Why people are making such a big deal about the Trump-Taiwan call and other top stories.

• Why people are making such a big deal about the Trump-Taiwan call

  

  The Washington Post's Jia Lynn Yang explains the back story on relations between the U.S., China and Taiwan and the ramifications of Friday's telephone call between President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. (Alice Li,Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) Why is a single phone call attracting so much attention? With a roughly 10-minute phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, President-elect Donald Trump broke from nearly 40 years of U.S. policy i..

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• Austria Rejects Anti-Immigrant Populist in Presidential Election

  

  VIENNA—Austrians voted against an anti-immigrant populist as their next president by a resounding margin, bucking a trend of nationalist electoral successes across the West. Center-left candidate Alexander Van der Bellen beat back a challenge from his right-wing opponent Norbert Hofer, winning 53.3% of the vote in the country’s runoff election, according to a final count of votes cast on Sunday and a projection of mail-in ballot...

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• Italy Uncertain After Vote; Victory for Far Right as Matteo Renzi Departs

  

  The far right rejoices in Europe.The vote results and Mr. Renzi’s subsequent decision to step down drew a jubilant response from other populist leaders in Europe.“Italians have disavowed the E.U. and Renzi,” Marine Le Pen, the head of the National Front in France, wrote on Twitter. “We need to listen to this thirst for nations’ freedom and for protection!” Les Italiens ont désavoué l'UE et Renzi. Il faut écouter cette soif de liberté des nations et de protection !MLP #referendumco..

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• Supreme Court hears government appeal over Brexit powers

  

  Media captionLive: Brexit Supreme Court case Allowing ministers to trigger Brexit was Parliament's "clear expectation" when it agreed to an EU referendum, the Supreme Court has been told.Attorney General Jeremy Wright said the government would be making "lawful" use of "fundamental" powers by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.He was speaking at a legal hearing into whether Parliament's consent was needed before Brexit negotiations begin. The High Court ruled in October that MPs did..

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• India's Tamil Nadu Leader Jayalalithaa in Critical Condition

  

  NEW DELHI — The popular leader of India's southern Tamil Nadu state was in critical condition after undergoing surgery Monday hours after suffering a heart attack, the hospital said.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa was being monitored by "a team of experts, including cardiologists, pulmonologist and critical care specialists," according to a statement from Dr. Subbaiah Viswanathan at Apollo Hospital in the state capital of Chennai.Richard Beale, an intensive care specialist and..

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• Pakistani police say hotel fire kills 11 in Karachi

  

  KARACHI, Pakistan –  A massive fire swept through a four-star hotel in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday, killing at least 11 people, officials said. More than 50 people suffered injuries in the early morning blaze, which started in the hotel kitchen, police officer Tauqeer Naeem said. The exact cause of the fire was not yet known, he said, adding that four of the people who died were women. Related stories... Dr. Semi Jamali at Karachi's Jinnah's Hospital said some foreigners were ..

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• AP Explains: What Resignation of New Zealand's Leader Means

  

  WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister John Key unexpectedly resigned on Monday. His departure will affect New Zealand's relationship with the U.S., its free-trade agenda and its role on the world stage. The country's new leader will face an opposition buoyed by Key's departure as it heads into elections next year.A look at these issues:A RESET U.S. RELATIONSHIPNew Zealand's military and diplomatic ties with the U.S. weakened in the 1980s after the South Pacific nation banned n..

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• Japanese prime minister plans landmark visit to Pearl Harbor

  

  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference in Buenos Aires on November 21, 2016. (Eitan Abramovich/AFP/Getty Images) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor with President Obama later this month, becoming the first Japanese leader to visit the site of the attack on Hawaii 75 years ago that thrust America in the World War II. The joint visit comes after Obama went to Hiroshima with Abe in May, becoming the first American leader to visit the site w..

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The claim that '99 percent of women have used birth control' .	Ahmad Rahimi Pleads Not Guilty in Manhattan Bombing .
Columbus could raise legal age to buy tobacco products .	Protesters arrested after blocking High Street in downtown Columbus .