MOSCOW - It was one of the most heavily anticipated diplomatic moves of the year, but when it came down to it, the Obama administration’s decision to expel 35 embassy staff, close two compounds, and impose sanctions on top intelligence chiefs c

Before the ball dropped and 2016 finally came to an end, revelers in Times Square and viewers watching at home were treated to an incredibly awkward five minutes of Mariah Carey.  

RT.COM/ 27 Dec, 2016 -   Accusations by the Israeli ambassador that the US was behind the UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements are “just not true,” the US State Department said. Israel has blamed Washington for not vetoing th

Israeli police have obtained new documents in a secret probe against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting them to seek a full criminal investigation against the politician on suspicion of bribery and fraud, local media reports.   

NEW DELHI AFP/ Dec28, 2016-  At least two people died and 28 were injured Wednesday after a train derailed in north India, close to the site of a previous rail accident that killed 146.  

BEIRUT AFP Dec28, 2016   -Air strikes carried out by unidentified aircraft killed at least 22 civilians, including 10 children, in a village held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria, a monitor said Wednesday.   

ANKARA, Turkey (AP/ Daily Mail) /28 December 2016-Turkey and Russia have reached an agreement on a cease fire plan comprising the whole of Syria, and the two countries will work to ensure that it comes into effect at midnight Wednesday night, Turkey&

Farmers across India are battling a steep fall in wholesale vegetable prices and are forced to discard their produce as a nationwide cash crunch following the scrapping of high-value banknotes hurts demand.   

TUNIS AFP Dec25, 2016- Tunisia’s security forces called on the government on Sunday to take “exceptional measures” to combat the return of jihadists fighting for extremist groups abroad.   

Oxfordshire, (Daily Mail, London), 26 December 2016 -  Pop star George Michael has died aged 53 at his home in Oxfordshire.  

THE HINDU, 26th DECEMBER, 2016-Battling recurring pollution enveloping its cities, China has passed a new law to levy environment tax on polluters, specially on heavy industries.

Associates of terror suspect Anis Amri the man suspected to be behind the truck attack in Berlin left 12 dead and dozens injured have been arrested in Germany as elite commando units raided addresses across the country as they searched for Europe&rsq

NEW DELHI AFP Dec22, 2016-According to the Walk Free Foundation’s 2014 Global Slavery Index, more than 14 million adults and children are trapped in modern slavery in India, the most of any country.   

MOSCOW REUTERS Dec 22-Russia staged a sombre funeral ceremony on Thursday for Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey who was shot dead in Ankara by a man who shouted “Allahu Akbar” and “Don’t forget Aleppo”. &nb

(Daily Mail, London), 22 December 2016 - Saddam Hussein’s daughter has praised Donald Trump for his ‘high level of political sensibility’ and his opposition to the war in Iraq. The 48-year-old, who now lives in Jordan after fleeing

A Pakistani asylum-seeker suspected of ploughing a lorry into a Berlin Christmas market and killing 12 people may not be the right man, police said on Tuesday, sparking fears the real killer could be on the run.   

Daily Mail/20 December 2016-  The Queen will step down as patron of more than 20 national organisations at the end of the month, Buckingham Palace revealed today.   

ALEPPO AFP/ Dec20, 2016-  Syria’s army on Tuesday urged the last remaining rebels and civilians to leave the besieged opposition enclave in Aleppo as it prepares to take full control of the devastated city.  

Daily Mail/20 December 2016-  A man who opened fire with a shotgun outside the US embassy in Ankara - just hours after a Russian ambassador was shot dead in a nearby art gallery - has been arrested.  

NEW DELHI AFP Dec19, 2016- India on Monday accused Pakistani militant leader Maulana Masood Azhar of masterminding an audacious attack on an air force base in January that led to a breakdown in relations between the two nuclear-armed nations.  

Some 350 people were able to leave a rebel-held pocket of east Aleppo on Sunday, a medical official said, despite the official postponement of evacuations of civilians and fighters from the devastated Syrian city.   

AFP/19 December 2016-  France and Australia will sign a multi-billion dollar deal -- which Paris has billed as the “contract of the century” -- for 12 state-of-the-art submarines, their defence ministers said on Monday.   

Daily Mail/AFP/ 19 December 2016-   Stephanie del Valle of Puerto Rico was crowned Miss World 2016, edging out runners-up from the Dominican Republic and Indonesia, and beauties from around the globe.   

The foreign and defence ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey will discuss the future of Syria and the city of Aleppo at talks in Moscow on Tuesday, Turkish and Russian officials said.

REUTERS, 19th DECEMBER, 2016- Malaysia said on Monday the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar was a regional concern and called for the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate alleged atrocitie

China will return an underwater U.S. drone seized by a naval vessel this week in the South China Sea, both countries said on Saturday, but Beijing complained that Washington had been “hyping up” the incident.   

(Daily Mail, London) - Pope Francis has talked about his fears about growing old amid concerns for his health on his 80th birthday.