5: 

Taliban Suicide Attack Kills at Least Six Near Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed six foreign soldiers near Bagram airbase in Afghanistan on Monday.

Brigadier General William Shoffner, the spokesperson for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, told reporters that the attack took place around 1:30pm local time.

“We’re deeply saddened by this loss,” he said. “Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season.”

He would not elaborate on the nationalities of the deceased, but Bagram airbase is the largest US military facility in the country.

Vice News

4: 

Explosions rock Afghan capital Kabul

Three loud explosions hit the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, police said.

Two rockets landed near Kabul’s diplomatic district, a police source told Al Jazeera.

A third rocket hit an area near Kabul airport, the source added.

No casualties have so far been reported.

Earlier on Monday, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a joint US-Afghan patrol near Bagram Airfield, outside Kabul, killing at least six foreign soldiers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Aljazeera

3: 

Russia’s airstrikes on Syria appear futile with little progress on ground

When Russia launched an air campaign to support Bashar al-Assad, it was banking on a ground force of Syrian troops to finish what its warplanes started.

However, more than 12 weeks later, Syria’s army and the large numbers of Shia militias that back it have made few meaningful gains on the ground. Meanwhile, Moscow’s jets have added a new layer of carnage, reportedly killing at least 600 Syrian citizens, including 70 in Idlib on Sunday.

In Syria’s north and in opposition-held parts of the cities of Hama and Damascus, the destruction wrought on civilian infrastructure and population centres over the past fortnight is more intense than at any point in almost five years of war, residents of the communities and observers outside Syria say.

Meanwhile, the US has claimed that a once-broad gap with Russia over how to end the war has been narrowing, with both sides last week championing a peace process that aims to defuse a conflict that has killed at least 250,000 people and left Syria in ruins.

The Guardian

2: 

PM to keep anti-violence role despite radio rape joke

Anti-violence charity White Ribbon has accepted Prime Minister John Key’s word that he was unaware of a prison rape joke during an appearance on a music station.

Mr Key joined in a prank on The Rock by getting into a cage and picking up a bar of soap – a reference to rape in prison.

RNZ

1: 

Sanders, Clinton Spar over U.S. Military Role at Debate

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley faced off Saturday in the third Democratic presidential debate. The candidates met just one day after the Sanders campaign sued the Democratic National Committee for blocking access to key voter data files. The DNC took action after a Sanders campaign staffer improperly viewed Clinton’s voter files, taking advantage of a glitch in the system. The Sanders campaign fired the staffer involved, and the DNC has restored access to the files. Sanders apologized for the breach during Saturday’s debate, which focused largely on foreign policy. Clinton and Sanders sparred over the role of the U.S. military.

Democracy Now