Russia, Turkey: US supporting Syria 'terrorist' groups
Turkey's Erdogan lashes out at US-led coalition as Russia says new Washington defence policy would empower "jihadists".
Turkey and Russia have separately accused the United States of backing what they call "terrorist groups" in Syria, on the same day they agreed to push for talks in Kazakhstan next month over the conflict.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that he had evidence that US-led coalition forces give support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and Kurdish groups, namely the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
Czech Republic to fight 'fake news' with specialist unit
Centre will tackle interference in upcoming election as fears grow over propaganda websites allegedly linked to Russia
The Czech government is to set up a specialist “anti-fake news” unit as officials attempt to tackle falsehoods, predominantly about migrants, which they claim are spread by websites supported by the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The new unit will aim to counteract interference in the Czech Republic’s forthcoming general election, to be held in October, amid polling evidence that online disinformation is influencing public opinion and threatening to destabilise the country’s democratic system, established after the fall of communism in 1989.
Isis 'will be eliminated from Iraq in three months', says country's Prime Minister
Slow progress in the city of Mosul has forced Haider al-Abadi to revise his prediction
It will take “three months to eliminate” Isis in Iraq, according to the country’s Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi.
Backed by US forces, the Iraqi military has been battling to dislodge the militant group from Mosul, the largest city held by Isis in either Iraq or Syria and the de-facto capital of its self-styled Islamic caliphate.
But more than two months into the operation, only a quarter of the city has been taken. Commanders have blamed the slower pace on the need to protect civilians who have mostly stayed in their homes rather than fleeing as was expected.
Our top five debunked fake news stories from 2016
A Mexican who died on three separate occasions, the woman who was beaten up for supporting Trump, misappropriated images coming out of the war in Syria... 2016 has seen a lot of fake news. We look back at the year's top five stories that we debunked.
Woman attacked for supporting Trump
The 2016 US election seemed to bring out the fake news trolls like never before. This story first exploded across the internet in June of this year after a Facebook post showing a woman injured and bloody — after allegedly being beaten up for supporting Trump — was shared over 30,000 times.
Former Argentine President Kirchner indicted in corruption case
The former president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has been indicted for corruption linked with public works contracts. A judge also approved charges against a businessman and two former ministers.
Argentine Federal Judge Julian Ercolini on Tuesday indicted the former president for illicit association and fraudulent administration related to the alleged granting of public construction contracts to favored companies.
Two former aides - ex-Planning Minister Julio de Vido and former Public Works Secretary Jose Lopez - were also named, along with businessman Lazaro Baez, whose company Grupo Austral allegedly received irregular contracts for road construction.
Lopez was arrested in June, accused of trying to conceal around $9 million (8.6 million euros) in cash in a monastery. The source of the money remains unclear.
North Korea 'racing ahead' on nuclear plan, defector says
Updated 0247 GMT (1047 HKT) December 28, 2016
Political uncertainty in the United States and in South Korea could give North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "an apt time" to develop nuclear weapons "at all costs by the end of 2017," a high-profile North Korean diplomat who recently defected to South Korea said Tuesday.
"Due to domestic political procedures, North Korea calculates that South Korea and the US will not be able to take physical or military actions to deter North Korea's nuclear development," Thae Yong-ho, formerly No. 2 at the North Korean Embassy in London, said in a news briefing, according to the Yonhap News Agency.
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