SYDNEY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the government would seek to introduce new legislation to crack down on hate, after gunmen opened fire at a Jewish event in Sydney on Sunday, killing 15.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
MANILA, Dec 17 (Reuters) - There is no evidence indicating that the two suspects involved in the Bondi Beach attack received any form of military training while in the Philippines, the Philippines' National Security Adviser said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Eduardo Año said that a mere visit to the country does not substantiate allegations of terrorist training, and the duration of their stay would not have permitted any meaningful or structured training.
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations and aid groups warned on Wednesday that humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, wereat risk of collapse if Israel does not lift impediments that include a "vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized" registration process.
Dozens of international aid groups face de-registration by December 31, which then means they have to close operations within 60 days, said the U.N. and more than 200 local and international aid groups in a joint statement.
The US Congress on Wednesday permanently ended sanctions imposed on Syria under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, paving the way for the return of investment to the war-ravaged nation.
President Donald Trump had already twice suspended the implementation of sanctions in response to pleas from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, allies of the new government headed by former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa.
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump attended a ceremony on Wednesday for three U.S. personnel killed in Syria by a suspected Islamic State attacker as they were returned to American soil in flag-draped caskets.
Trump, accompanied by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the "dignified transfer" of the bodies in the presence of their families.
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a $901 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon, sending the massive piece of legislation to the White House, which has said President Donald Trump will sign it into law.
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urged all parties in Yemen to exercise maximum restraint after an advance by southern separatists that risks rekindling a 10-year-old civil war after a long lull.
He also said the operating environment had become untenable in the areas held by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement - Yemen's capital Sanaa and the heavily populated northwest.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by David Ljunggren)
An Iranian boxer sentenced to death on charges of membership of an outlawed group is at imminent risk of execution after his request for a retrial was rejected, rights groups and the exiled opposition said on Wednesday.
The World Boxing Council and sporting luminaries including former tennis star Martina Navratilova have called on Iran to spare the life of Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani, 30, a silver medallist in the national boxing championship.
LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - British police on Wednesday said they would take tougher action against people who use placards and chants to target the Jewish community, saying recent violent incidents had changed the context around such protests.
The move comes days after 15 people died in a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach targeting an event for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, and following an attack at a synagogue in Manchester in northern England in October in which two Jewish worshippers were killed.
Dec 17 - More than two months after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire halting two years of devastating warfare in Gaza, most fighting has stopped.
However, both sides accuse each other of major breaches of the deal and look no closer to accepting the much more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase.
WHAT HAVE THEY AGREED TO?
Ceasefire steps are outlined in three different documents.
