Washington, Jan 4 (PTI) Veteran Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, considered an ardent supporter of India-US ties, has been elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time, becoming the most powerful elected woman in the US.

Pelosi, 78, second in line for the presidency, took the gavel as Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in the new Congress after the mid-term elections.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending package late Thursday that would end the partial government shutdown, amid a veto threat from the White House.

The Democrats who control the House passed the bills that would fund the departments of State, Commerce, Agriculture, Labor, Treasury and other agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

04 Jan 2019; AFP: Police in southern India said Friday that a third woman has entered a flashpoint temple, stoking tensions after two days of clashes involving Hindu hardliners and police.

The Sabarimala temple in Kerala state has been at the centre of a prolonged showdown since India's top court overturned in September a ban on women aged 10 to 50 setting foot inside.

DAMASCUS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cautious calm prevails Syria's northern city of Manbij amid consecutive withdrawal of hundreds of Turkey-backed rebels from its surrounding, a war monitor reported on Thursday.

Aside from the hundreds of Turkey-backed rebels, tens of Kurdish-led fighters have also withdrawn from inside Manbij, a contested city that was about to be a flashpoint battlefield between the Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led ones.

04 Jan 2019; AFP: A US government delegation will visit China next week for the first face-to-face talks since President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart agreed on a temporary truce in the trade war, Beijing said Friday.

The US and China have exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of goods in total two-way trade, locking them in a conflict that has begun to eat into profits and contributed to stock market plunges.

04 Jan 2019; AFP: Saudi prosecutors sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday.

The prosecution also said it was awaiting a response to two formal letters requesting evidence from Turkey, where Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate on October 2 in a case that shocked the world.

TASS, January 3. At least eleven people have been killed as a result of the international coalition’s strike on a settlement in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, the SANA news agency reported on Thursday.

It is reported that all the people killed were members of one family.

The international coalition against the IS terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) was formed on the initiative of the United States during the NATO summit that took place on September 4-5, 2014 in Wales, UK.

TEHRAN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday that the launch of space rockets does not breach UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

"Iran's launch of space vehicles, missile tests are NOT in violation of Resolution 2231. The U.S. is in material breach of the same as such it is in no position to lecture anyone on it", Zarif tweeted.

The Iranian minister's reaction followed the remark of the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on Thursday about Iran's planned imminent launch of Space Launch Vehicles (SLV).

03 Jan 2019; AFP: One of the leaders of the "yellow vest" demonstrations in France was detained by police in Paris, signalling a harder line from the government that sparked a wave of criticism from opponents on Thursday.

Eric Drouet -- who already faces a trial for carrying a weapon at a previous demonstration -- was arrested late Wednesday for organising an unauthorised protest on the Champs-Elysees avenue. He was released Thursday afternoon.

BERLIN (AP) — Data and documents belonging to hundreds of German politicians have been hacked and posted online via Twitter, a German broadcaster reported Friday.

The leak, which saw the data posted in daily batches before Christmas on a Twitter account that has been active since mid-2017, affects all parties in parliament except the far-right Alternative for Germany, public broadcaster RBB reported.

RIO DE JANEIRO, January 4. /TASS/. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did not rule out that he may discuss with Washington the establishment of a US military base on Brazilian territory, he said in an interview with the TV channel SBT on Thursday.

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 (PTI): With media personnel being attacked at various districts during the 12 hour hartal by saffron outfits against entry of two women in their 40s into Sabarimala temple,the Kerala Union of Working Journalists Thursday decided to boycott BJP and Sabarimala Karma Samithi.

The press meets called by BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai and Samithi leader K P Sasikala were boycotted by the media this afternoon in protest against the widespread attacks faced by them since Wednesday afternoon.