President-elect Donald J. Trump Secures Victory in Electoral College

President-elect Donald J. Trump has garnered the 270 Electoral College votes needed to become president, despite the efforts of opponents who pressured electors to vote against him.

Nine killed in lorry 'attack' on Berlin Christmas market

At least nine people have died after a lorry ploughed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin in a possible terror attack.

Around 50 others were injured, including several critically, and the suspected driver has been arrested, possibly close to the city zoo.

A passenger reportedly died in the crash at Breitscheidplatz, near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in central Berlin.

Security Council unanimously approves sending UN monitors to war-torn Aleppo

19 December 2016 – Alarmed at the “devastating” humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, where perhaps thousands of civilians remain trapped, the Security Council today requested the United Nations and other relevant institutions to carry out “adequate, neutral monitoring and direct observation on evacuations from the eastern districts” of the war-battered city.

Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council also requested the UN to ensure further deployment of staff for Monitoring and reporting on the evacuations, as needed and demanded all parties to provide these monitors with safe, immediate and unimpeded access.

Noting that “urgent humanitarian evacuations and assistance are now needed by a large number of Aleppo inhabitants,” the Council demanded that all parties provide the UN and it is implementation partners with safe, immediate and unimpeded access to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people “through the most direct route, in order to meet basic needs, including the provision of medical care.”

The French-led resolution also calls on all parties to respect and protect all medical and humanitarian personnel, “their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities throughout the country.”

The Secretary-General is requested “to take urgent steps to make arrangements, including security arrangements in consultation with interested parties, to allow the observation by the [UN} and other relevant institutions of the well-being of civilians,” and to report back to the Council within five days.

Thousands of civilians are reportedly awaiting evacuations to resume today.

Today's decision comes after the Council's two most recent attempts to take action on Syria: on 8 October, Russia vetoed a resolution that would have called for an end to military flights over Aleppo; and on 5 December, a measure calling for a seven-day ceasefire in the beleaguered city failed to pass after negative votes by both China and Russia. In all, Russia has vetoed six texts on the Syrian conflict, while China has vetoed five of those six.

Top UN officials have been sounding the alarm about the worsening conditions – and urging Council action to halt the violence so aid could get in – for months, culminating in Secretary-General's Ban Ki-moon's assessment this past Friday that Aleppo is now a synonym for hell. “We have collectively failed the people of Syria. Peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen,” he added.

As the Syria crisis enters its sixth year, civilians continue to bear the brunt of a conflict marked by unparalleled suffering, destruction and disregard for human life. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 13.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 4.9 million people in need trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, where they are exposed to grave protection threats.

Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov shot in Ankara

Russia's ambassador to Ankara has been shot in a gun attack in the Turkish capital, according to Turkish media.

Andrey Karlov was speaking at an exhibition when he was shot in the back on Monday evening, Turkish media said.

IMF's Christine Lagarde found guilty of negligence

Christine Lagarde, the chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been found guilty of negligence by a French court over a massive payout to a tycoon when she was the country's finance minister, but will not be fined or face prison.

Lagarde was found to be at fault on Monday for failing to challenge a 404 million euro ($420m) compensation payout to businessman Bernard Tapie over the sale of the Adidas sports brand to Credit Lyonnais bank.

She was put on trial over her 2007 decision to allow the dispute to be resolved by a private arbitration panel, and then failing to challenge the result.

The court cleared her of negligence over her decision to refer the matter to arbitration but upheld the charge over her failure to contest the award.

"The context of the global financial crisis in which Madame Lagarde found herself in should be taken into account," said Martine Ract Madoux, the main judge, in explaining the absence of any sentence.

She also cited Lagarde's good reputation and international standing as reasons why the court did not hand down a punishment in a case that could have carried a sentence of up to a year in prison.

Lagarde, who was France's finance minister between 2007 and 2011, was not in the Paris court to hear the decision. Her lawyer said that she was in Washington, where the IMF is based.

