Here’s the top five from what has happened around the world over the last 24 hours, brought to you exclusively by British Herald.
#5: London’s main index shifted from its near five-month high with a drop in healthcare and financial stocks. However, in spite of its recent attack by short-seller Muddy Waters, NMC Health has outperformed thanks to launching a review of its books.
#4: Credit Suisse cleared CEO Tidjane Thiam and other top executives from the knowledge of a second spying incident. Switzerland’s second-biggest bank confirmed it was behind the second internal spying scandal to surface this year after a newspaper report last week detailed former HR head Peter Goerke’s tailing.
#3: U.S. sanctions on companies building a pipeline to boost Russian gas supplies to Europe will delay the completion of the project by several months and increase its cost, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives said
#2: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said five people had been sentenced to death and three more to jail terms totalling 24 years over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October last year. Khashoggi was a U.S. resident and critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler. He was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding. His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.
#1: British street artist Banksy has brought a sombre Christmas spirit to a hotel he founded in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, with a nativity scene evoking the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Dubbed “Scar of Bethlehem”, the display features a miniature Jesus, Mary and Joseph under a rendition of Israel’s concrete West Bank barrier punctured by bullet holes, the largest of which resembles a star over the manger.
Stay tuned for our daily update tomorrow! Seasons greetings!