Theresa May in the hot seat

BRITAIN: Prime Minister Theresa May looks like she may survive a no-confidence vote in Parliament Wednesday evening, as her handling of Brexit comes under fire. Brits increasingly are faced with the choice of leaving the European Union without a negotiated settlement on trade and other major issues, or not leaving the EU after all.

May pulled a vote in Parliament on her Brexit deal earlier this week, after 100 members of Parliament from her own Conservative Party announced their opposition. The crisis for the government could topple the party from power.

FRANCE: Authorities declared a shooting spree at the country’s largest Christmas market in Strasbourg Tuesday a terrorist attack, carried out by a gunman still on the loose. The suspect, 29-year-old Cherif Chekkatt, a French national with a criminal record, was under active investigation and suspected of being recently radicalized. He reportedly shouted Islamic statements during the attack.

The same day of the attack, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb emir Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud released an audio message. It highlights recent Yellow Vest protests in France, showing how terror groups exploit unrest.

ISRAEL: A baby delivered prematurely following a shooting attack on Israelis Sunday in the West Bank that left his mother critically wounded has died.

VENEZUELA: Two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons have landed in Venezuela, drawing protests from U.S. officials.

PAKISTAN: In the wake of protests against the release of Christian Asia Bibi, the United States has added Pakistan to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, designating the ally a “country of particular concern” subject to potential sanctions.

EGYPT: An Egyptian court has sentenced a Coptic Christian to three years in prison after he was found guilty of “insulting Islam in the first degree.”

IRAQ: U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday signed legislation we’ve long followed here, helping to provide humanitarian relief to religious minorities in Iraq and Syria—including rebuilding communities devastated by ISIS.

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