A year after China ended its harsh COVID policies, it's struggling to rebound (www.npr.org)
A year ago, China lifted its draconian COVID restrictions. Many expected the country to bounce back quickly. That hasn't happened.
Lee Jae-myung, Head of South Korean Opposition Party, Is Stabbed (www.wsj.com)
SEOUL—The head of South Korea’s opposition party was stabbed in the neck during a Tuesday visit to the port city of Busan....
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty in national security trial (www.reuters.com)
Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to all charges against him in a high-profile national security trial that could see the city’s leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party jailed for life.
Bangladesh court sentences Nobel laureate Yunus to 6 months in jail. He denies violating labor laws (apnews.com)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A labor court in Bangladesh’s capital Monday sentenced Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to six months in jail for violating the country’s labor laws....
[Israel] High Court invalidates law for repealing the Reasonableness Clause (m.jpost.com)
The High Court judges ruled in an 8-7 vote. The High Court of Justice on Monday struck down the basic law for repealing the reasonableness clause by a majority of 8 justices who opposed the law against 7 who supported it. Observers estimates are that the judges published the verdict this evening to prevent further leaks, and in...
Heaviest snow in South Korea's capital Seoul for more than 40 years (news.sky.com)
South Korea’s weather agency said 12.2cm fell on the capital on Saturday - the heaviest snowfall since 1981.
US Navy helicopters destroy Houthi boats in Red Sea after attempted hijack (www.bbc.com)
Anger in Poland after state TV execs’ salaries under previous government made public (notesfrompoland.com)
Controversy has emerged in Poland after the salaries paid to key figures at state broadcaster TVP under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, which left office earlier this month, were revealed by an MP from the new ruling coalition....
‘What kind of life is this?’ Dire conditions in increasingly cramped southern Gaza (edition.cnn.com)
China removes nine PLA generals from top legislature in sign of wider purge (www.scmp.com)
Five past or current top commanders of elite PLA Rocket Force among those stripped of NPC role, Standing Committee statement issued on Friday says...
Game of clones: Science is immortalizing Argentina’s top polo horses (wapo.st)
the extent to which this polo-obsessed nation has already fundamentally transformed the sport and the nature of horse breeding was evident on the field at the Argentine Open in Palermo in late November. As the players and the clones watched a video montage memorializing the late original champion mare, her name flashed across...
Israel proposes a partial withdrawal of troops from Gaza in exchange for release of hostages (english.elpais.com)
Students launch 24-hour traffic blockade in Serbia’s capital ahead of weekend election protest (apnews.com)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A group of university students on Friday launched a 24-hour blockade of a main street in Serbia’s capital during New Year’s holiday rush as protests continued in the troubled Balkan country after reports of irregularities that marred a recent election....
Israeli officials: Qatar says Hamas "agreed in principle" to resume hostage deal talks (www.axios.com)
Qatari mediators told Israel that Hamas has “agreed in principle” to resume talks on a new deal to secure the release of around three dozen hostages held in Gaza in return for up to several weeks of a halt in fighting, three Israeli officials said.
Controversial Brazil law curbing Indigenous rights comes into force (www.theguardian.com)
Burundi president calls for stoning of gay couples (www.vanguardngr.com)
Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye launched a virulent anti-gay tirade on Friday, saying same-sex couples should be publicly stoned....
NATO air forces scrambled over 300 times in 2023 due to Russian military aircraft (www.reuters.com)
Ukraine war: Wave of Russian air strikes reported across Ukraine (www.bbc.co.uk)
Pilots mistakenly cut power causing Nepal plane crash that killed 72: Report (m.timesofindia.com)
Former China central bank official jailed for 16 years for graft: Caixin | The Straits Times (www.straitstimes.com)
Iran executes four accused of sabotage, links to Israel's Mossad (www.reuters.com)
Iran executed on Friday four people, including a woman, whom it accused of being “saboteurs” with links to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, the Mizan news agency affiliated to the judiciary said....
Mexico says a drug cartel kidnapped 14 people from towns where angry residents killed 10 gunmen (apnews.com)
A cargo ship picking up Ukrainian grain hits a Russian floating mine in the Black Sea, officials say (apnews.com)
Venezuela mounts military exercises as UK sends warship to support Guyana (www.theguardian.com)
Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has ordered more than 5,600 military personnel to participate in “defensive” exercises, after the UK deployed a warship to waters off the coast of Guyana in a show of support for the former British colony....