What we know about the Berlin Attack and Istanbul Assassination

Two big stories were still developing by publication time. Several people were reportedly killed when a truck plowed into a crowd at a Berlin christmas festival. The police are treating the incident as an apparent terror attack. The driver of the truck has now been arrested after fleeing the scene earlier. A person in the passenger seat was reportedly killed.” Live updates from Deutche Welle: http://bit.ly/2h3QxaQ

And, the Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot dead…Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was assassinated at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Dec. 19, Russia and Turkey have confirmed. Karlov was shot by a gun while making a speech at a photography exhibition in the Turkish capital, the Russian Embassy said, adding that it believed that it was a radical Islamist attack.” Live updates from Hurriyet Daily News http://bit.ly/2h3P6Jh)

Pressure on U.K. aid contractors…A number of companies working on UK aid contracts have been told they have 30 days to provide details of their spending and tax status, and set out how they comply with conflict-of-interest regulations, in a move designed to appease increasingly vocal overseas aid critics. (Guardian http://bit.ly/2hSfjsB)

Security Council Passes Aleppo Resolution…The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously called for U.N. officials and others to observe the evacuation of people from the last rebel-held enclave in Aleppo and monitor the safety of civilians who remain in the Syrian city. (Reuters https://yhoo.it/2hSed08)

Lagarde’s fate as head of IMF is uncertain…A French court on Monday found IMF head Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence over a massive state payout to a tycoon when she was French finance minister but spared her a fine or prison sentence. (AFP https://yhoo.it/2hNdEHP)

Amy Costello of the Tiny Spark podcast reported the original story about the infamous PlayPump. Then, she started a podcast to investigate why good intentions in international development sometimes go bad. (Global Dispatches Podcast http://bit.ly/2h3N0cn)