Middle East

• Syrian security forces' assault on the city of Homs continued, with activists saying 40 people had been killed so far on Thursday.
• Egypt's prime minister said that a potential loss of U.S. aid would not convince his country to end a trial against American NGO workers.
• Israel's main trade union launched a national strike over the government's use of contract workers.

Asia

• A court in the Maldives issued an arrest warrant for the country's former president.
• The United States confirmed that one of China's top police chiefs, who some expect may have been seeking asylum, visited one of its consulates.
• Pakistani officials said that a senior al Qaeda militant was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the country's tribal areas.

Europe

• Romania's parliament approved a new government headed by the country's former foreign intelligence chief.
• A former French minister faces a criminal investigation for influence peddling.
• Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been denied painkillers in prison, putting her in tremendous pain, her daughter said.

Africa

• The Somali militant group al-Shabab set off a car bomb near a café in Mogadishu.
• Senegal's president rallied his supporters after coming under a wave of criticism for pursuing a third term in office.
• Sudan launched the Darfur Regional Authority, which is intended to boost development of the region.

Americas

• Argentina will make a formal complaint at the United Nations about Britain's "militarization" of the Falkland Islands.
• Brazilian police left a state legislature building that they had been occupying to press their demands in a pay dispute.
• Mexican security forces found 15 bodies in two graves in the state of Veracruz.

Middle East

• President Barack Obama issued an executive order that tightened sanctions on Iran's banking sector.
• Iraqi ministers belonging to the Iraqiya bloc ended their boycott of the Cabinet on Tuesday.
• Iran detained several people who allegedly had ties to BBC's Persian-language station.

Europe

• A vice president of the European Commission told a Dutch newspaper that Greece's exit from the euro zone would not mark the end of the currency.
• Britain's attorney general said he was "very concerned" that radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada had been released on bail, and that his government would still work to deport him to Jordan.
• Italy took emergency measures to conserve gas supplies in the face of shortages.

Asia

• The president of the Maldives resigned after weeks of popular protests.
• China reiterated on Tuesday that it would "resolutely crack down" on any unrest in Tibet.
• Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi campaigned outside her home town for the upcoming elections.

Africa

• Former Liberian warlord George Boley will be deported from the United States.
• The humanitarian organization Doctors of the World pulled out of northern Mali due to recent fighting between Tuareg groups and the military.
• Chinese workers that had been abducted by Sudanese rebels were freed.

Americas

• President Barack Obama's election campaign will return $200,000 given to him by a Mexico casino magnate who is wanted on drug and fraud charges.
• Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said that two of the country's most-wanted paramilitary leaders had been captured in Venezuela.
• Brazilian police clashed with police officers, who are striking for better pay.

Middle East

• The Ayatollah Khamenei declared the Iran would support all groups fighting Israel and that his country would retaliate against Western oil sanctions. 
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won an overwhelming victory in a snap primary vote held in parliament.  
• Human Rights Watch says that Muammar al-Qaddafi's former ambassador to France was killed after torture by the militia forces that captured him. 

Asia and Pacific

• North Korea issued a series of demands for reviving relations with the South. 
• A U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia gave a life sentence to former senior Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch.
• A bail appeal by MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom was rejected in New Zealand. 

Europe

• Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said China might be willing to work with the IMF to help shore up Europe's finances. 
• More than 100 people have died as a result of cold weather in Ukraine since last Friday.
• The International Court of Justice ruled that Germany has immunity from suits in foreign courts over Nazi war crimes. 

Americas

• Cuban protesters say police beat and sexually harassed a group of women who were planning to hold an anti-government rally. 
• Colombia's FARC rebels suspended plans to release six longtime hostages. 
• Brazil's minister of cities resigned over corruption charges. 

Africa

• The U.N. has declared famine conditions over in Somalia. 
• Demonstrators surrounded the presidential residence in Bamako to protest the Malian government's handling of recent attacks by Touareg rebels. 
• A surveillance drone reportedly crashed into a refugee camp in Mogadishu. 

Asia

• During a visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan's foreign minister dismissed charges in a leaked NATO report that her country supports the Taliban, calling the allegations "old wine in new bottles."

