Pakistan is ramping up deportations targeting the over 700,000 Afghans who fled after the Taliban's return to power. Germany recently agreed to take in 160 asylum seekers but has also rolled back earlier promises.

Islamabad

Afghan refugees in Pakistan are experiencing increased uncertainty as deportations rise and Germany reduces its commitment to resettle those at risk. Many families, including former employees of German troops and women's rights activists, had previously been promised asylum but have since had their claims rejected, leaving them in hiding and fearing arrest.

The German government has shifted its policy, now only considering refugees with explicit legal cases and offering financial incentives for Afghans in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan. Protesters in Germany are calling on the government to honor its original promises and provide a clear future for the stranded Afghan families.

Afghan refugees at risk as deportations surge in Pakistan

A comforting routine before a flight into a new future. This Afghan family is getting ready for their trip to Germany, where they hope to be safe. I'm thrilled to be heading to Germany. The world knows that women's rights in Afghanistan are under threat. They face restrictions on work, education and more. My hope is to raise my voice for Afghan women once I reach Germany, advocating for their rights and freedom. I hope the German government and human rights organizations will extend their support to those stranded in Pakistan for one or two years. They're in grave danger and every effort counts. They're the lucky ones. This family has just received an email saying their asylum claim, which the German government had accepted, has now been rejected, along with more than 600 other Afghans in the same situation, living in hiding in Pakistan. Don't play with our lives. We've endured two years of hardship here in Pakistan, constantly hiding from the police. We leave home in the morning and are back at night, living in fear of arrest and deportation. We urge the German government to consider the Afghan refugees stranded here. Berlin promised a new home to hundreds of Afghans and their families who were particularly under threat from the Taliban government. That included people who'd worked for German troops and individuals whose work put them at risk, like women's rights activists. Such people often end up disappeared or dead in Afghanistan. But the coalition government of Friedrich Merz has since moved to roll back much of that commitment. We need to know who we are inviting to Germany. We adhere to our legal obligations, but we also look carefully at who comes and who receives long-term residence status. The German interior ministry says there is no longer any political interest in admitting refugees who don't have an explicit legal case. It has offered money to Afghans in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan. Outside the German parliament, protesters call on the government to keep its original promises, instead of leaving hundreds of Afghan families in limbo, trapped in Pakistan with no clear future.

An investigation into the explosion which took place in the Russian capital on Monday, killing Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, is under way.

Moscow

Top Russian general killed in apparent car bomb explosion in Moscow

Australian police say homemade bombs were thrown at a crowd before the Bondi Beach mass shooting but failed to detonate. The December 14 attack on a Jewish Hanukkah celebration left 15 dead, sparking calls for tougher gun laws and action against antisemitism.

Bondi

Australian authorities say IEDs failed to detonate in Bondi shooting

At least 15 documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that were initially made public have been pulled from the Justice Department website. The agency says it will keep reviewing and redacting materials to "protect victims."

Washington

Epstein files pulled down to 'protect victims'

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker near Venezuela, a U.S. official tells CBS News. It's another move by the Trump administration to put pressure on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.

Caracas

U.S. pursuing third oil tanker off Venezuela coast, official says

Nine people have died and at least ten others were wounded after a group of gunmen carried out a shooting at a South African pub during the early hours of Sunday, authorities said.

Bekkersdal

At least nine people killed in South Africa pub shooting

U.S. intelligence reports continue to warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire, six sources familiar with U.S. intelligence said.

Ukraine Invasion

As peace talks go on, U.S. intel says Putin's war goals unchanged

A court in Pakistan has convicted and sentenced the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 17 years in prison after finding them guilty of retaining and selling state gifts, including jewelry given by Saudi Arabia in 2021.

Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan convicted to 17 years in prison

The U.S. seized an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast on Saturday. It's the second time in two weeks that U.S. forces have carried out such an action. This comes after President Donald Trump announced a block of "sanctioned oil vessels" entering and exiting Venezuela.

Oil tanker seized off Venezuela, second in two weeks

The Justice Department released more documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Saturday after failing to meet Friday's deadline to release all the documents, as required by the law signed by President Trump last month. The Justice Department said the delay was, in part, to ensure that victims' information was protected.

