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Iran said it wanted to download black box recordings itself from a Ukrainian airliner that crashed, killing all 176 people aboard, after Canada and others said the plane was brought down by an Iranian missile, probably by mistake. Canada said that a surface-to-air missile brought down a Ukrainian airliner in Tehran, while the Ukrainian government said it was investigating reports of debris from a Russian-made Tor-M1 missile. France’s BEA air accident agency said it would be involved in the investigation into the Ukrainian airliner crash.

Australia urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes and prepared military backup as authorities said the next few hours could be “very, very challenging” even as rain poured down in some parts. Thousands of Australians took to the streets to protest against government inaction on climate change, as bushfires ravage large swathes of the country, incinerating wildlife and polluting the air.

Politics

The House of Representatives voted to stop Trump from further military action against Iran as the Middle East remained tense after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes. Trump made the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani a theme of his re-election campaign on Thursday, drawing cheers from thousands at a rally when he said the death saved lives and delivered “American justice.”

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders remain the top candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination as potential voters appear increasingly interested in picking a winner this year instead of someone who shares their interests, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Democrats vowed to keep fighting to hear witnesses at Trump’s pending impeachment trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, even as their drive to exact a guarantee ahead of the proceedings appeared futile. “Those votes at the beginning of the trial will not be the last votes on witnesses and documents. Make no mistake, we will continue to revisit the issue,” Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Asia

Taiwan votes in presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday, which will set the course for the democratic island’s ties with its giant and autocratic neighbor China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Hong Kong activists and budding pro-democracy politicians have flocked to Taiwan to observe its elections, aiming to bolster exchanges and galvanize an alliance against China’s influence. Dotted around Taiwan lie the remains of abandoned bunkers originally built to repel an invasion from China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own to be brought under Beijing's rule. The threat has not gone away but the ageing bunkers are no longer needed for defense purposes.

Hong Kong students brave the front lines to livestream the protests. It was holiday time at Hong Kong’s sprawling Harbour City shopping mall, and shoppers posed for selfies next to giant presents wrapped in golden foil, while toddlers jumped into a ball pit filled with fake marshmallows. College students Oscar Tsoi and Joanna Ho raced past candy-colored Christmas trees, on the tail of riot police and protesters. Before the Hong Kong protests began in June, Chris Ngai spent most of his free time playing World of Warcraft and finding new cocktail recipes. Now the bespectacled 24-year-old junior engineer is launching a trade union. His aim is to ramp up pressure on Hong Kong’s government.

Trump sent a happy birthday message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s national security adviser Chung Eui-Yong said. Chung, who met Trump in Washington this week, told reporters that he was given a message to pass to North Korea and it was delivered.

Thai opposition party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has been charged in connection with an anti-government rally he staged last month, he said after meeting with police. The Dec. 15 rally Thanathorn called was the largest since a 2014 coup when then-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power from a civilian government.