Congo forces arrest dozens after deadly anti-Kabila protests
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Congo authorities swept through the southeastern mining hub of Lubumbashi on Thursday making dozens of arrests, local activists said, after at least 34 people died in protests against President Joseph Kabila.
U.N vote on Israeli settlement postponed, ‘potentially indefinitely’: source
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A United Nations Security Council vote on a draft resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements has been postponed, “potentially indefinitely”, a western diplomatic source said on Thursday.
Poland’s Kaczynski calls EU democracy inquiry ‘an absolute comedy’
WARSAW (Reuters) – The head of Poland’s ruling party mocked an EU inquiry into the state of Polish democracy as “an absolute comedy” and brushed off accusations his country was veering into authoritarianism.
Fire engulfs 140 buildings in Japan, but no deaths reported
TOKYO (Reuters) – A fire engulfed about 140 houses, shops and other buildings in a Japanese coastal city on Thursday, injuring five people but causing no deaths, a fire official said.
Brussels welcomes progress in EU-Swiss relations after immigration law
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission on Thursday welcomed progress in relations between the EU and Switzerland after Bern avoided a clash with Brussels by passing an immigration law that does not impose outright quotas.
France to convene Middle East peace conference on Jan. 15
PARIS (Reuters) – France will convene some 70 countries on Jan. 15 for a Middle East peace conference in Paris, its foreign minister said on Thursday, and will invite the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to meet separately at its conclusion.
Islamic State claims suicide car bombs that killed at least 23 east of Mosul
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State claimed three suicide car bombs that killed at least 15 civilians and eight Iraqi policemen on Thursday in an eastern suburb of Mosul, according to a military statement.
Pope decries ‘malevolent resistance’ to needed Vatican reforms
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis decried “malevolent” internal resistance to his campaign to reform the Vatican bureaucracy on Thursday and said lay men and women should get top jobs if they are more qualified than clerics.
Russia says ties with U.S. frozen, Trump might be ‘more constructive’
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday dialogue with the United States was frozen at most levels but that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump might have a more constructive attitude towards Russia.
Trump calls for veto of U.N. resolution on halting Israeli settlements
(Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday echoed Israel’s call for a veto on a U.N. Security Council draft resolution to halt settlements, saying it “puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israeli…
