Syria's war 'killed 76,021' in 2014

Monitoring group says nearly half of those killed in the conflict last year were civilians.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad praised soldiers for their victories "in the face of terrorism" [EPA]

The conflict in Syria killed 76,021 people in 2014, just under half of them civilians, a group monitoring the war has said.

Netanyahu re-elected head of Israel's Likud

Prime minister wins ruling party's leadership battle, defeating lone challenger in lead-up to March snap elections.

Netanyahu will seek in March a third straight term in office and a fourth in total [Reuters]

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, has won another term as leader of the ruling Likud party in the run-up to a snap election, easily defeating his lone hard-right challenger.
General elections had been due in Israel in late 2017, but they were brought forward by Netanyahu in early December after the collapse of his coalition.

Suicide bomber attacks church in Nigeria

Several injured after man blew himself up outside an evangelist church in Gombe, northern Nigeria.

A suicide bomber has blown himself up outside an evangelist church in northeast Nigeria, injuring several people, witnesses and a rescue worker said.
"There was an explosion outside the ECWA church this morning. A suicide bomber who was restrained from getting into the church blew himself up," said Abubakar Yakubu, who heads the Nigeria Red Cross in Gombe.

Sri Lanka flash floods cause deadly havoc

Torrential rain and mudslides blamed for at least 39 deaths and displacement of one million people in past two weeks.

At least another 20 people have been injured and two are still missing after torrential rain [EPA]

Flash floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka have killed at least 39 people and more than one million have had to flee their homes in the past two weeks, data from the country's Disaster Management Centre show.

'Terrorists' blamed for Gambia coup bid

Longtime President Yahya Jammeh says terrorists and dissidents based abroad were behind assault on presidential palace.

Jammeh took power in the former British colony at the age of 29 following a coup in 1994 [EPA]

Gambia's president has blamed unidentified foreign dissidents and "terrorists" for an assault on his presidential palace and insists the army remains loyal.
Yahya Jammeh's remarks came two days after an apparent coup bid by a group of soldiers while he was abroad was foiled.

Putin: Crimea annexation important milestone

In his New Year speech Russian president says takeover of former Ukrainian territory was a "historic milestone".

Putin failed to give a specific plan to revive Russia's economy [Reuters]

President Vladimir Putin has commended Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula, thanking his people for their bravery and loyalty in his New Year’s speech.
In his annual speech on Wednesday, Putin said that "this event will forever remain a most important milestone in our history".

Jeb Bush 'scaling back business interests' for 2016

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush has reportedly scaled back his business commitments as he thinks seriously about a White House run.

One of the Republican's aides told the Washington Post he had ended his board memberships and resigned as a paid adviser to an education company.