Get used to drills, China tells Taiwan; Taipei says it seeks peace
BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan will gradually get used to Chinese air force drills that encircle the island, China said on Wednesday, while Taiwan’s premier reiterated the self-ruled island’s desire for peaceful relations with its giant neighbor.
Romanian ruling lawmakers propose looser anti-graft rules
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s ruling Social Democrats have filed a slew of new changes to the criminal code that would decriminalize several graft offences, including some abuse of office crimes, their second attempt this year to weaken a crackdown o…
Medical evacuations begin from Syria’s Eastern Ghouta: ICRC
GENEVA (Reuters) – Medical evacuations have begun from the Syrian rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta to Damascus, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria said early on Wednesday.
Argentina judge says death of prosecutor Nisman was murder
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was found dead days after accusing former President Cristina Fernandez of covering up Iran’s role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, was murdered, a federal judge said…
Syrian army and Iranian proxies demand surrender of rebels near Israel border
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian rebels pinned down in a strategic area where the Israeli and Lebanese borders meet with Syria were handed an ultimatum by the Syrian army and its Iranian-backed militia allies to either surrender or face certain military defeat…
Brazil declares top Venezuelan diplomat persona non-grata
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s government will declare Venezuela’s chargé d’affaires persona non-grata, stripping him of his diplomatic status, Brazil’s foreign affairs ministry told Reuters on Tuesday.
Families chased from Libyan town in 2011 can go home: government
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan families displaced from a town ransacked after the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 will be allowed to return home in February, the U.N.-backed government said on Tuesday after more than a year of negotiations.
Twenty-eight arrests after Venezuela looting, violence
PUERTO ORDAZ, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuelan authorities said on Tuesday they had arrested 28 people in southern Bolivar state for looting and disorder over Christmas in the latest unrest during a severe economic crisis.
Liberians vote in historic, delayed election
MONROVIA (Reuters) – Liberians went to the polls on Tuesday for a presidential election they hope will mark their first democratic transfer of power in more than seven decades, despite allegations of fraud.
U.S. sanctions North Korean missile experts, Russia offers to mediate
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United States announced sanctions on two of North Korea’s most prominent officials behind its ballistic missile program on Tuesday, while Russia reiterated an offer to mediate to ease tension between Washington and Pyo…
