ON TREND

Food aid meant for starving Yemenis is being stolen and sold in some areas controlled by the Houthi movement, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2TeZmyC

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday he "did not see any danger" to the government in the coming months as it turns its attention to new reforms after finally pushing its 2019 budget into law. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2SwlYuA

Burkina Faso has declared a state of emergency in several northern provinces, a government spokesman said on Monday, as Islamist groups intensify attacks in areas bordering Mali. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2AnqTHc

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators in central Khartoum on Monday, Reuters witnesses said, as authorities stepped up their presence at key sites after a call for protests on the eve of Sudan's independence day anniversary from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2SvTgKb

Rescuers scrambled amid freezing temperatures to recover people trapped in the rubble of a Russian city apartment block that collapsed in a gas explosion on Monday, killing at least four people and leaving dozens missing, news agencies reported. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Rsp5WY

A court in the United Arab Emirates upheld on Monday a 10-year jail sentence against pro-democracy campaigner Ahmed Mansoor for criticizing the government on social media, two sources said on Monday. from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2BOWdyC

Organisers had planned to release 130,000 balloons at a Manila nightclub to ring in the new year. from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2s13rLt