Summary:
After 70 days of brutal jungle warfare, Percival's crew was short on ammunition, food and water.

"The primary defense of the British Empire rested on the defense of Singapore. From there, Britain could span her entire empire in Asia," explains Battlebox director Jeya Ayadurai. But surrender soon became the only option.

Percival's decision would not just open the darkest chapter in Singapore's modern history -- it also sparked the unraveling of the British Empire.

Summary:
Teresa Xu, 31, visited the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital at Capital Medical University in November 2018, wanting to freeze her eggs while she focused on her career as a writer on gender issues.

A woman's eggs deteriorate in quality as she ages, presenting obstacles to conception among older women. Through a medical procedure, a woman's eggs can be removed from her ovaries and frozen for use at a later time.

Xu, from northeastern Heilongjiang province, said on her first visit to the hospital for a checkup, the doctor asked about her marital status and urged her to have a child now instead of freezing her eggs.

Upon her second visit, the doctor told her she could not proceed any further.

Summary:
"The German player Ozil posted an extreme statement about China on social media," NetEase said in a statement on Weibo on Wednesday.

"The speech hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sports spirit of love and peace. We do not understand, accept or forgive this."

Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, posted messages of social media last week calling minority Uighurs "warriors who resist persecution" and criticised both China's crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response.

China's foreign ministry said Ozil was "deceived by fake news" as social media platforms in the country such as Weibo were flooded with angry messages.

"If this information is true, we will not tolerate it and we will act upon it," West Jakarta Police's criminal investigation unit chief Comr. Teuku Arsya said in a written statement on Sunday, December 22 .

According to reports received by police, the garden food court area in Season City Mall is often used as a gathering place for gambling. The location is crowded on Saturdays and Sundays.

Residents who reported the alleged gambling said that the visitors often place bet money of varying amounts.

Summary:
Christians in the Indonesian province of Aceh are preparing to celebrate Christmas in makeshift tents in the jungle.

Their churches were destroyed four years ago by Islamic vigilante groups and the police.

Indonesia  the world’s largest Muslim population - has a pluralist constitution that is meant to protect the rights of followers of all the major faiths.

But Church leaders in Singkil Aceh say the local authorities are stopping them from rebuilding.

Summary:
Attitudes to futoko have changed over the decades. Until 1992 school refusal - then called tokokyoshi, meaning resistance - was considered a type of mental illness. But in 1997 the terminology changed to the more neutral futoko, meaning non-attendance.

On 17 October, the government announced that absenteeism among elementary and junior high school students had hit a record high, with 164,528 children absent for 30 days or more during 2018, up from 144,031 in 2017

Summary:
Some welcomed the move, warning that President Trump's repeatedly stated desire to cut costs and bring the roughly 13,000 US troops home risked handing Afghanistan back to the Taliban - leaving stranded those who had struggled to improve women's rights, create a free press, and build a nascent democracy.

Nine former US ambassadors to Afghanistan wrote a statement warning of the risk of "total civil war" if troops were withdrawn before a final peace deal.

President Trump met US troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving

Others warned that a rare opportunity to help bring an end to the violence was being missed.

Former senior US diplomat Robin Raphel was one of a small number of figures who played a crucial role in facilitating the start of the discussions, and told the BBC it was a "terrible mistake" not to sign the deal.

Summary:

Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees - the largest refugee population in the world.

Mr Erdogan warned that a new influx would be "felt by all European countries".

Up to three million people live in Idlib province, the last major region in Syria still held by rebel fighters and jihadists opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

What did Erdogan say?

Speaking at an awards ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday, Mr Erdogan said more than 80,000 people from Idlib had fled to areas near the Turkish border amid heightened bombardments from Syrian and Russian forces.

"If the violence towards the people of Idlib does not stop, this number will increase even more. In that case, Turkey will not carry such a migrant burden on its own," he said.

Summary:
Many French citizens heading off to spend the holidays with family and friends have found themselves stranded because of cancelled trains and gridlocked roads, while hundreds of flights have also been cancelled.

President Emmanuel Macron called on striking transport workers to "observe a truce out of respect for families and family life".

What happened to the children's trains?

The SNCF Junior & Co service allows the children of parents and families living in different parts of the country to travel alone during school holidays.

