• Overnight News Summaries ,
• Tags: Africa, earthquake, Egypt, Egyptian, India, Iraq, Middle East, North Korea, Protest, protests, Russia, Tunisia, UAE, Uganda, United States, virus, Yemen
• 25 Dec

KEY STORYLINES

• AFRICA: Egyptian police arrested Hisham Qandil, former Prime Minister under Mohamed Morsi.
• AMERICAS: Uruguayan President Mujica signed a law to create a regulated, legal marijuana market.
• ASIA: Kim Jong-un ordered North Korea’s military to boost combat readiness, saying that war could break out “without any prior notice”.
• EUROPE: Turkish Economy Minister Caglayan resigned amid a widening corruption scandal.
• MIDDLE EAST: A car bomb explosion near a church in Baghdad killed at least 12 people.
• TECHNOLOGY: Researchers discovered a Samsung Galaxy S4 security flaw that let malicious software track emails and record data communication.

TOP STORY

• South Sudan: UN sends more peacekeepers amid worsening violence.
• The UN now has approximately 12,500 troops in the country.
• The UN denied reports of the discovery of a mass grave.
• Artillery struck a UN camp staffed by South Korean soldiers.
• The US deployed a small team of marines in Uganda to help with evacuations.
• Coverage: Al Jazeera, AFP, Reuters, Guardian, Yonhap

AFRICA

• Region: Algeria is brokering a peace agreement, which will contain amnesty, between Mali and the Ansar Dine rebel movement. (Xinhua)
• Central African Republic: Dozens of Muslims marched in Bangui to demand that France withdraw its troops. (AFP)
• Egypt: Police arrested Hisham Qandil, former prime minister under Mohamed Morsi. (Al Jazeera)

AMERICAS

• Honduras: The country’s Supreme Court rejected the center-left Libre party’s challenge of the 24NOV presidential election. (EFE)
• United States: Authorities from Customs and Border Protection seized 128 pounds of cocaine at a port in Baltimore last week. (WP)
  
• Uruguay: President Mujica signed a law to create a regulated, legal marijuana market. (AP)

ASIA

• Afghanistan: Two Taliban rockets were fired into the US Embassy compound in Kabul, though no one was injured. (AFP)
• India: The government downgraded diplomatic immunity privileges for certain US consular officers and their families. (Xinhua)
• Korea, North: Satellite photos show the production of fuel rods for the country’s recently restarted nuclear reactor. (UPI)
• Korea, North: Kim Jong-un ordered the country’s military to boost combat readiness, saying that war could break out “without any prior notice.” (AFP)

EUROPE

• Region: Russian President Putin said that the Eurasian Economic Union, consisting of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and possibly Ukraine, is ready for a 2015 launch. (AFP)
• Italy: Authorities began clearing a migrant center on Lampedusa, due to protests and concerns over sanitary conditions. (Reuters)
• Turkey: Economy Minister Caglayan resigned amid a widening corruption scandal. (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

• Iraq: A car bomb explosion near a church in Baghdad killed at least 12 people. (AFP)
• Syria: A ten day air offensive by the Assad regime killed over 400 people near Aleppo. (AFP)
• Yemen: UNSG Ban Ki-moon welcomed a political roadmap to form a new state in the country’s restive southern region. (Xinhua)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

• Communications: Researchers discovered a Samsung Galaxy S4 security flaw that may let malicious software track emails and record data communication. (UPI)

WORLD

• Cyclones: Nothing to report.
• Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
• Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
• Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
• Global Disease Outbreaks:
• Novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV, SARS-related)
• Global Number of Cases as of 22DEC: 166 (Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Italy, France, Germany, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, UAE, United Kingdom)
• Global Number of Deaths as of 22DEC: 71 (Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar, United Kingdom, UAE)
• Sourcing: WHO

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (26DEC)

• Global: Boxing Day
• Indonesia: Anniversary of 9.1 undersea quake causing tsunami to hit Indonesia, killing 230,000 people – 2004
• Russia: Anniversary of official dissolution of Soviet Union – 1991
• Slovenia: Independence and Unity Day – 1991

END