Abe re-elected Japan PM, set to name new defense minister

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected by parliament on Wednesday, and a new cabinet is set to be announced. Defense Minister Akinori Eto, who has faced questions over his use of political funds, will be replaced by lawmaker Gen Nakatani, Reuters reported, citing its sources. Nakatani, a former defense minister, is in favor of Japan having the ability to hit enemy bases pre-emptively in the face of imminent attack. The rest of Abe’s cabinet could remain unchanged.

Former President George H.W. Bush hospitalized in Texas

Former US President George H.W. Bush was hospitalized at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas on Tuesday night. "The former president, age 90, will be held for observation, again as a precaution," the statement read. He spent nearly two months at the same hospital in January 2013 for a bronchitis-related cough and other health issues. He can no longer use his legs and was seen seated in a wheelchair at an event in November at Texas A&M University with his son, former President George W. Bush.

Italy sends military jets to Baltic States in NATO air force rotation

Italy is set to send four Eurofighter Typhoons and a military transport aircraft KC 767 to the Lithuanian military base of Zokniai, reports TASS citing Lithuania’s Ministry of Defense. This comes as NATO rotates forces; the move is to relieve the Portuguese military with their four F-16 fighters and Canadian forces that have four F/A -18 Hornets. Later, four Polish MiGs-29 will join the Italian planes. NATO countries provide air security for the Baltic States as they don’t have enough planes to do it themselves. The contingent changes every four months. It will be the first mission in the Baltics for the Italian Air Force. The official ceremony will be held on December 31.

France’s Hollande says one person ‘clinically dead’ after Monday car rampage

A person has died from injuries sustained in a rampaging car incident the previous evening, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday, but his aides later clarified the victim was “clinically dead,” AFP reported. The outrage in the western city of Nantes was one of three apparently unrelated yet brutal attacks that have hit different parts of France since Saturday. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday that hundreds of additional military personnel would be ordered onto the streets to reinforce a routine deployment of security forces.

Islamic State targets in Syria, Iraq hit by 10 more strikes

The US-led coalition launched 10 more strikes against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, the US military said. The seven strikes, four in Syria and three in Iraq, destroyed fighting positions, Reuters said. They also struck a unit of Islamic State fighters as well as some of the militants’ oil collection equipment, according to the Combined Joint Task Force.

Al-Jazeera network shuts down its Egypt channel

The Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera news network has shut down its Egyptian channel, resolving a major source of tension between the two states, AP said. Mubasher Misr will be incorporated into a new region-wide station. Monday’s decision came two days after a Qatari envoy met Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the first such meeting since he was elected in June. El-Sissi’s office said Egypt hoped the meeting was the beginning of a “new era” that puts the past disagreements behind them.

US-led strikes kill more than 1,000 jihadists in Syria

US-led airstrikes in Syria have killed more than 1,000 jihadists in the past three months, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Nearly all of them were from the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), AFP reported, citing the monitoring group. At least 1,171 have been killed in the Arab and international airstrikes since September 23, including 1,119 jihadists from the IS and Al-Nusra Front, the Observatory said. Among those killed were reportedly 1,046 members of the IS.

Cameroon military seizes 84 children, kills dozens at Boko Haram training camp

Cameroon’s army said it had dismantled a training camp for the Boko Haram Islamist group, arresting or killing dozens of militants. The military also seized 84 children who were being trained there. Local people in northwest Cameroon alerted the military on Saturday to the camp in Guirvidig locality, near the border with northeastern Nigeria. The Rapid Intervention Battalion launched an attack and arrested 45 of the trainers and killed many more, according to a spokesman for Cameroon’s Defense Ministry.

290 heritage sites in Syria damaged by war – UN

Satellite imagery indicates that 290 cultural heritage sites in Syria have been damaged by the civil war, the UN’s training and research arm (UNITAR) said on Tuesday. UNITAR found that 24 sites were completely destroyed, 189 severely or moderately damaged and a further 77 possibly damaged, Reuters reported. National and international efforts for the protection of these areas “need to be scaled up in order to save as much as possible of this important heritage” for humankind, the organization said.

Algeria Army confirms it killed jihadist chief behind beheading

The Algerian military confirmed on Tuesday that it has killed the head of the jihadist Jund al-Khilafa group that decapitated Frenchman Herve Gourdel in September, AFP said. The body of Abdelmalek Gouri, who claimed responsibility for the beheading of Gourdel, was identified at the end of an operation in the town of Isser, the army said, adding that three terrorists were eliminated.

Second try to elect Greek president fails

Greek MPs failed on Tuesday to elect a president in a second vote in parliament, bringing an early general election a step closer, AFP said. The government candidate, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, fell 32 votes short of the required 200 votes. A third and final vote will be held on December 29.

Ukraine’s parliament votes for abandoning non-bloc status

Ukraine’s parliament voted for abandoning the country’s non-bloc status on Tuesday. The legislation was approved by 303 MPs, TASS said. President Petro Poroshenko submitted a bill to the Verkhovnaya Rada last week, saying that the refusal to join NATO in 2010 was the “biggest mistake of the former Ukrainian leadership.”

5 bomb blasts in Yemeni capital’s old quarter, 1 killed

Five bombs reportedly exploded on Tuesday in an old quarter in Sanaa, where many supporters of the Shiite Muslim Houthi movement live. A member of the group was killed and another person wounded, Reuters said, citing a senior security official in Yemen. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings. The Houthis have been fighting the Sunni Islamist Al-Qaeda and allied tribesmen since its gunmen captured Sanaa in September.

Australia PM warns another attack ‘likely’

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday said another attack was likely, as mourners paid tribute to the victims of the fatal Sydney cafe siege, AFP said. “A briefing from the security agencies today indicated that there has been a heightened level of terrorist chatter,” Abbott said after a meeting of his National Security Committee. “It’s important that people remain alert and aware as well as reassured that our police and security agencies are doing everything they humanly can to keep us safe,” the PM said.