Malaysia’s top court invalidates state’s Islam-based laws on incest, sodomy and other offenses (apnews.com)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s top court on Friday struck down Shariah-based criminal laws in an opposition-run state, saying they encroached on federal authority. Islamists denounced the decision and said it could undermine religious courts across the Muslim-majority nation....
Pope Francis: I don’t bless a ‘homosexual marriage.’ I bless two people who love each other. (www.americamagazine.org)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – People who act shocked that a priest would bless a gay couple but have no problem with him blessing a crooked businessman are hypocrites, Pope Francis said....
Tucker Carlson: Putin takes charge as TV host gives free rein to Kremlin (www.bbc.co.uk)
What’s America’s view on this Tucker Carlson?
Helsinki police seize opioid 'more dangerous than fentanyl' | Yle News | Yle (yle.fi)
Italy’s far-right government submits plan to decriminalise abuse of office (www.theguardian.com)
Russian anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin says he is barred from election (www.theguardian.com)
Russian anti-war presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin says he has been banned from running against Vladimir Putin in the carefully managed presidential elections in March....
Ethiopia: UK warns of food crisis triggered by war and drought (www.bbc.com)
James Landale travels with the UK Africa minister to northern Ethiopia, where the situation is deteriorating.
Irish athletes boycott women's basketball tournament against Israel next month due to war in Gaza (allisrael.com)
For First Time in Two Decades, U.S. Buys More From Mexico Than China (www.nytimes.com)
Hamas proposes 135-day Gaza truce with complete Israeli withdrawal (www.reuters.com)
Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war....
Giraffes appear to be on a path to joining the ranks of Winnie the Pooh and Peppa Pig on Beijing's internet watchlist (www.businessinsider.com)
German firm BASF urged to quit Xinjiang over ‘gross abuses’ of Uyghurs (www.theguardian.com)
Tucker Carlson interviews Putin and asks Zelenskyy for conversation (www.pravda.com.ua)
Notorious former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has conducted an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin – the reason for his visit to Moscow – and said he has requested an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy....
At least 32 of remaining hostages in Gaza are dead, report says (www.theguardian.com)
More than a fifth of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are dead, according to available intelligence collated by the Israeli military....
Giant successor to Hadron Collider could uncover secrets of 95% of the universe (news.sky.com)
'Category 5' was considered the worst hurricane. There's something scarier, study says. (www.usatoday.com)
Yazidi woman held by IS for 10 years freed by Kurdish fighters in Syria (www.theguardian.com)
Iraqi, 24, rescued with her children from al-Hawl camp after being abducted then raped and forced into marriage...
Singapore passes law to hold 'dangerous offenders' beyond prison terms (news.yahoo.com)
By Xinghui Kok...
Billionaire PayPal co-founder backs doping-friendly Olympics — the ‘Enhanced Games’ (www.forbes.com.au)
Budanov asks Canada to hand over 83,000 decommissioned rockets [to Ukraine] (kyivindependent.com)
Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), hopes that Canada could hand over to Ukraine tens of thousands of rockets that are awaiting demolition at one of the country’s military bases....
UNRWA Set to Lose $65 Million, Documents Show (www.nytimes.com)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main aid agency in Gaza, is set to lose $65 million by the end of February as donors’ funding cuts begin to kick in, according to internal accounting documents reviewed by The New York Times....
Orbán boycotts parliament session called to ratify Swedish Nato bid (www.theguardian.com)
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has boycotted a session of parliament called by the opposition to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership, even as a group of western ambassadors arrived in the building to urge a vote....
Israel Bombed Belgian Office in Gaza After Nation Refused to Cut Off UNRWA Funding (www.commondreams.org)
Belgian officials expressed outrage Thursday after Israeli forces reportedly bombed the office building of the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation in the Gaza Strip, an attack that came after Belgium declined to join the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries in cutting off funding to the United Nations’ Palestinian...
China bets on open-source chips as US export controls mount - Reuters (news.yahoo.com)
BEIJING (Reuters) - When a Beijing-based military institute in September published a patent for a new high-performance chip, it offered a glimpse of China’s bid to remake the half-trillion dollar global chip market and withstand U.S. sanctions....
