Malianforces arrest two men in their early 30s linked to a cell phone found at the scene of last week's deadly hotel attack. No details are provided on what their exact role was. (CNN)
Two Palestinian drivers drive their vehicles into groups of Israeli soldiers in two separate attacks in the occupied West bank. Both drivers are shot dead. In this current wave of violence that began in October, 19 Israelis, one U.S. citizen, and 93 Palestinians have died. (Reuters)
Pirates attack a Polish-owned cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria, kidnapping its captain and four crew. Polish Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, said the as yet unidentified kidnappers have made no demands so far and Poland was currently liaising with Nigerian authorities. (Reuters)
A new study shows Greece's six-year austerity program is even affecting prostitution. Gregory Laxos, a sociology professor at the Panteion University in Athens, told the Times of London the going rate for sex with a prostitute was 50 euros ($53) when the economic crisis began. Now, it’s fallen to as low as two euros ($2.12) for a 30-minute session, or to a cheese pie, a sandwich because they are hungry. (Washington Post)
At least 87 homes have been lost in the fires that started in Pinery, South Australia which also claimed two lives and hospitalised 90 with five people in a critical condition. (ABC News Australia)
The appellate prosecutors office in the Polish city of Kraków decides not to appeal a decision against extraditing filmmaker Roman Polanski to the United States to face prosecution for historic child sex offences. (Reuters)
China's paramount leaderXi Jinping announced a major overhaul of China’s military to make the world’s largest army more combat ready and better equipped to project force beyond the country’s borders. Under the reorganization, all branches of the armed forces would come under a joint military command. The Chinese Communist leader said the reform aimed to "build an elite combat force" and called on the officials to make "breakthroughs" on establishing the joint command by 2020, Xinhua said. (Bloomberg)