What's Going On Around The World Today?

BuzzFeed News reviewed 28 alleged hateful incidents that were reported after Trump’s win, and the majority of them checked out. Chicago police are investigating a Facebook Live video in which a man was tortured as a possible hate crime — four people were taken into custody. And Gambia’s dictator is hiring mercenaries with ties to other West African regimes after his election defeat.

HERE ARE THE TOP STORIES

Four people were taken into custody in Chicago after a man was tortured in a Facebook Live video.

In the video posted online, the man is seen restrained, his mouth covered with duct tape as he sits on the ground. “Fuck Donald Trump, fuck white people,” one of the assailants says as he cuts the man’s clothing and scalp with a knife. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said police were investigating if the incident was a hate crime, and that the treatment of the young man, who he described as having “mental health challenges,” was disturbing.

And a little extra.

  • Trump trusts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over US intelligence services. Assange said Tuesday that neither the government of Russia, nor anybody associated with the country, provided the website with hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign or the Democratic National Committee.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a military court in Israel Wednesday to protest the manslaughter verdict a soldier received for killing a Palestinian man.

Sgt. Elor Azaria was caught on camera fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian attacker in the West Bank in March. Azaria, 20, was charged with manslaughter following the incident and the case has polarized Israel since.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Facebook that he “support[s] giving Elor Azaria a pardon.”



WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON

Gambia’s dictator is hiring mercenaries with ties to other West African regimes after his election defeat.

President Yahya Jammeh is ignoring regional pressure to step down, and recruiting foreign fighters as he faces one of the biggest tests in his 22 years in power, according to an ex-soldier being recruited and a West African intelligence official.

The longtime president made a dramatic U-turn a week after losing the Dec. 1 election. After initially conceding defeat, he pledged to stay in power until a recount in a bizarre televised address.

His appeal of the election is due to be heard on Jan. 10 by the Supreme Court, which hasn’t heard a case in years.


QUICK THINGS TO KNOW

  • More on hacking: Several high-profile intelligence experts have signed a letter in support of legislation calling for the creation of a bipartisan commission to look into “foreign interference” during the 2016 election, which was introduced by US House Democrats last month. And why Senator John McCain wants the Russia investigation to be public.

  • Tech: Google’s latest push to capture the Indian market will put offline businesses on the internet. And Uber sent riders a creepy email about NYC’s plan to track their trips.

  • #BeatingWomenIsHappiness: An attack on a prominent Mexican senator led the hashtag #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad — or “Beating women is happiness” — to start trending on Twitter.

  • Sports: UFC champ Conor McGregor is being sponsored by a financial trading site that was fined under money laundering laws.

  • Business: Macy’s will close 68 stores and cut more than 10,000 jobs. Amazon is planning to make and sell its own branded workout apparel. And women are suing St. Ives, saying its popular scrub causes skin damage.

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