While you were sleeping: 23 December 2016

Two brothers in Oberhausen have been arrested by authorities on suspicion of intent to carry out a terror attack. The pair, aged 28 and 31, from Kosovo, are suspected of intending to attack a local shopping centre in the German town. It is unclear whether they acted alone or in conjunction with others.

An ISIL-linked series of attacks planned for Melbourne on Christmas day have been thwarted today. Police carried out a number of raids throughout the city, arresting several suspects. The attackers are believed to have intended to target Flinders Street train station, Federation Square and St Paul's Cathedral with knives and a gun.

An intervention by president-elect Donald Trump may well have delayed a United Nations vote condemning Israel's expanding settlements. After calling Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Cairo requested the UN's vote be delayed while it considers its options. Egypt is likely to now abstain from the vote, on the pain of swift and orange retribution in 2017.

Regime troops regained complete control of Aleppo on Thursday, marking a significant step forward in the fight against anti-Assad rebels. With the shell of the town now in regime control, and a total of five major cities now in Assad's hands, Idlib to the north-west sits firmly in the Assad forces' sights.