Russian officials get quirky holiday gift: a book of Putin’s one liners
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Some of Vladimir Putin’s saltiest one liners have been turned into a book by his supporters who have sent a batch to the Kremlin touting it as the ideal holiday gift for patriotic Russian officials.
Britain needs ‘rethink’ on flood defense after swathes of England hit
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain needs a ‘complete rethink’ of its flood defenses after towns, cities and countryside across northern England were inundated when rivers broke their banks in recent days, a government agency said on Monday.
Saudi security spending rises $5.3 billion in 2015: minister
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia increased its military and security spending in 2015 by about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion), Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakieh told reporters on Monday.
Around 20 soldiers arrested in Burkina over jail break plot
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Authorities in Burkina Faso have arrested around 20 soldiers for plotting to free from prison a prominent general who has been charged with staging a coup, Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida told a news conference.
Burundi peace talks start amid divisions, protests
ENTEBBE (Reuters) – Burundi’s government and opposition kicked off peace talks on Monday, though one senior member of the state delegation almost immediately threatened to pull out if he saw participants in a failed coup on the other side of the table….
Turkey PM says would not look positively on ‘hostile forces’ west of Euphrates
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Turkey would not look positively on Syrian forces hostile to Ankara moving to the west of the Euphrates, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday, after a U.S.-backed alliance of Kurds and Arab rebels took a dam on the river f…
Russian warplanes hit 556 targets in Syria in past three days
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s air forces carried out 164 sorties in Syria in the past three days, hitting 556 targets, Lt.-Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, a department chief at Russia’s Defense Ministry, told a news briefing on Monday.
Geneva lowers threat level after 18 days on alert
GENEVA (Reuters) – The Swiss city of Geneva lowered its alert level, police said on Monday, 18 days after it began a search for a number of people who officials said had possible links to terrorism.
Political feuding imperils Ukraine’s future, Obama’s record
KIEV (Reuters) – On his most recent visit to Kiev, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden said he spends more time speaking to Ukrainian officials than to his own wife.
Belgian strike set to disrupt international rail services in January
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A strike of Belgian rail workers on January 6 and 7 will disrupt international high-speed trains between Belgium, Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, rail operators said.
