Baltic states urge strong U.S. defense commitment to region
TALLINN (Reuters) – The defense ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia renewed their call on Wednesday for a strong U.S. engagement in the Baltic region amid concerns over the attitude of the incoming Trump administration.
Brazil’s Temer loses top aide due to graft allegations
BRASILIA (Reuters) – One of Brazilian President Michel Temer’s closest aides resigned on Wednesday following allegations he had received graft money from engineering conglomerate Odebrecht in a widening corruption scandal that is besieging the governme…
Fall of Aleppo puts Iran on cusp of ‘Shi’ite crescent’ of influence
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran has played a pivotal role in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s campaign to crush rebel resistance in Aleppo and is now close to establishing a “Shi’ite crescent” of regional influence stretching from the Afghan border to the Me…
EU leaders to endorse Dutch demands on Ukraine: sources
BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – European Union leaders, anxious to preserve a landmark cooperation agreement with Ukraine, will address Dutch concerns on Thursday by saying the deal does not give Kiev the status of a candidate for membership of the bloc…
UK will trigger Article 50 earlier than end of March if can: Brexit minister
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will begin formal divorce talks with the European Union earlier than the end of March if it can, Brexit minister David Davis said on Wednesday.
Hezbollah, other Shi’ite allies helped Assad win in Aleppo
By Tom Perry, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tom Miles
Colombia’s FARC rebels expel five commanders opposed to peace deal
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s FARC rebels have expelled five commanders for refusing to demobilize and join a peace process with the government aimed at ending more than five decades of war, guerrilla leadership said.
Syria’s Assad: Trump can be our natural ally
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russian state television that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could become a natural ally to Damascus if he shows he is sincere about fighting terrorism.
Italian PM wins Senate confidence vote-count by ruling PD party
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni won a confidence vote in the upper house Senate on Wednesday, allowing his coalition government to take office.
Putin’s barking dog take center stage at media interview
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ahead of his visit to Japan later this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin brought his dog Yume into an interview with Japanese journalists, and the large Akita breed made sure she as well as her master were well heard.