Summary:
The victims came from different towns but had bought the liquor - known as lambanog - from the same shop, say local media reports.

They complained of stomach pains and dizziness before being treated.

Bootleg versions of lambanog, which has an alcohol content of around 40%, are common.

Police say most of the victims hailed from Rizal town in Laguna province, southeast of the capital Manila. Others came from the nearby Quezon province.

Summary:
A foreign ministry spokesman said he was "deceived by fake news", and invited him to visit the region to "have a look" for himself.

After Ozil's comments, UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov's Instagram account included a post about the history of Uighurs - but the post seems to have been taken down.

More than 20 countries, including Britain, signed a letter earlier in July condemning China's repression of Uighur Muslims.

The US House of Representatives has also passed a bill to counter what it calls the "arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment" of Uighurs.

The bill still needs approval from the Senate and US President Donald Trump.

Summary:
Tesco halted production at the factory on Sunday over the message, allegedly written by prisoners claiming they were "forced to work against our will".

The Chinese foreign ministry said the allegation was "a farce".

Speaking to the nationalist newspaper Global Times on Monday, a spokesman for the card supplier said: "We only became aware of this when some foreign media contacted us. We have never done such a thing.

"Why did they include our company's name The message was found by Florence Widdicombe, who was writing cards to her school friends. She found that one of them  featuring a kitten with a Santa hat  had already been written in.

In block capitals, it said: "We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organisation."

Summary:
The cause of the accident is being investigated.

Police said that the fog, combined with icy conditions, would have been factors.

The crash happened at about 08:00 on Sunday (13:00 GMT) on the westbound carriageway.

Images from the scene showed a mass of crumpled cars rammed into each other along a stretch of the road. Rescue teams carefully picked their way through the vehicles to reach and treat the injured.

Summary :
Ecuador was fighting to contain the environmental impact of a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands after a flatboat carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank.

The Orca barge tipped over after a crane collapsed while it was loading a container onto it.

Ecuador's Integrated Security Service added, "the barge crew jumped into the sea to safeguard their lives".

The Unesco World Heritage Site is home to one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet and the Galapagos National Park said military personnel and environmentalists were "putting up containment barriers and absorbent cloths to reduce the environmental risk".

As the crisis escalated last week, Mr Morrison faced a backlash for deciding to take a family holiday to Hawaii.

On Monday, he reiterated he would not adjust his policies through "panic".

The nation has steadfastly backed coal-fired power for its economic value, despite the recommendations of a major report on climate change. The coal industry employs some 38,000 people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

"They have better techniques, better tactics and a lot more money at their disposal," he said. "They are able to buy vehicles, weapons, food supplies and equipment. Technologically they're more savvy. It's more difficult to flush them out. So, they are like al-Qaeda on steroids."

The veteran intelligence chief delivered his stark assessment in a London accent - the legacy of years in the UK after his family had to flee from the regime of Saddam Hussein.

In the phone call, Mr Trump asked the Ukrainian leader to investigate his political rival, Democrat Joe Biden.

Mr Trump has been impeached for abuse of power over the issue.

Democrats say the phone call shows Mr Trump used the office for personal political gain.

A US whistleblower who heard about the conversation raised concerns, which ultimately triggered the impeachment inquiry.

His fiancée Hatice Cengiz told the vigil she was still seeking justice.

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman denied being involved in the killing, but a UN expert has called for the royal to be investigated.

In a report released in June, the expert described the killing as a "premeditated extrajudicial execution".

On Sunday, Mohammed bin Salman maintained that he did not personally order Khashoggi to be killed, but said he took full responsibility as a Saudi leader.

British barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy listened to Jamal Khashoggi's dying moments.

"The horror of listening to somebody's voice, the fear in someone's voice, and that you're listening to something live. It makes a shiver go through your body."

Main Idea:
Poor air quality and vast environmental degradation continue to be an issue faced by South-East Asian countries.

Summary:
A rising population leads to an increase in consumption of resources and waste generation, and as member countries push for rapid economic growth, it can also lead to unsustainable development.
To address such problems, ASEAN members have cooperated closely in promoting environmental cooperation since 1977, in an ASEAN strategic plan with seven priorities, including nature conservation and biodiversity, coastal and marine environment, water resources management and environmentally sustainable cities.
There are also inclusions of climate change, chemicals and waste, and environmental education and sustainable consumption and production.

