NEWS

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In a significant moment for his pontificate, Pope Leo utilized his first Christmas Urbi et Orbi address from St. Peter's Square—a traditional Christmas Day message to Vatican City worshippers—to strongly encourage Ukraine and Russia to secure peace through

direct negotiations, finding the "courage" to do so. Beyond this immediate conflict, he extended his appeal for an end to hostilities across the entire world.

Speaking about Ukraine, the Pope said: "May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue."

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Venezuela has accused the United States of the "greatest extortion" at an emergency session of the UN Security Council in New York.

Washington's seizure of two Venezuelan oil tankers was "worse than piracy," the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN said.

The emergency meeting of the Security Council was called to discuss the seizure of the tankers, which took place off the coast of Venezuela earlier this month.

The US has also said it was pursuing a third Venezuelan oil tanker.

President Trump has accused Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drugs cartel and said gangs had operated with impunity for too long.

On 16 December, Trump ordered a naval blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

The US president has said the US will keep or sell the crude oil it has taken, as well as the vessels themselves.

The US has been building up its military presence in the Pacific and Caribbean Seas in recent months, sending 15,000 troops and a range of aircraft carriers and warships to the area.

It is the largest deployment to the region since the US invaded Panama in 1989, and the stated aim is to stop the flow of fentanyl and cocaine to the US.

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A legal challenge has been mounted against the recent renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Democratic US Representative Joyce Beatty has filed a lawsuit, contending that the decision by the Trump-appointed board to change the name to "Trump-Kennedy Center" is illegal, as any official name alteration for the center requires "an act of Congress." Her suit seeks the removal of the former president's name.

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Three inmates who escaped from a jail east of Atlanta, including a murder suspect, commandeered a terrified Lyft driver’s car to reach south Florida before she was rescued and they were captured, according to details revealed in court records.

The driver told FBI agents that the men used a fake name to order the ride, put a rope around her neck from behind her, dragged her into the backseat and threatened to kill her, according to a court affidavit filed late Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press.

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Nasry Asfura, the conservative candidate explicitly endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, was officially declared the winner of the Honduran presidential election on Wednesday. The announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) comes more than three weeks after the November 30 vote, which was marred by severe technical failures, delays, and aggressive allegations of fraud.

According to the official tally, Asfura secured 40.3% of the vote, narrowly edging out center-right Liberal Party contender Salvador Nasralla, who finished with 39.5%. Rixi Moncada, the candidate for the ruling LIBRE party, placed a distant third. The margin was so razor-thin that officials were forced to manually count nearly 15% of the tally sheets.

"Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down," Asfura stated on social media. He is set to take office on January 27.

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The United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year conflict, but sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, remain unresolved, Ukraine’s president said.

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Former United States Senator Ben Sasse has announced that he has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, describing the illness in stark terms as a death sentence. The announcement came in a lengthy and deeply personal message posted on social media, where Sasse spoke openly about his condition, his faith, and his determination to keep fighting.

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Amazon has disclosed that it has blocked over 1,800 job applications from individuals suspected of being North Korean agents. According to a LinkedIn post by Amazon's chief security officer, Stephen Schmidt, these applicants sought remote IT positions using stolen or fabricated identities. Schmidt further explained that their objective was to secure employment, earn wages, and then channel those funds back to support North Korea's weapons programs, a trend he believes is occurring extensively across the US technology industry.

Authorities in the US and South Korea have warned about Pyongyang's operatives carrying out online scams.

Amazon has seen a nearly one-third increase in job applications from North Koreans in the past year, said Mr Schmidt in his post. He said the operatives typically work with people managing "laptop farms" - referring to computers based in the US that are run remotely from outside of the country.

The firm used a combination of artificial intelligence marks tools and verification by its staff to screen job applications, he said.

The strategies used by such fraudsters have become more sophisticated, Mr Schmidt said.