Today In International News: December 21, 2017

Courtesy of Reuters

• Over 120 countries defy President Trump on Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by voting it “null and void". Victory came with 128 votes in favour and nine against, while 35 countries abstained.

• Exit polls following Catalonia's snap election show pro-independence parties maintaining their majority in the regional parliament, setting up a conflict with Madrid. 

• The number of cholera cases in Yemen has hit 1 million people according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a new milestone for what was already one of the fastest growing outbreaks of the deadly disease in modern history.

• The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling party, has resolved to "immediately and unconditionally" downgrade the South African Embassy in Israel.

• A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea by crossing the demilitarised zone (DMZ) under the cover of thick fog.

• South Sudan’s government and rebel groups signed a ceasefire in the latest attempt to end a four-year civil war.

• The U.S. State Department has approved an export license for Ukraine to buy certain light weapons and small arms from U.S. manufacturers.

• Venezuela’s pro-government legislative superbody ruled that the parties who boycotted this month’s local elections had lost legitimacy, potentially eliminating the main opposition groups from the 2018 presidential race. 

• Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan for war meetings with Afghan leaders and visit U.S. troops, arriving four months after President Donald Trump outlined a new strategy to break the stalemate in the 16-year war.

• A 3-judge panel on a federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration’s efforts to delay accepting transgender recruits into the military. The Pentagon is set to begin accepting transgender troops into the military Jan. 1 after court orders required it adhere to the date.