Main Idea:
Drug abuse has snatched sons

Summary:
The glaring truth here is that illicit drugs have mercilessly eyed all strata and age groups of society: the young and old, the haves and haves-not, as well as ordinary and respected figures.
Despite the imposition of stricter laws by authorities and the drug users being viewed in a negative light, illicit substance abuse continues to hog news headlines and be pervasive in day-to-day talks.
Skeptics believe that the fight against illegal drugs might never reach a logical end. The authorities might be left aggravated and exasperated, but they have no other option but to seek more creative solutions to tackle the issue.

Main Idea:
Drug abuse has snatched sons

Summary:
The glaring truth here is that illicit drugs have mercilessly eyed all strata and age groups of society: the young and old, the haves and haves-not, as well as ordinary and respected figures.
Despite the imposition of stricter laws by authorities and the drug users being viewed in a negative light, illicit substance abuse continues to hog news headlines and be pervasive in day-to-day talks.
Skeptics believe that the fight against illegal drugs might never reach a logical end. The authorities might be left aggravated and exasperated, but they have no other option but to seek more creative solutions to tackle the issue.

Main Idea:
Workplace sexual harassment is among the most challenging and insidious issues since victims

Summary:
Indonesia was the only Asian country in the G20 that cited flexible working as the top challenge for women at the workplace, with 41 percent of females citing it as their biggest concern.
In fact, a mere one percent of Indonesian women came clean about been harassed at work.
Sexual harassment is a form of sexual violence. Harassment is a product of a gender system dominated by masculinity and patriarchism that usually has to do with sexual practices.
Harassment has a broad dimension, it can occur from the time of recruitment or while working daily, or from verbal to physical, which results in the degradation of one's working conditions.

"We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will,” said the note in a card featuring a kitten with a Santa hat, the BBC reported Monday. “Please help us and notify human rights organization."

The note also contained a request to contact Peter Humphrey, a British journalist who was held in the same prison four years ago, according to the BBC.

Florence purchased the card at a Tesco supermarket. Tesco hired the Zheijiang Yunguang Printing factory in China to produce the Christmas cards.

On Sunday, Tesco said it had halted production at the factory while it launched an investigation.

A senior official of the Trump administration, which critics say has been too soft on Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi, called the verdicts “an important step” in holding those responsible accountable.

Another senior U.S. official said Washington would go on pressing for full accountability. Khashoggi was a U.S. resident and a critic of the kingdom’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MbS.

And, along with some other Chinese companies, Huawei supplies surveillance equipment to about 230 cities across Western Europe, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa

The researchers, led by Dr John Emelifeonwu, a neurosurgery trainee at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, found that a career in healthcare might not be considered quite as "honourable" as one in sports, arts and the media.

After crunching the numbers on a decade's worth of recipients, Emelifeonwu and his team found that, in general, people in sports were about 22 times more likely than healthcare workers to receive an honour.

The findings, published in British Medical Journal, also showed that people in arts and media professions received 5.8 times more honours than health industry workers.

Depending on the number of each variant of the A320 single-aisle family chosen, the deal could be worth $11 billion to $12 billion at the most recent 2018 Airbus list prices, but industry sources say such deals typically involve discounts of at least 50%.

Washington has imposed 10% tariffs on some of the planes Airbus offers to U.S. carriers, as part of a long-running transatlantic trade dispute over aircraft subsidies.

Spirit currently operates an all-Airbus fleet of 140 jets.

And as it turns out, he's also been strategic when it comes to buying holiday gifts for his family.

According to Buffett's former daughter-in-law Mary, now 67, Buffett switched from "always giving $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills" to each of his relatives, to giving $10,000 in stock instead. Mary was married to Buffett's son Peter from 1980 to 1993.

Boeing declined to comment on Muilenburg’s severance, but a filing earlier this year showed he could be eligible for around $39 million.

The moves come as Boeing has flailed in its attempts to contain one of the biggest crises in its more than 100-year history, disrupting relationships with the very airline customers that fueled Boeing’s sales boom in recent years to the pilots who have complained about broken trust. 

