* ICC announces 'basis' for war crimes probe; Israel says it has no jurisdiction Shortly before chief prosecutor's announcement, Israel's AG Mandelblit issues legal opinion saying court lacks jurisdiction in Palestinian territories and in relation to Israel.
* Brexit: MPs back Boris Johnson's plan to leave EU on 31 January MPs have backed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan for the UK to leave the EU on 31 January.
* Thousands flee bombardment in northwest Syria, head to Turkish border Thousands of people have fled to the Turkish border from the last big opposition stronghold in northwestern Syria because of an intensified bombardment by Russian forces and the Syrian army, residents and rescue workers said on Friday.
* Moqtada al-Sadr: The firebrand cleric who could calm Iraq When the Americans launched the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and plunged Iraq into the violent chaos that continues today, few people outside the country had even heard of a little-qualified young Shia cleric called Moqtada al-Sadr.
* Trump blasts Christian magazine that called for his removal President Donald Trump is blasting a prominent Christian magazine that published an editorial arguing that he should be removed from office.
* A helpless Europe is verging on economic and political humiliation The only question is whether Europe will become the satellite of the U.S. or of China.
* Four Lessons a Post-Brexit Britain Can Learn from Israel A post-Brexit scenario requires long-term strategic thinking by the British establishment.
* Erdogan's power play in Libya: What it means for the tangled conflict Turkey may now intervene directly in Libya's civil war after a military cooperation deal was ratified between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj.
* Egyptian tanks sent to Libya to thwart Turkish intervention in battle for Tripoli A consignment of Egyptian T-72 tanks and APCs arrived in Libya on Thursday, Dec. 19, to bolster Gen. Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA), which had just broken through to the southern outskirts of Tripoli.
* Star of Bethlehem: The astronomical explanations It might seem churlish to dissect such an enduring image of Christmas as the star of Bethlehem, but a quiet astronomical debate has been bubbling away for decades. Could some real cosmic event have drawn "three wise men" on a journey to find a newborn king?