The last buses that took part in the evacuation of residents from eastern Aleppo finally left the city late on Thursday night after long delays due to extremely cold weather, as Syria's industrial capital was completely in the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's forces for the first time since 2012, it was reported.
After it became clear that the main suspect of driving the lorry that killed 11 people Monday in a Christmas market in Berlin was a 24-year-old Tunisian with a criminal record as a jihadist, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her hopes that the alleged perpetrator, currently at large, is brought to justice as soon as possible.
The United Kingdom is resolutely committed to the Islanders right to self determination assured the Prime Minister Theresa May in her Christmas message to the Falklands. Mrs. May also pointed out that a better relationship with Argentina is in everyone’s interests, and in time, this should reap the rewards through benefits to the Islands' economy, improving trade and tourism, and developing the hydrocarbons and fisheries industries.<br /><br />
The full message from Mrs. May published in this week's Penguin News, follows:
Sparking protest from California citrus leaders, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has ruled that fresh lemons from Argentina will be allowed to be imported into the U.S. The rule is the result of ten years of study on pest risks associated with Argentina lemons, according to the USDA. A proposal to allow Argentina lemon imports was published in May this year and received more than 400 comments.
Brazil's construction colossus Odebrecht and affiliated petrochemical company Braskem SA agreed on Wednesday in New York to pay at least US$3.5 billion, the largest penalty ever in a foreign bribery case, to resolve international charges involving payoffs to Brazil's state oil company and others.
Germany’s anti-immigrant party led a populist chorus from around Europe in pinning the blame for the Berlin truck attack on the policies of Angela Merkel. The Chancellor's acceptance of more than a million Middle Eastern refugees last year set the scene for an Islamist massacre on German soil, Alternative for Germany (AfD) claimed.
Russia, Iran and Turkey agree that the priority in Syria is fighting terrorism and not the removal of Bashar al-Assad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters after a tripartite summit on Tuesday in Moscow. Lavrov welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the Russian capital for talks on the Syrian conflict as the evacuation of the last rebel-held enclave in Aleppo continued.
In the final stretch of his term President Barack Obama is implementing new environmental protections that stand to thwart Donald Trump's agenda on oil and gas extraction in ways that may prove difficult for the president-elect to roll back. The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it will place an indefinite ban on offshore oil and gas drilling across large swaths of Atlantic and Arctic waters.
The government of Nicolás Maduro Tuesday reopened its border with Colombia, eight days after closing it to combat smuggling, it was announced.
A huge explosion on Tuesday at the San Pablito fireworks market outside Mexico City has killed at least 31 people, according to the latest reports, while scores were injured. It was said that there were around 300 tonnes of fireworks on site at the time of the explosion, but that is yet to be confirmed.