Ukraine

• The NYT reported that Pres. Biden is using this week's G20 summit in Rio to encourage other world leaders - especially those who will remain in office after he hands over to the incoming Trump administration on Jan. 20 - to support Ukraine. [Pres.-elect Trump has vowed to end the war quickly, which many think will entail a drop in U.S. military funding assistance after Trump's inauguration.]
• Despite Biden's encouragement, G20 leaders don't seem enthusiastic about supporting Ukraine: the fact that their joint statement from the Rio summit omitted an outright condemnation of Russia's invasion in Ukraine - and only included an oblique mention of "human suffering" caused by the war - suggested the signatories aren't interested in confronting Russia.

• The UNRWA reported that a convoy of almost 109 aid trucks was "violently looted" at gunpoint in Gaza over the weekend, with 100 of the trucks lost and several drivers shot. It was one of the worst incidents of aid theft so far, and it highlights the immense challenges of aid delivery in Gaza.

• Hong Kong's pro-Beijing government sentenced a group of democracy activists and former politicians known as the "Hong Kong 47" to prison terms of up to 10 years during a mass trial.
• Many of the convicted were swept up during a 2021 crackdown enforcing a Beijing-backed national security law the city enacted in 2020 to quell a pro-democracy uprising, and have been imprisoned ever since.
• Their alleged crime was to organize an unofficial pre-election primary ahead of the general election Beijing orchestrated.
• These convictions confirm that such democratic dissent - which was common in the (relatively) progressive financial hub before 2020 - won't be tolerated henceforth.

• The UN Security Council introduced a resolution calling on Sudan's military and Rapid Support Forces to end their conflict - but Russia killed it with a veto, saying the warring parties - and not the UN - must agree to a ceasefire.

• One Chinese national was killed and five others were injured by gunmen who reportedly crossed over the border from Afghanistan to attack a gold mine in Tajikistan's Zarbuzi Gorge. Tajik authorities haven't officially commented, and it's not clear whether the attackers were militants or mere drug traffickers.