Airbnb admits misleading Australian customers by charging in US dollars instead of local currency (apnews.com)
Russia Plans to Mobilize Ukrainian Children in Occupied Territories (www.kyivpost.com)
Documents from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) – now supposedly incorporated into Russia by Putin’s decree – showed the Kremlin’s plans to conscript children born in 2007 for its upcoming mobilization, reported Petro Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol....
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin responds to report Wagner boss was assassinated by Putin ally; Moscow threatens to seize western assets in retaliation (news.sky.com)
Moscow has warned it is prepared to cut diplomatic ties with Washington if the US confiscates frozen Russian assets. The Kremlin has called the Wall Street Journal’s report Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was assassinated by Putin’s ally “pulp fiction”....
Beijing shrugs at U.S. call for help protecting Red Sea shipping (www.politico.com)
The Chinese government appears to be brushing off Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for Beijing to assist an international coalition in protecting commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militias....
Cuba quietly authorizes euthanasia (www.reuters.com)
HAVANA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Cuba on Friday became the second country in Latin America and the Caribbean to authorize euthanasia, following Colombia....
Blinken calls out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender and ‘stop hiding behind civilians’ (www.cnn.com)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called out other countries for not demanding Hamas surrender....
How inflation stole Christmas across Europe (www.theguardian.com)
Wind turbines generate more than half of UK’s electricity due to Storm Pia (www.theguardian.com)
Captain Ancap is watching you! The election victory of self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei is being celebrated by right-wing libertarians around the world. (www.konicz.info)
The election victory of self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist Javier Milei is being celebrated by right-wing libertarians around the world. This neoliberal extremism is successful because other ways of tackling the worsening crisis have failed – not just in Argentina.
Ukraine ‘shoots down three Russian bombers’ as Putin’s war supplies ‘slowing’ (www.independent.co.uk)
'Chilling effect': People expressing pro-Palestinian views censured, suspended from work and school | CBC News (www.cbc.ca)
Restaurant staff losing their jobs for cheering on a pro-Palestinian protest. A Palestinian Canadian journalist fired for her social media posts calling for a #freepalestine. Medical residents flagged to potential hiring committees for their support of Palestinians....
China to increase curbs on video gaming industry (www.bbc.com)
Israel-Gaza live news: UN supports resolution on Gaza which stops short of calling for ceasefire (www.bbc.com)
Anger over Macron's defence of French actor Depardieu, accused of rape (www.rfi.fr)
WSJ News Exclusive | How Putin’s Right-Hand Man Took Out Prigozhin (www.wsj.com)
Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of the Russian leader for decades, put in motion the assassination of the mutinous chief of the Wagner mercenary group...
Russia blasts US on frozen assets, missiles as Ukraine bombardment persists (www.aljazeera.com)
‘Busiest Christmas I have seen’: families turn to food banks in Australia’s cost-of-living crisis (www.theguardian.com)
Swiss cocaine so cheap and widely used they’re considering legalising it (www.telegraph.co.uk)
British teenager behind GTA 6 hack receives indefinite hospital order (www.theguardian.com)
A Times Investigation Tracked Israel’s Use of One of Its Most Destructive Bombs in South Gaza (www.nytimes.com)
During the first six weeks of the war in Gaza, Israel routinely used one of its biggest and most destructive bombs in areas it designated safe for civilians, according to an analysis of visual evidence by The New York Times.
Rush of new defense deals with US shows Europe’s growing concern over Russia (www.politico.com)
Six European countries have inked defense pacts with the U.S. this month....
China vows to keep up military pressure on the Philippines as territorial dispute grows tenser (apnews.com)
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi says the country will maintain military pressure on the Philippines amid a dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea that could involve U.S. forces defending their treaty partner....