Today In International News: December 19, 2017

Courtesy of NBC Washington

• Ahed Tamimi, a prominent 16-year-old Palestinian activist, has been detained during a pre-dawn raid on her home by the Israeli army and border police in the occupied West Bank.

• The United Nations General Assembly will reportedly hold an emergency session on Thursday to discuss President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The U.S. does not have the power to veto resolutions put before the General Assembly.

• 2 fighters and a 25-year-old woman were killed in a firefight with Indian soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir, sparking protests and calls for a general strike.

• The biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax system in more than 30 years could be signed into law by President Donald Trump. The plan includes steep tax cuts for corporations and wealthy taxpayers, as well as temporary tax cuts for some individuals and families.   It repeals a section of the Obamacare health system and allows oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

• Saudi air defenses shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi group toward Riyadh.

• The Trump administration has dropped climate change from a list of global threats in a new national security strategy.

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel admits mistakes in 2016 Christmas market attack.

• The president of Honduras declared himself re-elected despite calls from the Organization of American States (OAS) for a fresh vote over allegations of fraud and deadly protests following last month’s disputed election.

• Mexican leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has an 11-percentage point lead ahead of next year’s presidential election.

• The United States has for the first time publicly blamed North Korea for being "directly responsible" for the WannaCry cyberattack earlier this year.

• Russian women who are victims of domestic abuse are being forced to pay fines handed down to their abusers. 

• The Trump administration signaled that it could broaden the use of nuclear weapons as part of a new security strategy.