Global Macro / Markets / Climate Change:
- 2019 has been the best year in global history. Child mortality is at its lowest ever. Every day 170,000 people moved out of extreme poverty, 325,000 people got their first access to electricity, 200,000 got piped water for the first time & 650,000 went online – NYT
- Antarctic Ice Melt May Have Hit An All-Time High On Christmas Eve – Gizmodo
- The Anglosphere and the Sinosphere drift apart – Two of the world’s greatest cultures need to get on better – Economist
Americas:
- 10 Years Of Canadian Climate (In)Action Shows We Didn’t Get Much Done – Huffpost Ca
- GOP purges voters in close election states ahead of 2020 – CNBC
- US launches airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Syria – The Hill
- Americans are retiring to Vietnam, for cheap healthcare and a decent standard of living – LATimes
- Russian-Style Kleptocracy Is Infiltrating America – The Founders were concerned that venality would become standard procedure, and it has. It’s incredibly dangerous – The Atlantic
- Yang: Trump ‘is a symptom,’ Democrats need to ‘cure the underlying disease’ – MSNBC
Europe:
- Ireland: New laws to ban sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 – RTE
- Bears in Ukraine have started suffering from Insomnia because it’s too warm to hibernate – Newsweek (blame the Bidens!)
- Moscow resorts to fake snow in warmest December since 1886 – The Guardian
- Polish PM accuses Putin of lying about outbreak of WWII – APnews
- Top EU lawmaker raises prospect of easy Scottish return to EU – DW
- Russia’s £3m tank first to have onboard loo to solve Putin’s ‘Poo Tins’ problem – Mirror (hah!)
Asia/Middle East:
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- Tesla delivers its first ‘Made in China’ cars – BBC
- Hong Kong to end 2019 with multiple protests; big march planned for Jan. 1 – Reuters
- Hong Kong’s top officials promise raft of economic measures in new year and coming budget address to help city tide over recession, warning of ‘tough tests’ ahead – SCMP
- Chinese state ‘likely’ linked to cyber spies targeting human rights workers – Skynews
- Ahead of election, Taiwan president calls China ‘biggest threat’ – AJ Jazeera
- U.N. Security Council members are due to meet informally on Monday for a second round of negotiations on a Russian and Chinese proposal to lift a raft of sanctions on North Korea, a move that some diplomats say has little support – Reuters
Trans-Tasman:
- ‘Risk is just too high’: Deputy Premier backs calls to cancel Sydney NYE fireworks – SMH
- Australian NSW Bushfires: “To put it in perspective, in the past few years we have had a total area burned for the whole season of about 280,000 ha,” Burford said. “This year we’re at 3.41m and we are only halfway through the season.” – The Guardian
- BOM warns sweltering Sydney weather, gusty winds will fan NSW fires – ABC
- More than 2 million dropped their health insurance in the past five years, poll suggests – The Age
- Drastically changing rainfall patterns are reshaping WA’s vast wheatbelt – ABC Rural – ABC News
- Sad day for women’: Queensland LNP leader under fire for ‘Princess Palaszczuk’ comments – The Guardian
…and furthermore…
- China launches its largest rocket ever, the Long March-5 – Digitaltrends
- A team of Canadian science and engineering graduates is pitching a dream to plant a billion trees by 2028 using drones. The technology can plant trees 10 times faster than a single worker and at a cost that is 80 percent cheaper than traditional tree planting methods. – New Atlas
- Fifth Straight Year of Central American Drought Helping Drive Migration. 30% of the households with migrants in the affected areas cited climate-induced lack of food as the main reason for leaving their homes and becoming migrants – Scientific American
- ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ Turns 25: Frank Darabont Reflects on the Journey From Box Office Bomb to Oscar Nominee – The Hollywood Reporter
- Are you really a vegan? The Australian
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