* Russia and Ukraine have reached in Berlin (Germany) an agreement in principle on a new gas transit contract, European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said in Berlin on Thursday (December 19) evening. The details of the agreement are to be discussed on Friday.
* Six UN Security Council members from the European Union (EU) on Thursday said the Iran nuclear agreement is fundamental to regional and international peace and security and called for its fulfillment.
* The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved the revised version of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement after months of negotiation with the administration over issues including labor and environmental enforcement.
* New Zealand Minister for Energy and Resources and Minister for Climate Change urged kiwis to have their say on two important environmental-related policy decisions to switch New Zealand to full renewable energy and solve the challenge of climate change.
* Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he will not renegotiate the Hambantota Port agreement with China and will look to ensure that the security of the port lied with the Sri Lankan side.
* Evo Morales said Thursday that he is still president of Bolivia and that the recent arrest warrant against him is "unjust" and "illegal." He said that the law allows him to remain in office until his mandate concludes on Jan. 22, 2020.
* Brazil's lower house of congress will not approve the proposed tax on digital financial transactions, Rodrigo Maia, president of the Chamber of Deputies, said on Thursday.
* The US Treasury announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on two Iranian judges for alleged oppression.
* Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zahorodniuk has said the Ukrainian Armed Forces will finish implementation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s standards by the end of 2020, state-run news agency Ukrinform reported Thursday.
* France has deployed armed drones equipped with laser-guided bombs within its Barkhane Operation in Sahel, and the experimental shots by these drones fired from Niamey air base in Niger were successful, Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly announced on Thursday.
* The Latin American economy will accelerate slowly in 2020 due to decreased concerns over global political and commercial risks, according to experts. After showing almost zero growth in 2019, the region's economy could grow between 1.0 percent and 1.3 percent next year, said Alfredo Coutino, director of Latin America Economic Research at Moody's Analytics.
* Israeli warplanes struck the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening after a rocket was launched from the coastal enclave into southern Israel, Palestinian security sources said.
* Jordan and Greece discussed on Thursday the means to enhance bilateral relations and the latest regional developments.
* Morocco and France on Thursday pledged to give new impetus to the bilateral partnership and signed several agreements covering various fields, official news agency MAP reported. The agreements were signed during the 14th meeting of Morocco-France High-level Commission held in Paris.
*Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed on Thursday the recent situation in Libya over phone, according to the Egyptian presidency.
