[World] Putin backs tough response to US rights law

Putin backs tough response to US rights law
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/9758327/Vladimir-Putin-backs-plan-to-make-US-adoptions-from-Russia-illegal.html
By Alexei Anishchuk and Timothy Heritage. MOSCOW | Thu Dec 20, 2012 8:23am EST. MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin supported a ban on Americans adopting Russian children on Thursday in a feud over a U.S.

Senate Opens Hearing on Benghazi Probe
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/12/20/benghazi-lawmakers-question.html
WASHINGTONâ€"The SenateForeign Relations Committee opened a hearing Thursday into what went wrong at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, armed with the findings of a blunt and critical investigation.

Israel 'developing new city in West Bank'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9758223/Israel-developing-new-city-in-West-Bank.html
Amid international condemnation of a sudden rush of settlement-building announcements totalling more than 6,000 new homes, settlers hailed the approval of plans for 523 houses in Geveot in the Gush Etzion bloc in the southern West Bank as a major ...

Syrian conflict becoming 'overtly sectarian'
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/19-Dec-2012/palestinians-flee-as-clashes-rock-damascus-camp
Syrian rebels clean their weapons at their headquarters in Maaret Ikhwan, near Idlib, Syria. Photograph: Muhammed Muheisen/AP. Live.

India, ASEAN finalise FTA in services, investments
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/southeast-asia-looks-to-india-amid-tensions-with-china/311314-3-244.html
Paving the way for larger regional economic cooperation and partnership in South â€"East Asia, India and the 10-nation ASEAN on Thursday finalised the much awaited free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments, a move likely to boost trade and ...

“Non” to a full apology by French president
http://www.euronews.com/2012/12/20/non-to-a-full-apology-by-french-president/
Members of the Algerian parliament knew not to expect a full apology from visiting French President Francois Hollande for his country's past actions in Algeria.

Iraqi president in Germany for medical treatment
http://www.dw.de/iraqi-president-talabani-arrives-in-germany-for-treatment/a-16467021
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani speaks to reporters at a press conference in Baghdad on Jan. 21, 2010. (Photo: Iraqi Presidential Press Office via AP).

Argentine Navy Defeats Hedge Fund
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/12/17/167446209/argentine-navy-defeats-hedge-fund
Let's do this one as a list: 1. The Argentine navy owns and operates a giant sailing ship. (This is relatively common, as it turns out.

Italian Marines Will Be Home for Christmas
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/12/20/italian-marines-will-be-home-for-christmas/
Reuters: Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre (R) and Salvatore Girone in the southern Indian city of Kochi, Dec. 20. Two Italian marines detained earlier this year over the fatal shooting of two Indian fishermen will go back to Italy for the Christmas holidays.

UN warns about sectarian fighting in Syria
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syrian-civil-war-increasingly-sectarian-18023176
BRUSSELS | Thu Dec 20, 2012 3:30am EST. BRUSSELS Dec 20 (Reuters) - The war in Syria has become divided across sectarian lines, increasingly pitting the ruling Alawite community against the majority Sunnis, with foreign fighters assisting both sides, ...