The U.S. reportedly sought U.N. approval for an international Gaza force — potentially involving Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Turkey —and Israel launched a wave of strikes in South Lebanon, allegedly targeting Hezbollah military sites,as it detained a former Israel Defense Forces legal chief for leaking a video showing the alleged sexual assault of a Palestinian prisoner.This comes as the U.S. reportedly prepared to establish a military presence at a Damascus airbase to support a potential security pact between Syria and Israel,and India and Israel signed a defense agreement on areas including AI and cybersecurity.Meanwhile, Ukraine sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison for allegedly executing a Ukrainian prisoner of war — the first life sentence in Ukraine's history for such charges —and Russia's Vladimir Putin instructed officials to submit proposals for possible nuclear weapons tests following Washington's decision to resume its own.Elsewhere, China expressed support for Nigeria after the U.S. threatened military action against it,and the White House reportedly began training special forces for Mexico Cartel operations, though officials said no final decision on their deployment had been reached.In other news, Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire proposed by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,as the U.N. warned that Sudan's civil war is "spiraling out of control,"and dozens were killed in an attack on a funeral in Sudan's El Obeid amid RSF advances in the city.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding President Donald Trump's global tariffs, which have reportedly generated around $89 billion in collections, China extended the suspension of an additional 24% tariffs on U.S. goods while keeping a 10% duty in place,and Trump granted Hungary a one-year exemption from sanctions on Russian oil purchases in a deal that saw Budapest commit to purchasing $600 million in U.S. liquefied natural gas.Meanwhile, Trump decided to skip the upcoming G20 summit, stating that South Africa shouldn't be a member of the group, the U.S. agreed to host Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in what will be the first-ever visit by a Syrian head of state to Washington,and the U.N. removed al-Sharaa from its terrorism sanctions list, clearing the way for renewed international engagement.This comes as Trump announced that Kazakhstan would join the Abraham Accords, Peru cut ties with Mexico after former Prime Minister Betssy Chavez sought asylum at the Mexican embassy in Lima,and Ghana and Germany vowed to strengthen bilateral ties, with Berlin pledging $74.6 million in development assistance to the West African country.In other news, Guinea's military leader filed his bid for the Dec. 28 presidential election, Paul Biya was sworn in for his eighth term as Cameroon's president, extending his more than four-decade rule and making him the world’s oldest serving head of state,and the U.K.'s Labour Party dropped to fourth place in recent polling, trailing behind Reform UK, the Greens and the Conservatives.

Americans voted across the country in off-year elections that saw Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York City, becoming the city's first Muslim and first South Asian to hold the office,and California passed Proposition 50, allowing it to temporarily replace congressional district lines.Other results included three Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices retaining their seats, maintaining the court's 5-2 Democratic majority for another decade, Maine approving a new red flag law, allowing family members to petition courts to temporarily remove weapons from potentially dangerous relatives,and Democrats sweeping Virginia and New Jersey's governor races, with Abigail Spanberger becoming the former's first female leader and Mikie Sherrill securing victory in the latter.This comes as former Vice President Dick Cheney died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement from Congress, ending a 40-year political career, Representative Jared Golden ruled out a reelection bid, citing concerns of political violence,and GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik announced her bid for New York governor — an office not held by a Republican since 2002.In other news, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to withhold $4 billion in SNAP benefits, a decision expected to affect millions of Americans receiving food assistance,and the Federal Aviation Administration cut air traffic by 10% due to staffing shortages.

The U.S. Supreme Court backed Trump's policy requiring passports to display biological sex instead of allowing self-selected gender identity markers,and BBC News upheld complaints against presenter Martine Croxall after she corrected the term "pregnant people" to "women" during a broadcast earlier this year.Meanwhile, British activist Tommy Robinson was acquitted of a terror charge for refusing to provide police with his phone PIN,and a child bride reportedly faced execution in Iran for allegedly participating in her husband's death.

U.K. police searched for a prisoner who was mistakenly released from custody amid a 128% increase in wrongful release cases, a British man was charged with 11 counts of attempted murder following a stabbing attack on a train,and a car-ramming attack on the French Atlantic island of Ile d'Oleron left at least 10 people injured.

Tesla's board approved Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, increasing his ownership from about 13% to 25%, the collective wealth of the U.S.' top 10 billionaires increased by $698 billion in the last year, with over 40% of the population considered low-income,and Starbucks workers voted to strike on Red Cup Day — an annual Christmas and holiday season promotional campaign.Meanwhile, Kimberly-Clark reached a deal to acquire Kenvue for $48.7 billion, bringing well-known brands like Huggies, Band-Aid and Tylenol together under one major consumer health company, OpenAI signed a $38 billion Amazon Web Services deal, giving the AI firm expanded access to Amazon’s cloud infrastructure,and Meta reportedly projected that 10% of its 2024 revenue came from scam ads, raising concerns about the scale of fraudulent content on its platforms.

U.S. job cuts surged 175% in October, the highest since 2003, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a CA$280B budget, nearly doubling the country's deficit to CA$78.3 billion, and U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a pre-budget speech that saw her refuse to rule out breaking Labour's manifesto pledge not to increase income tax, VAT or National Insurance.Meanwhile, France rejected the proposed Zucman wealth tax, which would have imposed a minimum 2% levy on wealth exceeding 100 million,and Australia launched a solar power sharing initiative to provide households with three hours of free electricity every day.

Trump announced agreements to cut the costs of weight loss drugs in an effort to make treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy more affordable, the Maldives implemented a tobacco ban on anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007, becoming the first nation to impose a generational prohibition on smoking,and Canada culled over 300 ostriches over concerns of bird flu.

The U.N. kicked off its COP30 climate summit in Belém, marking a key gathering for global environmental discussions,and a study predicted that the Great Barrier Reef could recover if global climate targets are met, though warned that its condition could otherwise decline.Meanwhile, the Philippines declared a state of emergency as Typhoon Kalmaegi killed hundreds, and a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan, killing at least 20 and injuring hundreds.

FutureHouse announced an AI scientist capable of making "genuine discoveries,"and David Sacks said the risk of AI is "Orwellian," downplaying fears of a Terminator-style scenario.

The co-discoverer of DNA's double-helix structure, James Watson, died,and archaeologists discovered stone tools at Kenya's Namorotukunan site, suggesting that some of the world’s earliest humans may have been innovators capable of creating complex tools far earlier than previously believed.

Sports FIFA launched a new global peace prize, set to be presented for the first time during the Final Draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,and David Beckham was knighted by King Charles III, marking one of the highest honors in British public life.

Trump re-nominated billionaire Jared Isaacman as NASA chief after withdrawing his original nomination earlier this year,and Google launched Project Suncatcher — an initiative to send AI data centers to space.

A UPS cargo plane crash killed at least seven in Louisville, prompting an investigation by federal aviation authorities.

The Vatican rejected the use of the title "Co-Redemptrix" for Mary, addressing decades of theological debate within the Church over the appropriate recognition of her role in Christian salvation.