The French government pledged confidence in Lagarde after her conviction was announced.

The IMF board was to meet on Monday to discuss the implications of the guilty verdict against IMF chief Christine Lagarde in a French court, a spokesman for the organisation said Monday.

"The Executive Board has met on previous occasions to consider developments related to the legal proceedings in France. It is expected that the Board will meet again shortly to consider the most recent developments," fund spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia using UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen, Fallon to confirm

The Government is to confirm Saudi Arabia is using British-made cluster bombs in Yemen, Sky sources say.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon is expected to make a statement on the issue in the House of Commons later.

A spokesman for No 10 said that the Government was taking allegations that British cluster bombs were being used "very seriously" and that the issue had been raised with the Saudi-led coalition.

Last week, the new Prime Minister of the controversial rebel Houthi government which has been set-up in Yemen accused the UK of war crimes.

"They have sold cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia," Abdulaziz bin Habtour told Sky News in his office in the capital Sana'a. "They know the Saudis are going to drop them on Yemen ... in Sa'adah and in Sana'a and other provinces.

"I don't think they are guilty of war crimes, I believe so. They are participating in the bombing of Yemen people."

An international treaty signed by Britain bans cluster bombs, which carry extraordinary risks to civilians because they contain groups of smaller bombs that explode over a wide area and can go off much later.

The words of the Convention on Cluster Munitions state that signatories will "never under any circumstances assist, encourage or induce" anyone to use such munitions.

However, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are believed to have British-made cluster bombs bought in the 1980s and 1990s.

Yemen's war began when the Houthis and their allies seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition of mostly Gulf Arab nations launched a campaign in March 2015 against the Iran-backed rebels.

Child tweeter Bana Alabed safely evacuated from Aleppo

Bana Alabed, the seven-year-old girl who has been tweeting about life amid the devastation of eastern Aleppo, has been safely evacuated from the city.

President of the Syrian American Medical Society Ahmad Tarakji tweeted a picture of a smiling Bana in a woolly hat.

The tweet said: ".@AlabedBana and many children arrived to #Aleppo countryside. @sams_usa @UOSSM and partners arr coordinating the response plan there."


@AlabedBana and many children arrived to #Aleppo countryside. @sams_usa@UOSSM and partners arr coordinating the response plan there. pic.twitter.com/k3iAohYbFY— Ahmad Tarakji, MD (@tarakjiahmad) 19 December 2016

The messages from the account, which she shares with her mother Fatemah, had become increasingly desperate.

They detailed how they narrowly escaped death when their home was destroyed and how people were killed around them as bombs rained down.

Their future appeared uncertain after the girl's most recent tweets said: "This is my last moment to either live or die" and "Please save us now."

Her mother added: "Final message - people are dying since last night. I am very surprised I am tweeting right now & still alive. - Fatemah #Aleppo."

Last night, she posted again, begging "please please please make this ceasefire work & get us out now. We are so tired".

Bana's tweets had given an insight into the terrifying daily struggle of people in Aleppo as they endured bombs, airstrikes and ground battles.

In one message from the war-torn city, she wrote: "Tonight we have no house, it's bombed & I got in rubble. I saw deaths and I almost died - Bana #Aleppo."

Another said: "My friends this is not the moon, the is bomb falling now. Please pray for us tonight. I am afraid. - Bana #Aleppo."

She also commented on the dreadful conditions inside the city's cut-off eastern neighbourhoods: "I am sick now, I have no medicine, no home, no clean water. This will make me die even before a bomb kill me."

But the seven-year-old also shared some lighter moments, such as a photo of her smiling when she lost two teeth.

Bana's escape from the city comes as tens of thousands of people are being evacuated from Aleppo to rebel-held areas of the countryside west of the city.

It is part of the ceasefire agreed after the regime and its allies intensified attacks in Aleppo and all but wiped out the rebels' territory.