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Iran strikes back at US with missile attack at bases in Iraq Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday for killing a top Revolutionary Guards commander, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq housing American troops in a major escalation between the two longtime foes. https://apnews.com/add7a702258b4419d796aa5f48e577fc

Iran abandons nuclear deal limits after US kills general Iran said Sunday it would no longer abide by any of the limits of its unraveling 2015 nuclear deal with world powers after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, abandoning the accord’s key provisions that block Tehran from having enough material to build an atomic weapon. https://apnews.com/e043255bd33ab318f71d1947716a5b94

US kills Iran’s most powerful general in Baghdad airstrike The United States killed Iran’s top general and the architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport early on Friday, an attack that threatens to dramatically ratchet up tensions in the region. https://apnews.com/5597ff0f046a67805cc233d5933a53ed

President Donald Trump impeached by US House, 3rd in history President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The historic vote split along party lines, much the way it has divided the nation, over a charge that the 45th president abused the power of his office by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election. The House then approved a second charge, that he obstructed Congress in its investigation. https://apnews.com/d78192d45b176f73ad435ae9fb926ed3

Australia endures hottest day on record Australia has experienced its hottest day on record with the national average temperature reaching a high of 40.9C (105.6F), meteorologists say. The Bureau of Meteorology said "extensive" heat on Tuesday tipped the mercury past the previous record of 40.3C set on 7 January 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-australia-50817963

Britain speeds towards Brexit as Johnson wins large majority in election Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a resounding election victory on Friday that will allow him to end three years of political paralysis and take Britain out of the European Union by Jan. 31. Brexit represents the country's biggest political and economic gamble since World War Two, cutting the world's fifth largest economy adrift from the vast trading bloc and threatening the integrity of the United Kingdom. https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1YG2O5

Documents Reveal Misleading Public Statements on Afghan War Thousands of pages of documents detailing the war in Afghanistan released by The Washington Post on Monday paint a stark picture of missteps and failures — and delivered in the words of prominent American officials, many of whom publicly had said the mission was succeeding. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/world/asia/afghanistan-war-documents.amp.html

Pelosi says Democrats will draft articles of impeachment against Trump U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said she has directed a House committee to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump over his effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival, a historic step that sets up a fight over whether to oust him from office. https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1Y91GG

Israel's attorney general announces indictment against Netanyahu in corruption cases Israel’s attorney general indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges on Thursday, raising more uncertainty over who will ultimately lead a country mired in political chaos after two inconclusive elections this year. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced the decision in a statement. The charges included bribery, breach of trust and fraud. https://reut.rs/2Oxn2xp

Bolivia's Morales resigns after weeks of protests over disputed election Bolivian President Evo Morales said on Sunday he would resign after the military called on him to step down and allies tumbled away amid a fierce backlash over a disputed election that has roiled the South American nation. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bolivia-election/bolivias-morales-resigns-after-weeks-of-protests-over-disputed-election-idUSKBN1XK07T

Civilians flee Syrian border towns as Turkish warplanes, artillery begin offensive Turkey attacked Kurdish militia positions in northeast Syria on Wednesday, pounding them with air strikes and artillery barrages in a cross-border military operation just days after U.S. troops pulled back from the area. https://reut.rs/2MpTGQx

Whistleblower accuses White House of Ukraine call cover-up White House officials took extraordinary steps to “lock down” information about President Donald Trump’s summertime phone call with the president of Ukraine, even moving the transcript to a secret computer system, a whistleblower alleges in a politically explosive complaint that accuses the administration of a wide-ranging cover-up. The whistleblower, in a 9-page document released Thursday, provides substantial new details about the circumstances of the phone call in which Trump repeatedly spoke of how much the U.S. had aided Ukraine and encouraged new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son. https://apnews.com/cce1f1146f924609912a032c61fd067c