• The International Atomic Energy Agency is supporting new stress tests to determine whether Japan's nuclear facilities can weather another emergency.

• Bedouin tribesman in Egypt have released 25 Chinese workers kidnapped in an attack that came shortly after 29 Chinese workers were captured in Sudan.

Middle East

• Iran says it conducted "constructive and positive talks" with U.N. nuclear inspectors and promised more negotiations but released no additional details about the visit.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defeated an ultranationalist rival in an election for the leadership of his right-wing Likud party.

• Hundreds of young Muslim Brotherhood members blocked protesters from reaching the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated parliament in Cairo, resulting in more than 70 injuries.

Americas

• U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper listed Iranian aggression, cyberattacks, Mideast volatility, North Korea's nuclear program, and drug-fueled violence in Mexico and Central America as top concerns.  

• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff met with Fidel and Raul Castro in Cuba as part of an effort to strengthen financial ties with the island.

• Mexico's political leaders are up in arms over the discovery of $1.9 million in cash in a state official's luggage at an airport.

Europe

• Four men inspired by al Qaeda and Anwar al-Awlaki have admitted to a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange. 

• WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is appealing his extradition to Sweden at Britain's Supreme Court. 

• Opponents of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin brandished a giant banner opposite the Kremlin reading, "Putin, go away" before police removed the sign.

Africa

• Deadly clashes have erupted in Senegal's capital between police and opposition supporters protesting President Abdoulaye Wade's reelection bid, as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the violence.

• Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe condemned African leaders for recognizing Libya's National Transitional Council after an African Union summit.

• Zimbabwe is combating an outbreak of typhoid that has afflicted more than 1,500 people. 

Middle East

• Hamas leader Khaled Meshal met with King Abdullah II in his first official visit to Jordan since the Jordanian government shut down the group's headquarters in Amman in 1999. 

• Iraq's Sunni leaders have decided to end their boycott of parliament in a sign that the country's sectarian political crisis may yet be resolved.

• Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have launched a three-day tour in Iran as Iranian officials send conflicting signals about whether they'll halt oil exports to the West.

Europe

• Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and his coalition partners appear poised to support more austerity measures and reforms that will help the country secure a second bailout. 

• Rogue UBS trader Kweku Adoboli has pleaded not guilty to charges of false accounting and fraud.

• French President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a plan to raise consumer taxes but held back from announcing a reelection bid.

Americas

• An Ontario court has found three members of an Afghan Canadian family guilty of the "honor killings" of four other family members.

• Raul Castro declared that a multiparty system would not be part of the government's reforms because it would expose the country to U.S. imperialism.

• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is threatening to nationalize banks that don't fund government-supported agricultural projects.

Africa

• The Sudanese military says it's rescued 14 Chinese workers kidnapped by rebels in southern Sudan, but Chinese officials have cast doubt on the claim. 

• Senegal's highest court has ruled that President Abdoulaye Wade can run for a third term in office.

• African leaders gathered in Ethiopia have failed to elect a new chairman of the African Union Commission.

Asia

• Pakistan's highest court has granted Husain Haqqani, the embattled former ambassador to the United States, permission to travel abroad.

• The Japanese government says its rapidly aging population will decline by 30 percent by 2060.

• Soldiers involved in a failed mutiny in Papua New Guinea have laid down their arms in exchange for pardons.

Asia

• Japanese officials can't decide on the future of their country's civilian nuclear program.
• Australian Prime Minister Julie Gillard had to be rescued from angry protesters on Australia Day.
• Fiji declared a state of disaster due to flooding that had displaced thousands.

Middle East

• Thousands of protesters remained in Tahrir Square over night after demonstrations to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Egypt's revolution.
• Several people have died from torture in Libyan jails, according to Amnesty International.
• 13 people were killed in two bomb attacks in Iraq.

Europe

• French police arrested Jean-Claude Mas for manufacturing breast implants that failed to meet European safety standards.
• Talks between the Greek government and its private creditors to reduce the level of Greek debt resumed.
• More than 10,000 protested in Poland against an international treaty that they say would censor the Internet.

