Congo opposition cries foul after presidential poll blighted by mishaps

The main opposition camps in Congo's presidential election on Sunday complained of widespread irregularities after a chaotic vote disrupted by long queues, broken voting machines and torrential rain.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LH8JVk

Ebola-hit Congolese town stages mock vote to protest at ban

Residents of an Ebola hotspot in eastern Congo staged a mock presidential election on Sunday to show the authorities a decision to postpone the vote there due to health fears was unfounded.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GZSpR1

Bangladesh PM Hasina wins third straight term despite vote-rigging claims

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's alliance won Bangladesh's election with a thumping majority, the country's Election Commission said on Monday, giving her a third straight term following a vote that the opposition rejected as rigged.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EXeduH

China to kick off year of sensitive anniversaries with major speech on Taiwan

China will kick off a year of sensitive anniversaries with a major speech on Wednesday by President Xi Jinping on Taiwan, China's most sensitive issue.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EXIysU

North Korea's Kim sent message to Trump on nuclear talks: Chosun Ilbo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a "conciliatory message" to U.S. President Donald Trump amid stalled nuclear negotiations, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Monday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2RrPlAM

Brazil moving its embassy to Jerusalem matter of 'when, not if': Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Brazil's President-elect Jair Bolsonaro told him that it was a matter of "when, not if" he moves his country's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Q7V7mF

Graham more upbeat on Syria troop withdrawal after Trump meeting

A senior Republican U.S. senator said he emerged from a White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Sunday reassured that Trump is committed to defeating Islamic State even as he plans to withdraw American troops from Syria.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2EUsrLX

Brexit sends Britons seeking Irish passports up 22 percent in 2018

The number of British citizens applying for Irish passports rose by 22 percent in 2018, Ireland's foreign office said on Monday, more than doubling the total of annual applications since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2LETHPW

Merkel urges divided Germans to pull together in 2019

Acknowledging that her government disappointed many Germans in 2018, Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to pull the country together for 2019 with a call for solidarity and cooperation to overcome deep political divisions.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2GMgV7V

Bosnians demand resignation of interior minister over student's death

Special police forces dispersed protesters demanding the resignation of Bosnian Serb Interior Minister Dragan Lukac on Sunday over a student's death, detaining several people in the northwestern town of Banja Luka.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2VkAzeh

Tough South China Sea talks ahead as Vietnam seeks to curb China's actions

Tough negotiations lie ahead over a new pact between China and Southeast Asian nations aimed at easing tensions in the South China Sea, as Vietnam pushes for provisions likely to prove unpalatable to Beijing, documents reviewed by Reuters suggest.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2Tn3nRT

UK's Hammond accused of failing to release funding for no-deal Brexit: The Telegraph

UK Finance Minister Philip Hammond has been accused by his colleagues in the cabinet of failing to release the necessary funding required to prepare Britain for a no-deal Brexit, the Telegraph newspaper reported late on Sunday.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2s1T7CF

Iraq hints at bigger role in Syria after U.S. withdrawal

Iraq's prime minister said on Sunday that top security officials from Baghdad had met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, and hinted at a bigger Iraqi role fighting Islamic State militants as U.S. troops withdraw from Syria.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2QVOObd