Five more Guantanamo detainees freed

Five prisoners held for 12 years in Guantanamo Bay without charge, sent to Kazakhstan for resettlement, US says.

Their release brings the prison population at Guantanamo down to 127, according to a Pentagon statement [EPA]

Five men who were held for more than a decade without charge at the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been sent to the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan for resettlement, the US government said.
The five men "were unanimously approved for transfer" after a thorough review by a task force of several US government agencies, the Pentagon said in a statement on Tuesday.

Palestinians vow to pursue statehood

Crowds in Ramallah pledge not to forget cause for a free state, as leaders meet to discuss response to failed UN bid. The UN Security Council rejected the resolution, with the US and Australia both voting against the motion [AP]

Thousands of Palestinians have gathered in Ramallah, vowing not to forget their cause for a free state after the UN Security Council voted against a draft resolution for an end to Israeli occupation. While they chanted slogans of freedom during a parade to mark fifty years since the Palestnian group Fatah was founded, the gathering on Wednesday was also as much to register their disappointment over the failed resolution.

Greece dissolves parliament for January vote

Vote to take place amid concerns that the austerity-weary country could start unwinding unpopular fiscal reforms.

Prime Minister Samaras has warned that voting for Syriza could lead to Greece being expelled from the eurozone [Reuters]

Greece's parliament has been dissolved ahead of an early election that will be warily watched by markets and international creditors concerned that the austerity-weary country could starting unwinding unpopular fiscal reforms.

Italy rescues migrants from 'drifting ship'

Italian coast guards save at least 728 migrants, mainly Syrians, from cargo ship after its crew apparently disappeared.

The ship had already passed inspection by Greek navy, but failed to detect anything suspicious [AFP]

Italian coast guards have saved at least 728 migrants from a cargo ship near the Greek island of Corfu after its crew apparently disappeared.

Palestinians decide to join ICC

President Abbas signs documents to join ICC a day after resolution to end Israel's occupation was defeated at the UN.

Abbas also signed a raft of 20 other treaties, aligning Palestine with various international organisations [AFP]

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed documents necessary for joining international organisations including the International Criminal Court (ICC) at a meeting in Ramallah.
President Abbas signed the documents on Wednesday, a day after a UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution that had aimed to set a deadline for Israel to end its occupation of territories sought by the Palestinians.

Why 2014 Will Be Remembered as the Year the Sports World Turned Upside Down

LeBron James (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

As the year comes to a close, the masters of sports find themselves bruised, battered and in altogether dire straits. Twenty fourteen will be remembered as a turning point, when those in charge of the multibillion-dollar athletic-industrial complex—the commissioners, the network executives, the team owners—saw their control over the levers of power slip in a decisive fashion. They are now a collection of Fantasia Mickey Mouses: sorcerers who are unable to corral and contain their own spells.

Steve Scalise’s Problem is the Republican Party’s Problem

House Speaker John Boehner with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite).

David Duke is vouching for House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the Louisiana conservative who is now the third most powerful Republican in the U.S. House. As Scalise faces tough questions and criticism following the revelation that he was a presenter at a gathering of the former Klan leader's European-American Unity and Rights Organization, Duke attests that the congressman is “a fine family man and a good person.”