Africa

• Camp Lemonier, a U.S. base in Djibouti, played a key role in the raid that freed two aid workers in Somalia.
• Nigeria's police chief was forced to retire after a wave of attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
• Zimbabwe's public sector workers resumed their strike after failing to reach a deal on a wage increase.

Americas

• Argentina's President Cristina de Kirchner condemned British Prime Minister David Cameron's comments that her country had a colonialist attitude toward the Falklands.
• At least 19 people are missing after two high-rise buildings collapsed in Rio de Janeiro.
• U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that he was confident he would not be asked to serve in President Barack Obama's second term.

Asia

• China accused Tibetan activists of "distorting truth" over clashes between security forces and protesters.
• Author Salman Rushdie's video message to an Indian literary festival was canceled to avoid violence from Muslim activists.
• Gunmen opened fire on fishermen in the Philippines, killing 15 people.

Middle East

• Four car bomb attacks struck Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 13 people.
• A Moroccan student who set himself on fire to protest lack of economic opportunity died.
• Britain's defense secretary said that escalating tensions with Iran could force Britain to send warships to the Persian Gulf.

Americas

• The United Nations announced that it was investigating two claims of sexual exploitation of children by its staff in Haiti.
• Brazilian police seized an illegal settlement in the state of Sao Paulo.          
• In a new crackdown, Mexico arrested 11 alleged members of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Africa

• The Somali Islamist militia al-Shabab claimed to have launched a suicide attack on Ethiopian forces in Somalia, killing 10 people.
• An outbreak of typhoid fever struck Zimbabwe's capital of Harare.
• South Africa is investigating a gay slur allegedly made by the Zulu king.

Europe

• Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned legislation passed by France's parliament on the Armenian genocide as "racist."
• European stock markets fell as European finance ministers tried to convince Greece's private creditors to accept a lower interest rate on their loans to Athens.
• Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon went on trial for exceeding his authority by investigating crimes committed during the country's civil war and subsequent dictatorship.

Asia

• Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani appeared before this country's Supreme Court to defend himself from contempt charges. 
• Reuters reports that a senior al Qaeda organizer was killed inside Pakistan. 
• The Beijing government has agreed to use a more stringent measure for air quality. 

Middle East

• Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's chief political rival accused him of detaining hundreds of political opponents. 
• Iran's foreign minister warned neighboring states not to ally themselves too closely with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program. 
• An international monitoring group says Muammar al-Qaddafi had an undeclared cache of chemical weapons.

Americas

• Eight Haitian police officers were convicted for their role in a 2010 prison massacre. 
• British Foreign Minister William Hague is touring Latin America as part of a major diplomatic offensive in the region. 
• Cuban hunger striker Wilmar Villar died in prison. 

Europe

• A senior British official admitted that the British spy service was caught trying to hide surveillance equipment in a fake rock in Moscow several years ago. 
• France has suspended training operations in Afghanistan after four soldiers were killed by a renegade Afghan recruit. 
• The daughter of jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko says her mother's life is at risk.  

Africa

• Somali government forces launched a major offensive from Mogadishu to recapture territory from Al Shabab. 
• Around 45 Touareg rebels have been killed in two days of fighting with the Malian military. 
• Madagascar's military has threatened to arrest ousted President Marc Ravalomanana if he attempts to return to the country this weekend as planned. 

Africa

• A report by Oxfam and Save the Children suggests that a slow international response to famine in East Africa cost thousands of deaths.

• A suspect in Nigeria's deadly Christmas Day bombing has escaped from police custody.

• Gunmen from Eritrea attacked a group of European tourists in northern Ethiopia, killing five, wounding two, and kidnapping two.

Asia

• Pakistan has postponed a visit by U.S. envoy Marc Grossman until parliament can complete a review of bilateral relations, as tensions between the two countries continue to mount. 

• Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who is seeking office in a rural township southwest of Rangoon, registered for the country's upcoming elections with supporters in tow. 

• Chinese villagers launched another land grab protest, this time outside the Guangzhou city government building, as officials continue their crackdown on activists.

Middle East

• In a radio interview, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said a decision about an Israeli attack on Iran was "very far off," suggesting that Tehran's nuclear program has not yet advanced to a point that the Israelis deem unacceptable.   

