United States: A gift-wrapped package sent to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's home in a posh Los Angeles neighbourhood sparked a security scare but turned out to be filled with horse manure. The package was found in a next-door neighbour's driveway in Bel Air, the Los Angeles Police Department told the Los Angeles Times and KNBC television. The package also included a Christmas card with negative comments about President Donald Trump and the new US tax law signed by Trump last week. An LAPD bomb squad X-rayed the package before opening it and found the horse manure inside, police told local media.
Australia: A toddler has drowned in a portable pool in a southwest Sydney home. The 2-year-old boy was found in a pool at a home in Bass Hill, a NSW Police spokesman said. The child was rushed to Westmead Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A crime scene was established and police are investigating.
Guatemala: The Central American country of Guatemala will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the first nation to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump in ordering the change. Guatemala was one of nine nations that voted with the United States and Israel last week when the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution denouncing Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Spain: King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas address to call on Catalonia's newly elected parliament to renounce further moves towards secession from Spain. "The way forward cannot once again lead to confrontation or exclusion that, as we now know, only generates discord, uncertainty, anguish," the Spanish monarch said in a televised speech. Regional parliamentary elections resulted in separatist parties being voted back into power.
