East and South Asia

Beate Gordon has died at 89.

North America

Does the Republican Party need a new foreign policy?

U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton is discharged from hospital.

Latin America / Caribbean

Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has sent a letter to UK prime minister David Cameron demanding the return of the Falkland Islands to Argentine sovereignty.

The opposition in Venezuela considers Hugo Chávez’s impending inauguration on January 10.

Africa

Rebels in the Central African Republic have halted their campaign against the capital, Bangui.

Who will become Ghana’s next finance minister?

Musalia Mudavadi is seeking to use the ‘Jubilee’ coalition name in a legal tussle with presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta.

Europe

Italian premier Mario Monti sort-of launches his sort-of campaign to sort-of run for reelection.  [Italian]

Die Miete is too damn high.

The latest on Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has been subjected to parliamentary veto override.

Victor Ponta’s government in Romania seeks to lower the VAT from 24% to 19%.

Middle East

The Economist showcasing its typical tact: ‘Markets now live in the policy equivalent of Beirut in 1982.’