• Thirty-four people died in a surge of violence in Syria on Tuesday, as troops and rebels strike a ceasefire in one town and the Syrian government considers whether to extend the Arab League monitoring mission in the country, which expires on Thursday.

• Israeli prosecutors have launched a hearing on whether to indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering. 

Europe

• Germany, Europe's largest economy, has lowered its economic growth forecast for 2012.

• After hinting at foreign interference with their space program last week, Russian officials now say they're investigating whether American radar systems caused their Mars probe to fail.

• Sweden is launching a new inquiry into the death of diplomat and Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg.

Americas

• Peruvian Vice President Omar Chehade has resigned over corruption allegations but will retain his seat in Congress. 

• Several thousand workers at a project to widen the Panama Canal are on an indefinite strike over pay.

• A Canadian naval officer has been charged with passing along state secrets to an unspecified "foreign entity."

Asia

• Myanmar freed several prominent political prisoners. 
• The Taliban said the video showing U.S. troops urinating on dead Taliban fighters won't effect peace talks.
• Japan's prime minister reshuffled his cabinet. 

Middle East

• Turkish officials say a Russian ship, possibly carrying weapons, has reached Syria. 
• Arab League head Nabil Elaraby said he fears a possible civil war in Syria.
• Bahraini police used tear gas to break up a protest in Manama.

Americas

• Haiti marked the two-year anniversary of its devastating earthquake.
• A military court recommended that Bradley Manning face court martial for allegedly releasing thousands of documents to WikiLeaks. 
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Fidel Castro in Cuba. 

Europe

• The Hungarian forint fell as the IMF passed on restarting financial assistance talks.
• The United States will remove two of the four Army brigades currently based in Europe. 
• A Norwegian court has ordered a new psychological evaluation of Anders Breivik. 

Africa

• Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan held crisis talks with union leaders in an attempt to end a nationwide strike. 
• 57 people were killed in a revenge attack in South Sudan. 
• Al Shabab killed six and abducted three others on Kenyan territory.

Middle East

• An Algerian Arab League monitor in Syria has quit the mission, which he described as a "farce," and called the situation in the country a "humanitarian disaster," as the United Nations reports that the Syrian government has stepped up its killings since the observers arrived.

• Israel's military chief said the army is preparing to absorb refugees in a buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which he said was inevitable.

• Egypt's Foreign Ministry is discouraging Israeli pilgrims from making an annual visit to the tomb of Rabbi Yaakov Abu Hatzira in the Nile Delta.

• The United States resumed drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas after a two-month pause designed to ease tensions between the two countries, which worsened after a U.S. strike killed two dozen Pakistani troops.

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing to garner support for sanctions on Iran's oil industry.  

• North Korea accused the United States of "politicizing" food aid but did not close the door on a deal.

• Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega promised "no dramatic changes" during his third term as president at a ceremony attended by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is on a four-nation tour of Latin America.

• The U.S. Treasury Department has labeled Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman "the world's most powerful drug trafficker." 

• Concerns about the safety of juice in Brazil and cold weather in Florida have pushed orange juice prices to a record high.

• The paralyzing standoff between Nigeria's government and unions over the removal of a fuel subsidy has entered its third day, amidst continuing attacks that the government blames on the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

• A French investigation has concluded that aides to Rwandan President Paul Kagame were not responsible for a 1994 missile strike that shot down former President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane and sparked the country's genocide.

• Ugandan businesses in Kampala are shutting down and boycotting banks to protest the central bank's high interest rates.

Europe

• The German economy appears to have shrunk in the last quarter of 2011 but grown by 3 percent during 2011 as a whole.

• The Netherlands announced that it will ban the use of the drug khat, which is popular with the Somali community in the country.

• Without explicitly singling out the United States, the director of Russia's troubled space agency suggested that an anti-satellite weapon may have caused a Mars probe to fail. 

Americas

• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Venezuela to launch a Latin America tour, as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lashed out at the United States for criticizing his country's ties to Iran.

• Tests following Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's operation for suspected thyroid cancer have revealed that the Argentine president did not have cancer after all, according to a presidential spokesman.

• The State Department has ordered Livia Acosta Noguera, a Venezuelan diplomat in Miami, to leave the country after a news report claimed that she'd once discussed possible cyberattacks against the United States.

