Politics

In the latest snub of president Obama and the US State Department, on Wednesday Turkey and Russia reached an agreement for a ceasefire in Syria, Turkey's foreign minister said, and according to Anadolu News Agency, will aim to put it into effect by midnight. Anadolu, citing sources, said the two countries have reached a consensus that will be presented to participants in the conflict on expanding the ceasefire that was established in Aleppo earlier this month.

Israel says it is “reducing” ties with those nations who voted for last week’s UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to their settlement expansion on Palestinian territory. On Tuesday Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that Israel was “temporarily reducing” visits and work with embassies, without elaborating further.

A U.S. federal appeals court revived two Hillary Clinton email server lawsuits on Tuesday, overturning a lower court’s ruling that Hillary could not be sued for her mishandling of emails whilst serving as Secretary of State.  Judge Stephen Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Judicial Watch and Cause of Action in their lawsuits against the State Department over thousands of missing Clinton emails.

Israel have begun an aggressive pesticide spraying campaign along the Gaza border between 25 December and 5 January, despite claims by Palestinian farmers that it damages crops and harms the health of those nearby.  The Palestinian ministry of agriculture has condemned the spraying by Israeli occupation authorities, and have warned local residents to expect a loss of crops as a result. Middleeastmonitor.com reports: The ministry’s statement was reported by a number of media outlets.

The White House is making a last-ditch effort to punish Vladimir Putin and Russia for allegedly interfering in the recent US election, before Trump takes office.  Outgoing President Obama says that he is “almost ready” to impose “economic sanctions and diplomatic censure” over the cyberattacks. Businessinsider.com reports: Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, have been at the center of post-election accusations that Democratic Party cyberattacks were orchestrated to help President-elect Donald Trump win the White House in November.