"Nike partnered with a collective of collaborators to design an AF1 that connects to their life personally," a Nike spokesperson tells CNN. "Colin was identified because we believe his voice and perspective inspire many generations on and off the field."

The Air Force 1 x Colin Kaepernick is made primarily of luxe black leather with the brand's reflective swoosh logo leading to a silhouette of Kaepernick's head on the heel tab. Kaepernick's logo is featured on the tongue.

Williams posted an image of a hand colored in the style of the Chinese flag, bloodily gripping another hand, painted like the flag of East Turkestan, on his official Twitter account Monday. East Turkestan is what some Muslim-majority Uyghurs call their home region of Xinjiang.

"It's a sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity," wrote Williams, who converted to Islam in 2009

"I ran to my ute (pickup truck) but my garden was already on fire, the driveway was on fire, the road was on fire so I couldn't evacuate," Harrison said. "The day before I had actually built myself a small kiln down the back -- a coffin-sized kiln -- just big enough for me to crawl inside."

On Sunday, the evangelical leaders -- many of whom are public supporters of Trump -- affirmed their strong support of the President and slammed the magazine in a letter to Dr. Timothy Dalrymple, the president of Christianity Today, reported the Christian Post.

The ease with which Ms. Kay was able to complete those purchases underscores the growing popularity of gift cards among scammers seeking quick, hard-to-trace ways to take money from their victims.

Buying multiple gift cards is often easier than initiating a wire transfer, because the cards are easily purchased and the numbers can be sent instantly by phone or text message to a fraudster who might otherwise have to wait for a large bank transaction to clear, law-enforcement officials say.

The gift cards Ms. Kay, 68 years old, purchased at Macy's Inc. were among nearly 120 that she bought from several retailers in one week, as part of a scam in which a fraudster told her she was helping catch a hacker who had compromised her home computer.

At the fraudster’s direction, she also spent $19,000 in one hour on gift cards at a Nordstrom store. The scammer remained on the phone with her for most of the transactions and at times had remote control of her computer, coaching her on how to answer cashier questions about why she was buying the gift cards.

On LIHKG, players were telling each other how to buy a set of clothing they have nicknamed "Glory to Hong Kong" and to join a "crew" called "Stand With Hong Kong".

The crew has been wreaking havoc in the game, trashing subway stations and attacking police vehicles with petrol bombs.

The two sides ended up in an "epic" fight in the game, according to social media discussions on Weibo. The mainland gamers won as they had more players on their side.

GTA V has not been approved by mainland Chinese authorities as it contains drugs, violence, and scenes of a sexual nature.

However, the game can be downloaded on the Steam gaming store and accessed through a number of other loopholes.

In an exclusive interview to India Today after his JMM-led coalition unseated the BJP from power, the 44-year-old leader compared the Modi government's proposed NRC as a demonetisation-type exercise which he insisted is aimed at subjecting Indians to a new cycle of hardship.

"I can say this for sure that plans have been put in place, prima facie, to make people stand in queues again, this time to prove their citizenship, in much the same way as happened during the (2016) demonetisation," Soren remarked when asked whether he would implement the NRC as head of Jharkhand's new government.

In NSW, most of the 2,000 or so brigades are found in country towns and rural centres dotted among eucalyptus bushland. Members are almost always locals, stepping in to save their own communities.

Historically, the work has tended to be patchy, which has been a key factor behind the volunteerism. Fires don't rage all year round, and there have been years when many areas aren't affected at all.

But this year, the situation has changed. Intense blazes typically seen in later summer have flared in spring, forcing authorities to wage full-blow campaigns earlier than ever before.

This “Aladdin” is still the funny-sentimental-inspirational story of a poor “street rat” who comes into possession of a magic lamp and a magic carpet, summons a big blue genie, and embarks on a scheme to win the heart of a princess and stop an evil vizier from stealing the kingdom away from the heroine’s dad. There are at least two potentially good and somewhat original takes struggling get out of this remake and assert themselves. One is the story of how the genie bonds with Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and tries to secure his own freedom without breaking any genie/master rules. The other is about the princess, Jasmine (Naomi Scott), who’s not merely a spirited feminist who enjoys disguising herself as a peasant and hanging with the commoners, but seems ready to agitate for representative democracy if nudged in the right direction.