[World] Russia's Plan to Bar American Adoptions Upends Families

Russia's Plan to Bar American Adoptions Upends Families
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-sign-anti-us-adoptions-bill-18073038
MOSCOW - President Vladimir V. Putin's decision on Thursday to endorse a ban on the adoption of Russian children by American citizens dealt a serious blow to an already strained diplomatic relationship, but for hundreds of Americans enmeshed in the ...

Time to act against violence against women in India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-gang-rape-case-Girl-reaches-Singapore-hospital/articleshow/17777000.cms
The tipping point in India for public outrage over violence against women could have been any attack on any woman. But it has centred on the horrifying rape of a 23-year-old Delhi medical student on a public bus.

Battle for Syrian City Lays Both Sides' Weaknesses Bare
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/world/middleeast/battle-for-aleppo-shows-weaknesses-of-both-sides.html
Tyler Hicks/The New York Times. A rebel in Aleppo, which has highlighted the rebels' inability to organize a coherent campaign and the government's missteps.

US shuts embassy in Central African Republic
http://www.euronews.com/2012/12/27/car-appeals-for-aid-to-fight-rebels-france-refuses/
WASHINGTON - The State Department has closed its embassy in the Central African Republic and ordered the ambassador and his diplomatic team to leave the country as rebels there continue to advance and violence escalates, U.S.

Bhutto's son gives anniversary speech
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-has-the-ability-to-lead-the-country-says-pakistan-pm/312725-56.html
BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhuanet) --The son of late-former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has given a speech on the fifth anniversary of his mother's assassination.

W. Bank: Palestinians hurl stones at IDF, Israelis
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4324568,00.html
According to IDF, no injuries suffered, although some vehicles damaged in 14 separate attacks throughout West Bank. Palestinian stone throwers in Hebron [file] Photo: TOVAH LAZAROFF.

Falklands invasion 'surprised' Thatcher
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20800447
The 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina caught Margaret Thatcher by surprise, newly released government papers have shown.

Ailing Mubarak moved to military hospital
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/egypt-s-hosni-mubarak-moved-to-army-hospital-on-health-concerns-310478
(CNN) -- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence in a Cairo prison, is being transferred to a military hospital for medical treatment, state-run TV reported Thursday.

Hamas bans Palestinian journalists from Israeli media co-operation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/27/hamas-bans-journalists-israeli-media
Hamas has banned Palestinian journalists in Gaza from working with or giving interviews to the Israeli media. The order, issued this week, said: "The government has decided to bar co-operation or work with Zionist media due to its hostility.

Instant Index: Shark Tank Bursts in Shanghai Mall
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/shark-tank-explosion-in-chinese-mall-caught-on-video-1.1093484
We're going to turn now to our "instant index" on a thursday night. Shoppers at a shanghai mall suddenly swimming with the sharks.

Iranian Leader Fires Woman From Cabinet
http://dawn.com/2012/12/27/iranian-president-sacks-cabinets-sole-woman/
Iran's president on Thursday dismissed his health minister, the only woman to serve in the cabinet since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after she publicly criticized the government's response to acute shortages of medicine imports, an indirect consequence of ...

Mario Monti drove Italians crazy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/27/fiscal-cliff-deadlock-italian-political-tensions
Sofia. After filing his resignation as PM on the eve of Christmas, Mario Monti stated that he would run for PM on 24-25 February, but not in accordance with the regular scheme as the leader of a parliamentary group, but as the author of a programme for Italy's ...

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge make it to Sandringham for Boxing Day shoot ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9768324/Duke-and-Duchess-of-Cambridge-make-it-to-Sandringham-for-Boxing-Day-shoot-and-picnic.html
The pair arrived in time for the annual Boxing Day shoot and picnic on the 20,000-acre Norfolk estate. In a break with tradition, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge did not join the rest of the Royal family at Sandringham on Christmas Day this year.

Taliban capture more than 20 Pakistani policemen
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/28-Dec-2012/taliban-capture-33-troops
The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP), an al Qaeda ally, captured more than 20 Pakistani police Levies outside the northwestern provincial capital of Peshawar, after launching a series of assaults on checkpoints outside of the city.

PM: Damascus using arms banned by int'l conventions
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/61349/World/Region/Israel-PM-met-Jordan-king-in-Amman-over-Syria-Medi.aspx
Netanyahu says J'lem watching Syria carefully, warns that IDF's "long arm" will strike those who threaten Israel.

DC-area Starbucks serving up a message of 'Come Together' in hopes of ...
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/area-starbucks-serve-fiscal-cliff-plea-article-1.1227441
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wants to bring Washington together over a cup of coffee. Schultz announced on Wednesday that the coffee chain's D.C.