A knifeman kills two elderly people after storming their home and then tries to attack police officers on a highway in Brisbane, Australia. The attacker, who is shot dead by police, has been identified as a 22-year-old man inspired by the Islamic State. He was arrested in early 2019 when he tried to join the group in Somalia. (CNA)
The Finnish sauna culture is inscribed on the UNESCO list. As authorized by the state, the Finnish Heritage Agency commits, together with Finnish sauna communities and promoters of the sauna culture, to safeguard the vitality of the sauna tradition and to highlight its importance as part of customs and wellbeing. (YLE)
The Northern Ireland Executive agrees to impose a new lockdown beginning on Boxing Day, which means that non-essential shops will be closed from the end of trading on Christmas Eve. During the first week of lockdown, essential shops will have to close each day at 8:00 p.m. GMT. (BBC)
Prime Minister António Costa says that an overnight curfew beginning at 11:00 p.m. will be in effect in the country on New Year's Eve. He also added that people would not be allowed to leave their homes between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. from January 1 to 3. (CNA)
Mayor Hennadiy Kernes of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, dies in Germany due to complications caused by COVID-19 after contracting the virus in September. (Kyiv Post)
JakartaGovernorAnies Baswedan issues a gubernatorial instruction and decree that requires anyone leaving and entering the city from tomorrow until January 8 to have a negative rapid antigen test result. The order also limits the capacity of offices to 50% and requires cafés, restaurants and tourist attractions to close at 7:00 p.m. local time from December 24 to 27 and December 31 to January 2. (The Jakarta Post)(Jakarta Globe)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government raises its healthcare alert level to the top level for the first time as the number of infections continues to increase. This comes as Tokyo reports a record of 822 new cases in the past 24 hours. (The Straits Times)
The Palestinian Authority impose a two-week lockdown in the entire West Bank that orders schools, universities, restaurants, barbershops, gyms and leisure venues to close. As part of the lockdown, the curfew has also been extended for two weeks. (The Times of Israel)
California reports 52,281 new cases and 379 deaths in the past 24 hours, both a new single-day record for the state and nationwide since the beginning of the pandemic. (KABC-TV)
The New South Wales Northern Beaches outbreak reaches 17 cases, leading to fears of a second wave in the state. Western Australia and Queensland have reimposed border restrictions on people travelling from New South Wales. (News.com.au)
An ombudsman report finds that the Victorian state government's decision to briefly impose a "hard lockdown" on public housing towers in July in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, not allowing anyone in or out, was a violation of human rights. The state government refuses to apologise to the tower residents despite the report's recommendations. (The Guardian)