UK - Merriam-Webster has named "they" its word of the year. The US dictionary also recently added a new definition of "they", reflecting its use as a singular personal pronoun for non-binary people. Searches for "they" on Merriam-Webster's website were 313% higher this year than they were in 2018. British pop star Sam Smith came out as non-binary in March, and in September confirmed on Instagram that their pronouns were "they/them". Announcing their pronouns, Smith wrote: "I understand there will be many mistakes and misgendering, but all I ask is you please please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now." A number of other high-profile non-binary figures were also in the news this year.

FRANCE - The mayor of a rural French community has taken the rather extreme and outlandish decision to ban residents from “dying in their homes on Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays” due to a lack of doctors in the area. La Gresle is a community of roughly 850 people on the outskirts of Lyon which, like many rural communities across France, suffers an acute dearth of doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners. The problem came to a head early this December after no doctor could be found to record official medical details following the death of an elderly nursing home resident. The mayor's office said in a statement that the “absurd order” was in response to “the absurdity of the [healthcare] system.”

UK - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shown a willingness to make risky bets — with mixed results. His latest election gamble: “get Brexit done,” or become the shortest-serving prime minister in nearly two centuries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a double-digit lead in opinion polls as Britain prepares to vote Thursday in a crucial general election that will determine Brexit’s fate. If reflected in the election, the lead would be enough to give him a comfortable majority — though a recent narrowing of the lead reflected in some polls is enough to keep the outcome uncertain.

CHINA - China has ordered that all foreign computer equipment and software be removed from government offices and public institutions within three years, the Financial Times reports. The government directive is likely to be a blow to US multinational companies such as HP, Dell and Microsoft, and mirrors attempts by Washington to limit the use of Chinese technology, as the trade war between the countries turns into a tech cold war. The Trump administration banned US companies from doing business with the Chinese telecoms company Huawei this year and Google, Intel and Qualcomm announced they would freeze cooperation with Huawei. By excluding China from western knowhow, the Trump administration has made it clear that the real battle is about which of the two economic superpowers has the technological edge for the next two decades.

ISRAEL - Israel’s politicians have until Wednesday to beat the clock. If one of the 120 Knesset members garners a 61-seat majority for forming a government in the next two days – a task which defeated prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz – Israel will be saved from its third general election in a year. If not, the two main parties have agreed to the Knesset setting election day on March 2.

SOUTH AFRICA - Cries of desperation, long early-morning queues, frantic calls and persistent knocking on doors of Gift of the Givers team members; communities are at a loss what to do as dam after dam, river after river and borehole after borehole shuts down. Add to that load shedding. Small town economies dependent on festive season tourists are at their wits’ end as water is simply not available to service paying guests. This challenging scenario is about to become a nightmare as thousands of economically active citizens return home to the Eastern Cape in the coming days. Water demands are going to increase exponentially, amplifying the expanding crisis. Government funding is no more a priority, it is way beyond the urgency and emergency phase.

NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand police have said they do not believe there are any more survivors on White Island after a huge volcanic eruption left at least five dead and 20 missing. Police said more casualties were feared with rescue services unable to reach White Island as it remained too dangerous after the eruption of the volcano there at about 2.11pm (1.11am GMT) spewed a plume of ash thousands of feet into the air. About 50 people, New Zealanders as well as foreign tourists, were feared to have been nearby and several were seen near the rim of the crater minutes before the eruption. Officers said in a statement that “no signs of life had been seen at any point. “Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation. Based on the information we have, we do not believe there are any survivors on the island.”

NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand has been hit once again by a natural disaster after a magnitude-5.3 earthquake shook the nation’s North Island today. The nation has been shaken by a magnitude-5.3 earthquake less than a day after the terrifying eruption of a volcano on White Island, off the nation’s coast. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake has reportedly produced strong shaking and struck at 12.58pm (11.58pm GMT) local time on Tuesday.

