BAGHDAD, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Baghdad on a surprise visit to meet with Iraqi leaders to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation, an Iraqi official television reported on Wednesday.

Pompeo met with the Iraqi Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and is expected to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and other top officials, the state-run Iraqiya channel said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump urged congressional Democrats to fund his long-promised border wall in a somber televised address that was heavy with dark immigration rhetoric but offered little in the way of concessions or new ideas to break the standoff that has left large swaths of the government shuttered for 19 days.

BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has stressed energy security and high-quality growth for the energy sector.

Measures should be taken to boost oil and gas supply such as enhancing exploration, said Han, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

More efforts should be made to balance supply and demand among different regions such as improving energy infrastructure, Han said after an inspection of the National Energy Administration in Beijing Tuesday.

BEIJING (AP) — A special train believed to be carrying Kim Jong Un departed Beijing on Wednesday after a two-day visit by the North Korean leader to the Chinese capital.

Kim could not be seen, but he was presumed to be on board the long train as it crossed on elevated tracks over a busy Beijing street and headed toward eastern China and the border with North Korea.

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) No one can save Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Rafale investigation and the entire nation will know "without a shadow of doubt" that he has taken Rs 30,000 crore of people's money and given it to his "friend" Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on a day the Supreme Court reinstated CBI Director Alok Verma.

Meerut: BJP worker Rajiv Tyagi, president, Kharkhoda Vyapar Sangh, went to the police station and asked help to rescue his 'father' from a pit. It was revealed later that the ‘father’ he wanted to be pulled out of the pit was actually a bull.

BANGKOK (AP) — Share prices have surged in Europe and Asia on Wednesday on hopes for progress in resolving the tariffs battle between the U.S. and China as talks appeared to have been extended in Beijing.

KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX added 1.3 percent to 10,944.12 while the CAC 40 in France climbed 1.4 percent to 4,837.95. Britain’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.8 percent to 6,913.33. Wall Street looked set for more gains, with the future contract for the Dow up 0.5 percent while that for the S&P 500 also rose 0.5 percent.

09 Jan 2019; AFP: India's ancient city of Varanasi is clearing the way for a grand temple corridor by razing hundreds of houses, wiping away its oldest neighbourhood and upsetting locals.

The aim is to improve accessibility for pilgrims by providing a direct pathway from the Ganges river to the 18th-century shrine of Lord Shiva, the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Lok Sabha Tuesday passed a landmark bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education for the general category poor with most parties backing the proposed legislation, described by the government as "historic" and in the country's interest.

Opposition, including the Congress, dubbed the proposed law as a political gimmick that may not stand judicial scrutiny but came around to support it during voting, underlining the huge political import of the measure aimed at placating upper castes.

Hyderabad, Jan 8 (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Tuesday told TRS MPs to take up the state assembly resolution of providing 12 per cent reservation for backward Muslims and 10 per cent for STs with the Centre.

This demand comes in the wake of the Central government seeking to provide 10 per cent quota to economically backward sections.

Rao told the MPs to seek amendment of the bill proposed by Centre accordingly, an official press release said.

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking removal of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal as chief minister of the national capital as he was facing prosecution in a criminal case.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said prosecution was still pending in the case and elected authorities cannot be removed like this.

"Prosecution is still going on. He may get acquitted. What will you do then? Come after he is convicted," the bench said.

"Nothing doing, dismissed," it said.

09 Jan 2019; AFP: The UN has said an 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled her family is a legitimate refugee and has asked Australia to resettle her, Canberra said Wednesday, as the Twitter-led campaign to grant her asylum edged towards resolution.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun was stopped by authorities at Bangkok's main airport as she arrived on a flight from Kuwait on the weekend after running away from her family, who she says subjected her to physical and psychological abuse.