Russian Orthodox priest faces expulsion for refusing to pray for victory over Ukraine (www.theguardian.com)
Church court says Aleksiy Uminsky broke his oath by refusing to recite ‘Prayer for Holy Rus’, which church has made compulsory at services...
Turkey launches air attacks against Kurdish rebels in Iraq and Syria (www.aljazeera.com)
Defence ministry says 29 locations hit after attack on Turkish military base in Iraq killed nine Turkish soldiers. The defence ministry said fighter jets struck targets in Metina, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil in northern Iraq, but did not specify which areas in Syria. It said the aim was “to eliminate terrorist attacks against our...
Fee-ling unwelcome: Canadian visitor calls out immigration fees - Cook Islands News (www.cookislandsnews.com)
Ecuador : All 178 prison officials taken hostage by inmates in Ecuador have been freed, the prisons authority on Saturday, amid a deteriorating security situation in the South American country (www.dw.com)
Two Navy SEALs are missing after Thursday night mission off coast of Somalia (thehill.com)
Uruguay inaugurates the first binational airport in Latin America and the second globally. - News (www.uruguayxxi.gub.uy)
State encourages coffee farmers to increase production – Kenya News Agency (www.kenyanews.go.ke)
Tragic Events in PNG Not a Good Example to Fiji And Other Pacific Island States – Fiji Sun (fijisun.com.fj)
New Year, New Mod Drama
Sorry to throw this on everyone in the group, but there has been another mod shakeup and it feels fair to address it publicly....
Volcano erupts on southwestern Japan island (english.kyodonews.net)
Slovakia: Surgery once again a condition for gender change – DW – 01/12/2024 (www.dw.com)
Amy Zoyomi is a 29-year-old transgender woman from Lucenec, a town with 30,000 inhabitants in southern Slovakia. As an adult, Amy decided to move to the capital, Bratislava. Her gender identity was one of the main reasons for leaving her hometown....
In Gaza, a family suffer painful wait for children's bodies (www.reuters.com)
Norway to allow mining waste to be dumped in fjords (www.theguardian.com)
After a 15-year dispute, the private company Nordic Mining has been given the go-ahead to dispose of 170m tons of mining waste at the bottom of the Førde fjord, which critics say will threaten marine life and put biodiversity at risk....
Biden: US delivered private message to Iran about Houthi attacks | Reuters (www.reuters.com)
Russian poet and Kremlin critic Lev Rubinstein dies aged 76 (www.theguardian.com)
The Russian poet Lev Rubinstein, a key figure of the Soviet underground literary scene who later protested against President Vladimir Putin, has died days after being hit by a car, his daughter said.
EU mulls sending warships to protect Red Sea vessels from Houthis (www.euronews.com)
Brussels wants to launch a bespoke EU mission to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels....
Wikipedia Entries Manipulated In Line With Iran’s Propaganda (www.iranintl.com)
Volcano erupts near Icelandic town, forcing evacuation of residents (www.theguardian.com)
No party gets majority in Taiwan Legislature; KMT wins most seats (focustaiwan.tw)
Trade with Asia-Pacific region increased eleven-fold since Peru joined APEC | News (andina.pe)
Peru: Armed Forces attend 'Resolute Sentinel 2024' final planning conference | News (andina.pe)
Peru: Net International Reserves total US$74.101 bn on Jan 10 | News (andina.pe)
'Catastrophic': Residents, aid organizations describe conditions in northern Gaza (abcnews.go.com)
According to a December report by the United Nations into food insecurity in Gaza, “At least one in four households (more than half a million people) in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic acute food insecurity conditions (IPC Phase 5 – Catastrophe), characterized by extreme food gaps and collapse of their livelihood.”...
Taiwan ruling party’s Lai wins presidential election (www.msn.com)
William Lai Ching-te from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won Taiwan’s presidential election.
India-Maldives row: Muizzu says Maldives won't be bullied (www.dw.com)
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu asserted his country’s independence amid fraying relations with India, as the island nation seeks closer ties with Beijing.
