In the World

BRITAIN

Cameron pushes overhaul of EU

With an impassioned plea to European Union leaders to fundamentally change the way the EU is run, David Cameron kicked of two months of negotiations on many of the cornerstones on which the 28-nation bloc is built, with the survival of Britain as a member state hanging in the balance.

While the other EU leaders sought to be accommodating to several British demands to streamline bureaucracy and increase efficiency, they insisted they would not compromise core values to limit largely unfettered movement in the bloc and discrimination between EU citizens, even it meant losing one of the biggest EU assets.

"We have to be tough when it comes to red lines and fundamental values. We will not give up," EU President Donald Tusk said in Brussels, Belgium, after what he called a "make or break" evening to see whether a compromise would be possible.

Britain will have a referendum before the end of 2017 to decide whether to stay in the EU. - AP
LIBYA

Italy to lead noncombat force

Italy is drawing up plans to lead a military coalition, including troops and special forces from the U.K., France and Germany, which would seek to stabilize Libya but have no combat role, two Italian officials with knowledge of the matter said.

The international force would focus on training and logistical support for the Libyan-armed military and police, the officials said, adding that regional powers including Egypt, Tunisia, or Morocco aren't likely to play a role.

The development emerged as representatives of the two rival Libyan parliaments and other factions reached an agreement brokered by the United Nations on Thursday to form a new government within 40 days.

- Bloomberg
BRAZIL

WhatsApp gets judge's OK

WhatsApp is back online in Brazil. A Brazilian judge on Thursday struck down a lower court ruling that temporarily ordered telecoms to block the popular messaging service, snarling communications for many of its 100 million users in Brazil for about 12 hours.

The lower court in Sao Paulo state ordered WhatsApp blocked in connection to a criminal case because it wouldn't hand over user information.

The original judicial order came as part of a law enforcement investigation in which Facebook Brazil was ordered to put a wiretap on certain WhatsApp accounts, according to the company.

WhatsApp can't do that because it doesn't store messages sent on its service, and it encrypts all messages so that no one, including anyone at WhatsApp, can intercept or read them.
- Bloomberg
BURUNDI

154 civilians reported killed

At least 154 civilians were killed in Burundi's capital last week, human-rights groups said, as authorities vowed an investigation into the most violent day of the East African nation's eight-month political crisis.

Security forces loyal to President Pierre Nkurunziza conducted sweeping arrests in areas of Bujumbura in the aftermath of Dec. 11 attacks by unidentified gunmen on military barracks, the Paris-based Worldwide Movement for Human Rights and Ligue Iteka, a local group, said.

- Bloomberg