​MONDAY - December 21, 2020 – ​​Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government approved a ninth consecutive rise in military spending on Monday, funding the development of an advanced stealth fighter and longer-range anti-ship missile to counter China's growing military power.

​MONDAY - December 21, 2020 – ​Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented White House senior adviser Jared Kushner with a "certificate of appreciation" on Monday for "his historic contribution to the Abraham Accords" between Israel and Arab and Muslim nations.

​MONDAY - December 21, 2020 – ​Fiat Chrysler and French rival PSA gained EU antitrust approval on Monday for their $38 billion merger to create the world's No.4 carmaker after pledging to boost Japanese rival Toyota Motor.

SUNDAY - December 20, 2020 – ​​Australia's most populous city Sydney became further isolated from the rest of the country on Sunday after states closed borders and imposed quarantine measures on its residents as a coronavirus cluster in the city grew to around 70.

SUNDAY - December 20, 2020 – ​At least nine people were reported killed on Sunday by a car bomb attack in Kabul targeting an Afghan lawmaker.

SATURDAY - December 19, 2020 – ​The former governor of the Mexican state of Jalisco was shot dead early on Friday (December 18) in a restaurant bathroom in the beach town of Puerto Vallarta, one of the most high profile political killings since Mexico embarked on its "War on Drugs" in 2006.

SATURDAY - December 19, 2020 – ​British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday imposed tighter coronavirus curbs on millions of people in England and largely reversed plans to ease restrictions over Christmas, as the country battles a new more infectious strain of the virus.