.
Guatemala City (AFP) – Tied with ropes, a veteran firefighter dressed as ‘Santa Claus’ rappels down from a 75-meter bridge in the capital of Guatemala to deliver presents to children from low-income families, a Christmas tradition started 26 years ago.
Hong Kong (AFP) – Images of police and journalists outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building, where Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is due to stand trial in the Chinese city on national security charges that could see him jailed for life. IMAGES
Hong Kong (AFP) – Police vans thought to be carrying Jimmy Lai arrive at a Hong Kong court on Monday, where the pro-democracy media tycoon is set to stand trial. Lai faces internationally condemned national security charges that could send him to jail for life. Lai, 76, founded the now-shuttered Chinese-language tabloid Apple Daily, which often bashed Beijing and supported the huge protest movement that shook Hong Kong in 2019. IMAGES
Straßburg (AFP) – In the eastern French city of Strasbourg, a dog crèche takes care of people’s four-legged friends while their owners visit the city’s bustling Christmas market. “The Christmas market is incredibly crowded. The dogs can’t see a thing, they’re really stressed. They’re much better off being looked after in a canine crèche,” says one dog-sitter.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – Protesters gather in Tel Aviv following the fatal shooting of three Israeli hostages in Gaza by the Israeli soldiers who mistakenly identified them as a threat. The Israeli army revealed later that the three hostages were carrying a white flag and cried for help in Hebrew when they were mistakenly fired on by Israeli troops.
Gréasque (AFP) – Fabien Accidini couldn’t believe his ears when 17-year-old Alex Batty told him he’d been “kidnapped”. “I had to ask him to repeat” what he was saying, chiropractic student Fabien Accidini tells AFP during a game of pétanque with a friend in the village of Gréasque, 30 km from Marseille. The British teenager who had been missing for six years was picked up by Accidini in the middle of the night on a remote road in a mountainous area of southern France.
Belgrad (AFP) – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic casts his vote in parliamentary and local elections at a polling station in Belgrade. Speaking to the press after voting, Vucic – who is not on the ballot himself – says, “I expect a good turnout, I expect a landslide victory” for his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Vucic has led the Balkan country for more than ten years, and the elections are largely seen as a referendum on his government.
