+ Israel blocks missile after strikes on Yemeni capital
+ Trump asks court to pause law threatening TikTok ban
+ Crashed Azeri plane suffered ‘external interference’
+ Zelensky says several captured N. Koreans have died
+ Australian yacht wins deadly Sydney-Hobart ocean race
Israel-Palestinians-conflict-Yemen-attack,WRAP
SANAA, Yemen
The Israeli military says it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, a day after the Huthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa was hit by fresh air strikes as hostilities mount between Israel and the Iran-backed rebels.
900 words 0200 GMT. Picture. Video
US-justice-politics-TikTok-Trump,WRAP
WASHINGTON
US President-elect Donald Trump files a brief urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance.
450 words moved. File Picture
Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan-Russia-plane-crash,WRAP
MOSCOW
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan suffered “physical external interference”, the airline and Azerbaijan’s transport minister say, adding to speculation it was hit by a Russian air defence missile.
700 words moved. Picture. File Picture
Russia-Ukraine-conflict-NKorea-SKorea-capture,WRAP
KYIV
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that “several” wounded North Korean soldiers have died after being captured by Ukrainian forces, as he accused Russia of throwing them into battle with “minimal protection”.
550 words moved by Daria Andriievska
Yachting-AUS-Sydney-Hobart,WRAP
SYDNEY
Australian supermaxi LawConnect takes back-to-back line honours in the Sydney-Hobart ocean race, leading a fleet shaken by the deaths of two sailors in wild weather conditions.
500 words moved. Picture. Video
— HEALTH —
Health-virus-bird-flu,FOCUS
WASHINGTON
The ongoing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts — not just because of human cases causing severe illness, but also due to troubling new instances of infections in cats.
650 words moved by Issam Ahmed
— AMERICAS —
US-politics-immigration,FOCUS
WASHINGTON
Donald Trump has yet to move back into the White House and already fissures are opening in his coalition, amid squabbling between Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley “tech bros” and his hardcore Republican backers.
750 words moved by Robin Legrand. File picture
Brazil-China-labor-BYD-automobile,WRAP
RIO DE JANEIRO
Authorities in Brazil say the are probing Chinese auto giant BYD and one of its contractors for suspected “trafficking” of Chinese workers who were building a factory in the South American country.
500 words moved by Marc Burleigh. Picture. Video
Argentina-dictatorship-children
BUENOS AIRES
Argentinian activists say that one of hundreds of children taken from their parents and given up for adoption during the 1976-1983 dictatorship has been found after a long search.
350 words moved. Picture
US-economy-poverty-homelessness
WASHINGTON
The number of people in the United States experiencing homelessness reached a new record this year, with lingering inflation and high housing prices among likely drivers, a government report says.
350 words moved
— EUROPE —
Georgia-vote-EU-demonstration-inauguration,ADVANCER
TBILISI
Georgia gears up for the inauguration of a ruling party loyalist as president, after his election was declared “illegitimate” by the outgoing leader and the pro-Western opposition.
750 words moved by Irakli Metreveli. File Picture. File Photo
Montenegro-US-SKorea-crime-extradition,WRAP
BELGRADE
Montenegro says it will extradite to the United States the South Korean cryptocurrency specialist Do Kwon, who is also wanted by Seoul for the multi-billion-dollar bankruptcy of his company, Terraform Labs.
600 words moved. File picture
Ukraine-Russia-conflict-Slovakia-talks,WRAP
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia
Slovakia confirms its readiness to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
700 words moved
— MIDDLE EAST —
Israel-Palestinians-conflict-Gaza-hospital,WRAP
JERUSALEM
An Israeli military operation targeting Hamas militants near the Kamal Adwan Hospital has put the last major health facility in northern Gaza out of service, the World Health Organization say.
650 words moved
Syria-conflict-Damascus-leisure,REPORTAGE
DAMASCUS
After the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Afaf Mohammed does what she couldn’t for more than a decade — she climbs Mount Qasyun to admire a sleeping Damascus “from the sky” and watch the sunrise.
600 words moved by Jonathan Sawaya. Picture. Video
Syria-conflict-missing-prisoners,REPORTAGE
DAMASCUS
A silent crowd gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday to press the new authorities about the fate of relatives who went missing under Bashar al-Assad and to demand justice for their loved ones.
500 words moved by Jonathan Sawaya. Picture. Video
— ASIA —
SKorea-politics,WRAP
SEOUL
South Korean lawmakers impeach acting president Han Duck-soo, sinking the country even deeper into political crisis two weeks after his predecessor was suspended over a martial law declaration that shocked the world.
750 words moved by Hieun Shin. Picture. Video
Also moved:
SKorea-politics,Q&A
SKorea-politics-unrest-impeachment,CHRONO
Vietnam-drugs-trial,WRAP
HANOI
A court in Vietnam sentences 27 people to death after finding them guilty of trafficking more than 600 kilos of narcotics including heroin, ketamine and methamphetamine, state media reports.
450 words moved by Tran Thi Minh Ha
— AFRICA —
Mozambique-vote-unrest,REPORTAGE
MAPUTO, Mozambique
Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, is limping back to normal but residents are still fearful because of widespread looting and vandalism sparked by confirmation that the ruling party won contested elections.
550 words moved by Precidonio Silverio
— BUSINESS —
Amfoot-NFL-Netflix
MIAMI
Netflix’s debut NFL broadcasts on Christmas Day received positive reviews and record streaming ratings but still attracted fewer viewers than the linear broadcasts last Christmas.
600 words moved by Simon Evans
US-technology-OpenAI-Musk
WASHINGTON
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI lays out plans for a new corporate structure shifting away from control by a non-profit — an issue of contention for the artificial intelligence trailblazer.
350 words moved
afp