BAGHDAD, Jan 14 (NNN-NINA) – Up to 88 Iraqi lawmakers submitted yesterday, a proposal for a draft law, requiring the end of the presence of foreign forces in Iraq, after repeated U.S. attacks against Iraqi security forces.

Falih al-Khazali, a member of the Iraqi parliament, said in a press conference that, the proposal was signed by 88 lawmakers from the Coordination Framework, the largest parliamentary alliance and an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s prime minister proclaimed Frederik X as king on Sunday after his mother Queen Margrethe II formally signed her abdication, with massive crowds turning out to rejoice in the throne passing from a beloved monarch to her popular son.

AKROTIRI, Cyprus Jan 14 (Reuters) - Pro-Palestinian activists protested at the gates of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday, angry that the British base was used as a launch pad for strikes against the Houthi militia in Yemen.

U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of air strikes against Houthi forces in Yemen overnight Thursday to Friday in retaliation for attacks on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed group says is a response to the war in Gaza.

RAF Akrotiri was used as a staging point for Typhoon fighter jets involved in the operation.

USA (AP) —Subfreezing temperatures across much of the U.S. left millions of Americans facing potentially dangerous cold Sunday as Arctic storms threatened near-blizzard conditions in the northeast and several inches of snow in portions of the South.

The National Weather Service warned that windy, subfreezing conditions in Montana and the Dakotas could push wind chills as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56 degrees Celsius).

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi parliament failed Sunday to elect a new speaker to replace the sacked speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi due to political wrangling among parliamentary political blocs.

The parliament session began on Saturday afternoon and was chaired by Mohsen al-Mandalawi, the first deputy of the parliament speaker, with the attendance of 314 lawmakers out of the parliament's 329 seats and continued until the early hours of Sunday, according to a statement issued by the parliament.

GENEVA, January 14. /TASS/: Russia should be included into the process of peace settlement in Ukraine, Swiss Federal Councillor for Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis said.

"We should find a way to bring Russia into peace discussions. There will be no peace if Russia cannot have its say," he told a news conference at the World Economic forum in Davos.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government sent 25,000 troops to Acapulco after the resort was hit by Hurricane Otis on Oct. 25, but apparently that hasn’t stopped the violence this week.

The main Acapulco business chamber reported that gang threats and attacks have caused about 90% of the city’s passenger vans to stop running, affecting the resort’s main form of transport. The chamber said the violence was forcing businesses to close early on Thursday and Friday.

MANILA, Jan 14 (NNN-PNA) – Approved investment projects in 2023, amounted to 1.26 trillion pesos (roughly 22.5 billion U.S. dollars), 73 percent higher than in 2022, Philippine Department of Finance (DOF) said, today.

Citing an updated report of Board of Investments (BOI), the DOF said in a press release that, the approved investments comprised 311 projects, mainly on renewable energy, telecommunication infrastructure, and the export of copper, gold, and other metals. These projects would produce over 49,000 jobs, if fully operational.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States does not support the independence of Taiwan, after Taiwanese voters rebuffed China and gave the ruling party a third presidential term.

Earlier in the day, the Taiwanese ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te came to power, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, and pledged both to stand up to Beijing and seek talks.

"We do not support independence..." Biden said, when asked for reaction to Saturday's elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — From his hospital room, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first orchestrated and then watched in real time as the U.S. retaliatory attack on Yemen-based Houthi militants unfolded Thursday night.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States had delivered a private message to Iran about Iran-backed Houthis responsible for attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

"We delivered it privately and we're confident we're well-prepared," Biden told reporters at the White House before departing to the Camp David presidential retreat for the weekend.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump was ordered Friday to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and three investigative reporters after he sued them unsuccessfully over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 story about his family’s wealth and tax practices.

The newspaper and reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner were dismissed from the lawsuit in May. Trump’s claim against his estranged niece, Mary Trump, that she breached a prior settlement agreement by giving tax records to the reporters is still pending.