Asia

• Exiled former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he'll return to Pakistan later this month to lead his party's campaign in an upcoming parliamentary election.

• South Korean president Lee Myung-bak is visiting Beijing with political transition in North Korea and closer economic ties between South Korea and China at the top of the agenda.

• North Korea's state-run television is painting Kim Jong Un as a "military genius," claiming that he oversaw the 2009 test launch of North Korea's long-range rocket and showing him driving a tank and sitting in the cockpit of a warplane.

Africa

• In a move that could paralyze parts of the country, Nigerian unions have launched a nationwide strike over the elemination of a government fuel subsidy. 

• South Africa's African National Congress celebrated its 100th anniversary on Sunday at a soccer stadium with a mass rally, the ritual slaughter of a black bull, and a golf tournament.

• Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan suggested that there may be sympathizers of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram in his government and security agencies.

Middle East

• In a progress meeting in Cairo, the Arab League declared that the Syrian government had only partially made good on a promise to halt its crackdown on protesters, and pledged to beef up its mission in Syria.

• Israeli prosecutors have charged five settlers with organizing a raid on an Israeli army base in the West Bank in the first sign of a pledged crackdown on radical settlers.

• In an effort to speed up Ali Abdullah Saleh's exit from power, Yemen's cabinet has proposed a law granting the Yemeni president legal immunity -- a measure many protesters on the street oppose.

Europe

• French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are huddling in Berlin for yet another round of eurozone crisis talks. 

• The British cabinet is debating whether to give the Scottish government the legal power to hold a referendum on independence.

• Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is gaining ground on Socialist rival Francois Hollande in presidential polls, though Hollande remains the frontrunner.

Americas

• President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will announce a new round of defense cuts today.
• A former Mexican cartel boss pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to charges of racketeering and money laundering.
• A Mexican prison fight between rival gangs resulted in the deaths of 31 inmates.
  
  

Asia

• China's largest airlines announced that they would not pay a new EU tax on carbon emissions.
• Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said in an interview that she believed Burma would be democratic within her lifetime.
• Fifteen members of a tribal security force were killed by the Taliban in North Waziristan.

Middle East

• Syrian National Council head Burhan Ghalioun said that the Arab League observer mission should complete its mission fully or leave the country.
• The prosecutor of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak said that he holds the former president "politically and legally" responsible for the killings during last year's uprising.
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faces new charges of corruption related to his tenure as mayor of Jerusalem.

Europe

• British Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Burma in the first visit by a foreign secretary in a half-century.
• The euro declined to new lows due to concerns over Europe's banking sector.
• Dutch villagers were asked to evacuate their land due to flooding concerns.

Africa

• A Rwandan militia group killed 26 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Congolese military sources.
• Nigerian trade unions announced an indefinite strike in protest over the lifting of a fuel subsidy.
• A senior Kenyan judge faces an investigation after she allegedly threatened to shoot a security guard who was frisking people entering a mall.

Middle East

• Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will meet for the first time in over a year on Tuesday.
• Iranian authorities imprisoned the daughter of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on charges of propagandizing against the Islamic Republic.
• Tunisia promised to hand over a former Libyan prime minister if the new Libyan government could guarantee a fair trial.

Asia

• The Taliban confirmed that it had reached an agreement to open a political office abroad, possibly in Qatar.
• Activists said that Myanmar's clemency order fell short of its national reconciliation promises.
• A suicide attacker struck the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing at least five people.

Europe

• Germany's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in two decades.
• A Greek government spokesman warned that Greece may have to leave the euro if it does not receive another bailout.
• Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested against their new constitution.

Africa

• Tens of thousands of South Sudanese fled their homes due to inter-ethnic conflict.
• Musician Youssou N'Dour announced his bid for Senegal's presidency.
• Nigerians protested the removal of a fuel subsidy.

Americas

• Oil giant BP asked Halliburton, its contractor, to pay all the damages associated with the Gulf oil spill in a court filing.
• Venezuela will pay Exxon $255 million for assets that it nationalized in 2007, less than a third of what an arbitration panel awarded the company.
• Forest fires spread across Chile, destroying 57,000 acres of land.