USA - Japan's main stock market index has plunged, reflecting traders' worries following a slide on Wall Street. The Nikkei closed down 5% on Tuesday, its worst finish since April 2017. Indexes in Shanghai, Bangkok and Taiwan also fell. Investors have been concerned about President Trump's dispute with the US central bank chief and another government shutdown. US stocks had their worst Christmas Eve on record.

ISRAEL- Israel heading to elections 9 April 2019. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the parties in his coalition decided Monday to disperse the Knesset this week and initiate an early general election on April 9th. Netanyahu boasted to his Likud faction that his coalition will last four years, since the last election in March 2015. He listed key diplomatic, security and economic accomplishments and said he could not initiate the election before, because he wanted to first complete destroying tunnels on the Lebanese border in Operation Northern Shield.

GERMANY - Germany has banned operation of Iran’s Mahan Air at German airports under pressure from the United States. German tabloid Bild reported that Berlin had taken the decision to stop Mahan Air from operating its flights to Dusseldorf and Munich after intensive deliberations on US demands. Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said that the US treats Germany like ‘an occupied country’.

JAPAN - More than 80,000 people have paid their respects to Japan's Emperor Akihito as he gave his final birthday address before his abdication in April.  The emperor, 85, said he took "deep comfort" that his reign had passed without Japan again engaging in war.  He became emotional as he thanked the people of Japan and his wife Empress Michiko for their support.  Akihito is the first living monarch to relinquish the Chrysanthemum throne in nearly 200 years.  The emperor, who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, will be succeeded in April by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.  His three-decade reign is known as the "Heisei" era, which means "achieving peace" in Japanese.

INDONESIA - Latest tsunami update - 373 dead. Residents living near Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau have been warned to stay vigilant over fears the volcano could cause another tsunami… Anak Krakatu is still erupting, according to MAGMA Indonesia website. The volcanic activity summary states: “Continuing eruption and ash emission. Ash cloud not visible due to bad weather condition.” Anak Krakatau is regularly referred to as “child of Krakatau”. The volcanic island was created by a caldera forming in 1883 when Krakatoa went through one of its most violent volcanic eruptions in history. Massive pyroclastic flows and tsunamis killed about 40,000 people, with eruptions heard as far away as Perth, Australia.

SICILY - Mount Etna, Europe's largest volcano, has been rocked by a "massive explosion" sending huge plumes of ash into the skies after 130 shocks in just four hours. Mount Etna, at 3,330 metres (10,926 feet), is the highest volcano in mainland Europe and is considered to be one of the most active in the world. It produces around seven million tonnes of CO2, water and sulphur dioxide every year and in 2011 spewed nearly 70 million tonnes of lava. The eruption may appear to be small but there have been dangerous blasts in recent years as ten people were injured including a BBC camera crew in March 2017 when spewing lava exploded on impact with snow.

UK - The economic boom is over. In fact, not everybody noticed it taking place. However, this year the global economy grew at its fastest pace since 2011. That surge, powered by Donald Trump’s spending spree, an overdue recovery in the eurozone and benign financial conditions across much of the world, is coming to an end. Will it be a gentle slowdown or a much-feared “hard landing”? The modest pace of expansion means most forecasts are for an equally modest slowdown. Yet risks abound. From rising interest rates in the US and the trade war, to emerging-market currency crises, Italy’s permanently threatening economics and politics and China’s heavy debt burden, hazards exist everywhere.

UK - Investors have suffered a year of Armageddon in a global assets slump that has left no corner of the market untouched. Just under $6 trillion (£4.8 trillion) has been wiped off the value of world stocks in a markets bloodbath that threatens to end the longest ever bull run. The rout has knocked 13 percent off the FTSE 100 in 2018, the index’s worst yearly drop since the financial crisis. A record 93 percent of a wide-ranging basket of assets – including stocks, bonds, commodities and credit – have lost value in dollar terms during a nightmare year for investors, Deutsche Bank analysts have revealed. Reports have suggested that President Donald Trump is considering sacking US Federal Reserve chairman…

USA - The US didn’t have a massive troop presence, but it still managed to keep Tehran’s weapons from the Iraq-Syria border region; now even Netanyahu can’t hide his disappointment. The US administration’s planned complete withdrawal from Syria is bad news for Israel both militarily and diplomatically, experts said Wednesday, since it will be leaving a vacuum in the war-torn country that will very likely be filled by Iran. While the US military had only some 2,000 troops in Syria, mostly in the eastern part of the country, and did not actively participate in Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent the Islamic Republic from entrenching itself there, Iran, and its Russian allies, will likely interpret the American move as an admission of defeat and feel emboldened to act in Syria as they please.

SOUTH AFRICA - Farmers in the central Karoo say they are in financial distress due to a four-year drought. Farmer’s organisation, Agri Central Karoo, says it’s the worst and longest drought in living memory. Producers have been unable to grow crops or feed for their livestock. Agri Central Karoo manager Dêan Gous says the region has only been receiving light rain of two to three millimetres at a time. He says downpours of at least 20 millimetres are needed. Gous says farmers are forced to buy expensive feed, while many are being turned away by banks and the co-op. “My main concern is the people’s cash flow. We're past the stage of banks helping us, so now people must dip into their investment money and pension funds.” He welcomes the Western Cape government’s intervention and drought relief but warns that production cannot be sustained.

GERMANY - Fake news wasn’t invented by the Russians. The New York Times had Jayson Blair, who faked dozens of articles and interviews over the years. USA Today had Jack Kelley, who made up sensational stories about events he had not witnessed and places he had not seen. In both cases, the editors were forced to resign.

ISRAEL - Darwin’s theory of evolution is a contentious topic of discussion in high schools and even some university classrooms in Israel, educators argue. While Israel is often referred to as the Start-Up Nation — a technological hub of innovation and advancement second only to the US Silicon Valley — opposition to the scientific study of human evolution is becoming more evident in the Jewish state.   Last week, Israel Channel 10 News reported that the Education Ministry was quietly discouraging the teaching of evolution in high school biology classes. Several educators told the Israeli network that they had received little training on how to properly teach the subject and had therefore opted not to teach it all.

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israel is developing missiles with “special capabilities that no other country has,” during a visit to state-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries. Netanyahu also praised the IAI for its involvement in space exploration, saying it was a “huge sphere” that Israel was entering.

UK - The Church of England's plans for transgender baptisms have been condemned by bishops who have described the practices as "theologically and pastorally questionable". Ten bishops criticised the ceremony, which some priests are boycotting, as they believe baptism should be about affirming faith rather than gender identity. The idea first drew attention when Reverend Chris Newlands was asked to debate the issue at the General Synod in 2015. Three years later, the practice, which allows transgender Christians to recognise their chosen name as opposed to their birth name, received official endorsement from the church. However, bishops have denounced the ritual as they believe gender is assigned by God.

USA - We have not seen anything like this since the financial crisis of 2008. On Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost another 464 points, and over the last five trading sessions it has lost a total of more than 1,700 points. CNN’s Fear & Greed index has swung all the way over to “extreme fear”, and there has only been one December in all of US history that was worse for the stock market than this one.