Justice Department releases more Epstein documents Saturday

The U.S. Department of Justice released thousands of documents, photos and files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday. But some Democrats are criticizing the partial release because the department had a deadline to release all of the files by end of Friday.

'Partial' release of Epstein files faces criticism

The United States military “hit the ISIS [ISIL] thugs in Syria”, President Donald Trump has said, a week after two US soldiers and an interpreter were killed in Syria’s Palmyra city. Trump said he “ordered a massive strike on the terrorists that killed our three great patriots last week”.

Damascus

Trump says U.S has launched large-scale attacks on ISIL in Syria

Ukraine said its drones hit a vessel from Russia's shadow fleet – the first such strike in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Russia's shadow fleet transports sanctioned Russia oil by frequently changing flags and concealing ownership.

Ukraine strikes Russian shadow fleet tanker in Mediterranean sea

The U.S. Justice Department has released thousands of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, including photos featuring people like former President Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger. However, survivors are concerned with how much information was redacted from the files.

Thousands of new Epstein files, photos released

The U.S. military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday (December 19) in retaliation for an attack on American personnel, U.S. officials said.

U.S. hits ISIS in Syria with large retaliatory strikes

The man suspected of carrying out an attack in Taiwan with a smoke grenade and knife acted alone, police said on Saturday of the incident that killed at least four, including the attacker. This edit contains graphic images.

Taipei City

Taipei attacker acted alone, police say after three killed

The suspect in the Dec. 13 mass shooting on the campus of Brown University was found dead by suicide in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, authorities said. He has been identified as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a former Brown grad student.

Providence

How a Reddit post led police to the suspected university shooter

Seven people were killed, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his wife and children, in a plane crash in North Carolina. Investigators hope to find clues about why it happened on the cockpit voice recorder. Cristian Benavides has the latest.

Plane crash kills NASCAR driver, family

President Trump announced new agreements on Friday with nine pharmaceutical companies aimed at making certain prescription drugs cheaper. CBS News reporter Karen Hua has the details.

Trump announces agreements with major drugmakers to lower prices

The U.S. Justice Department released a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, bowing to pressure from lawmakers who forced their disclosure with a new law.

Washington County

Justice Department releases new tranche of Epstein files

The Justice Department has released a new batch of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman has more.

Combing through newly released Epstein files

TikTok has signed a deal to sell its U.S. operations to a group of investors in America, a source familiar with the deal tells CBS News.

TikTok nears deal to avoid ban in the U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted to the European Union's massive $108 billion loan to fund Ukraine's war against Russia.

Kyiv

European Union loans Ukraine billions as Putin boasts about war

The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, continues to take a heavy toll on civilians, particularly in frontline areas such as Zaporizhzhia, where fighting and shelling persist.

Putin accuses Kyiv of rejecting peaceful settlement

The man believed to be responsible for carrying out the Brown University shooting and killing an MIT professor was found dead in a storage unit in New Hampshire on Thursday, officials said.

Salem

Suspect in Brown and MIT shootings found dead

Australia will launch a national gun buyback program in the aftermath of a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Council of the City of Sydney

Australia announces gun buyback program after Bondi Beach shooting

TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, signed binding agreements with American investors to allow the U.S. arm of the business to continue operating.

Beijing

TikTok signs deal to allow app to continue operating in the U.S.

Under a law passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, the Justice Department has until Friday to release its files on the Jeffrey Epstein case. House Democrats released more photos from the estate of the convicted sex offender. Scott MacFarlane reports.

House Democrats release more Epstein photos ahead of DOJ deadline

The European Commission announced it will delay the signing of the Mercosur trade agreement until the new year after Meloni asked for more time. No date has been set. Backers hope deal won't be further derailed.

Brussels

Mercosur signature delayed to January after Meloni asked for more time

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug. CBS News White House reporter Aaron Navarro has more on that and the president's year-end address from Wednesday night.

Trump signs executive order reclassifying marijuana

President Donald Trump laid out what he claims are the reasons that America's economy is thriving in an address to the nation. This comes as Americans remain concerned about high prices.

Breakdown