GERMANY - German demand, and German money, has propped up the eurozone. Now Its main industry is in freefall. Its political system is descending into chaos. The banking system is in crisis, and consumer demand is stuck in the doldrums. With every week that passes there are more and more signs of a deep malaise in its economy. The nation once known as Europe’s powerhouse, and the locomotive of the entire eurozone, is slowly turning into its sick man instead. That is partly a German story, of course, but it is also a global one. When the world’s fourth-largest economy runs into trouble, it has repercussions far beyond its own borders. Such as? Germany’s stagnating economy will make the eurozone more unstable than ever, it will make the European Union more protectionist, it will destabilise global trade at the worst possible time, and may well trigger a financial crisis.

It is going to be one of the most dangerous trends of the 2020s.

FRANCE - France was in flames today due to violent anti-Macron protesters tearing through the streets of Nantes and Paris in the 56th consecutive week of riots. Shocking videos show a mass of so-called Yellow Vest protesters flooding streets in the French capital and setting roads and monuments on fire as demonstrations marked their one year anniversary since demonstrations were triggered by young French President Emmanuel Macron’s crippling 23 percent fuel hike.

IRAN - Iranians have been angrily protesting since last month over fuel price hikes. In a statement, the United Nations human rights office claimed to have “verified video footage” showing security forces firing on protesters with seeming intent to kill. The US envoy to Tehran, Brian Hook, claimed the brutal police crackdown has resulted in up 1,000 deaths. He told reporters the anti-government demonstrations were "the worst political crisis the regime has faced in its 40 years". Mr Hook added: “These protests have made clear what Secretary Mike Pompeo and I have been saying for quite some time. The Iranian people want the regime to focus on investing in people, not proxies. They are sick of the regime squandering its wealth on proxy warfare, which leads only to economic pressure and diplomatic isolation. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Iranian regime continues to do."

HONG KONG - Hundreds of thousands of protesters have filled the streets of Hong Kong in a mass show of support for an anti-government movement that shows no signs of flagging as it enters a seventh month. The march on Sunday was mostly peaceful, in a rare break from the escalating violent scenes of recent weeks. Buoyed by the landslide victory of pro-democracy politicians in the district elections two weeks ago, protesters were in high spirits, and there was a relaxed, carnival-like atmosphere. Some chanted “Five demands, not one less!”, referring to a set of as-yet-unfulfilled political demands, including democratic reforms and an independent investigation into police brutality.

AUSTRALIA - Australia’s biggest city has been shrouded in hazardous smoke for the past week, as wildfires burning across the country’s drought-stricken east coast are — in some cases — becoming too big to put out. The fires are turning the daytime sky in Sydney orange and causing air quality to dip to levels more often seen in cities like Delhi and Beijing. Schools are keeping students inside during recess and cancelling sports and other outdoor activities. Satellite images show plumes of smoke stretching more than 1,200 miles away to New Zealand. “The massive [New South Wales state] fires are in some cases just too big to put out at the moment,” the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said. Officials are particularly concerned about a number of fires around Sydney, the state capital where about five million people live.

ZIMBABWE - One of southern Africa’s biggest tourist attractions has seen an unprecedented decline this dry season. For decades Victoria Falls, where southern Africa’s Zambezi river cascades down 100 metres into a gash in the earth, have drawn millions of holidaymakers to Zimbabwe and Zambia for their stunning views. But the worst drought in a century has slowed the waterfalls to a trickle. Zimbabwe and Zambia have suffered power cuts as they are heavily reliant on hydropower from plants at the Kariba dam, which is on the Zambezi river upstream of the waterfalls. Scientists are cautious about categorically blaming climate change. There is always seasonal variation in levels.

NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand has been hit by a weekend of severe storms, with landslides and flooding in the South Island cutting off towns and trapping an estimated 1,000 foreign tourists. Most are stuck on the west coast in the towns of Fox Glacier and Franz Josef, according to the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, and some have been forced to sleep in their cars, and are said to be scared and tired. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had established contact with the tourists, who have been stranded by flooding and landslides that some fear may take months to clear. More than 300,000 lightning strikes hit the country and its surrounding waters on Sunday alone, reported research organisation NIWA.