News You May Have Missed

• Saudi Arabia executed 47 shiites, including a prominent Shiite cleric. • In response, Iranian protesters threw several Molotov cocktails at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran before storming the building and setting it on fire. • In response, Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic ties with Iran. • Bahrain followed suit by severing its own diplomatic relations with Iran. • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accelerated his country's ballistic missile production, saying that Iran will not accept any limitations on its program. • Attacks by five Islamic State suicide bombers on an Iraqi military base outside the city of Tikrit killed at least 15 members of the security forces and wounded 22 others. • The truce between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led military coalition has formally ended. • The Vatican's first accord with the Palestinians, which details the Roman Catholic Church's operations in areas under Palestinian control, came into force. • Catalonia’s leftist CUP party decided against backing a new regional government headed by outgoing President Artur Mas, making new elections in the autonomous region likely. • Vietnam accused China of violating its sovereignty Jan. 2 by landing a plane on an airstrip Beijing built on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. • Chinese shares dropped around 7 percent, triggering a suspension of trading nearly 90 minutes before the regular close. • Large and medium-sized Chinese steel mills reported losses of 53.1 billion yuan (nearly $8.2 billion) during the first 11 months of 2015. • Gunfire and a blast were heard at an Indian air base at Pathankot near the northern state of Punjab, as troops continued to battle the remnants of a group that attacked the site. • Opposition congressman Henry Ramos Allup was elected president of Venezuela’s National Assembly. • Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will hold a series of meetings this month and next to discuss technical issues regarding Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Damn on the Nile River.