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Hard Numbers: Ethiopia makes way for UN, Sudan's new government, EU vs Kremlin, koala car crash

Ethiopian refugees who fled Tigray region, queue to receive food aid within the Um-Rakoba camp in Al-Qadarif state, on the border, in Sudan December 11, 2020.

25: The Ethiopian government has finally allowed 25 more UN workers to enter the conflict-ridden Tigray region. Over 2 million people have been displaced since fighting between Addis Ababa and Tigray separatist forces broke out in November — and human rights groups say many more aid workers are needed to help stem the deepening humanitarian crisis.


7: Sudan's prime minister announced a new government that includes seven former rebel leaders who were involved in the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok dissolved the previous joint civilian-military cabinet that came into power after the ouster of strongman Omar al-Bashir, creating a new body that, he says, "aims to preserve this country from collapse" as sectarian clashes continue in Darfur.

3: Three European governments — Sweden, Germany and Poland — have expelled Russian diplomats in response to Moscow throwing out diplomats from their respective countries last week for joining street protests against the arrest and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The tit-for-tat measures reflect deteriorating relations between Russia and Europe as they try to reach an agreement on an undersea pipeline.

5: A koala caused a five-car pileup after trying to cross a busy freeway in Adelaide, southern Australia. No people involved in the car crash required hospitalization, and the koala has since been released back into the wild, away from the six-lane highway.

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