Reuters, Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas plan to discuss a possible new mediation mechanism to replace the Middle East Quartet, the Interfax news agency said on Wednesday, citing a Palestinian diplomat in Russia.
The discussion would take place when the two meet in the southern Russian city of Sochi on Feb. 12, Abdel Hafiz Nofal, a Palestinian envoy in Moscow, was cited as saying.
HK schools to shut due to flu outbreak
Reuters, Hong Kong
Hong Kong authorities, grappling with a seasonal flu outbreak, have decided to shut all kindergartens and primary schools from Thursday, days ahead of scheduled Lunar New Year holidays, to rein in spread of the disease.
By Monday, seasonal flu had killed 121 people, two children among them, since the start of the year, said the Department of Health, which recorded 224 severe cases over the period.
Macron vows to keep Corsica French
AFP, Ajaccio
President Emmanuel Macron told nationalists on the island of Corsica during a visit Tuesday that he would try to accommodate their demands for more autonomy while keeping them in France’s “Republican fold”.
Macron’s two-day visit to Corsica is being closely watched on the mainland, where some fear that giving the Mediterranean island too much autonomy could fuel a breakaway bid in the future.
US launches new air attacks against Taliban
AFP, Washington
US bombers have struck multiple Taliban targets in a new air offensive over the past four days in far northeastern Afghanistan near the China and Tajikistan borders, the Southern Command said Tuesday.
The strikes hit Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province, “preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts,” the Southern Command said in a statement.
Pakistan court convicts 31 over campus lynching
Reuters, Peshawar
A Pakistani court on Wednesday convicted 31 people over the campus lynching of a university student who was falsely accused of blasphemy, and sentenced one of them to death, a defense lawyer said.
The killing of student Mashal Khan, 23, last year sparked an outcry and raised fresh questions about the misuse of a harsh blasphemy law, which carries a death sentence for insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
Democrats win special election in Missouri
HuffPost
Democrats flipped a Missouri state House seat Tuesday, marking the 35th seat that has changed from red to blue since Donald Trump become president.
Mike Revis, 27, defeated his Republican opponent in a special election Tuesday by 3 percentage pointThe 97th District in Jefferson County went for Trump in the presidential election by 28 points.
