United States

As a partial U.S. government shutdown neared the three-week mark, Democrats are set to test Republicans’ resolve in backing President Donald Trump’s drive to build a wall on the border with Mexico, which has sparked an impasse over agency funding. A look at the long view shows illegal apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border are down from peaks in the early 2000s. In addition, a growing proportion of Americans blame Trump for a partial government shutdown that will cut off paychecks to federal workers this week, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the Russian election meddling probe, is set to leave the U.S. Department of Justice in coming weeks as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the department is set to take over, several U.S. media outlets reported on Wednesday.

Exclusives

New documents link Huawei to suspected front companies in Iran and Syria. In December, Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada. Now, records reveal new ties between Huawei and two suspected front firms in Iran and Syria.

Saudi private jet industry stalls after corruption crackdown. A crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia has severely dented the kingdom’s private jet industry in a sign of the impact the campaign has had on private enterprise and the wealthy elite.

Fiat Chrysler nearing U.S. diesel emissions settlement - source. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is nearing a settlement to resolve the U.S. Justice Department’s allegations that the Italian-American automaker used illegal software to allow 104,000 U.S. diesel vehicles to pollute beyond legal limits, a person briefed on the matter said.

World

Police in Australia are investigating suspicious packages sent to a wide range of embassies and consulates, which officials said included the U.S. and British missions in Melbourne, but there were no reports of harm to staff.

Riot police were deployed at the electoral commission headquarters in Kinshasa on Wednesday amid fears of a disputed result in a Democratic Republic of Congo presidential election marked by accusations of vote fraud. The tally could be announced later in the day after the commission met all night and into the morning.

Commentary: U.S. should review its approach to Syria’s Assad. As President Donald Trump and his national security team hammer out the details of U.S. military withdrawal from Syria, Washington should review its attitude toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, writes James Dobbins, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state. Washington’s strategy, under Obama as well as Trump, has been to “impose costs” on the government in Damascus by diplomatic ostracism and economic sanctions. This approach is morally satisfying and politically expedient, but it helps perpetuate the conflict and sustain Assad’s dependency on Iran.

.@Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been imprisoned in Myanmar for 394 days. Follow updates on the case: https://reut.rs/2FhMQuB

5:56 AM - 9 Jan 2019

Iran

Donald Trump last year pulled out of an international pact on Iran’s nuclear program and re-imposed sanctions intended to scupper Tehran’s oil exports, curb its missile program and clip its regional influence. The measures have hit Iran’s economy hard.

The Taliban must have a role in Afghanistan in future, Iran’s foreign minister said, but added that the hardline Islamist group should not have a dominant role. Efforts for a negotiated settlement of the 18-year war in Afghanistan have gathered pace in recent weeks, even as reports that the U.S. president plans to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops have triggered uncertainty in Kabul.