1. Carter likely next Pentagon chief

    The former No. 2 ranking official at the Pentagon, Ashton Carter, will likely be named as the next U.S. defense secretary*, American media reported on December 2.

    President Barack Obama was poised to* nominate Carter to replace outgoing Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel.

    CNN cited several unnamed administration officials, and The Washington Post also reported Obama would nominate Carter.

    2. Ukraine hands foreigners govt. posts

    Ukraine has handed foreigners, including a U.S. citizen, top posts in a new government it says is aimed at rooting out* endemic* corruption.

    President Petro Poroshenko signed decrees* awarding Ukrainian citizenship to U.S. national Natalie Jaresko — the head of a private equity fund whom parliament confirmed as finance minister — and Lithuanian investment banker and new economy chief Aivaras Abromavicius.

    Lawmakers also confirmed the New York-based Georgian former health minister Alexander Kvitashvili will now serve the same role in Ukraine.

    3. Egyptian court sentences 185 to death

    An Egyptian judge sentenced 185 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death on December 2 over an attack on a police station near Cairo last year in which 12 policemen were killed.

    The ruling is preliminary and subject to a lengthy appeals process. It also goes to the country’s top religious authority for approval.

    4. Ebola vaccine shows few side effects

    An experimental vaccine against the Ebola virus has provoked only mild side effects in volunteers in Switzerland, a Geneva hospital said on December 2.

    “To date, no major side effects have been observed after the injections,” the Geneva University Hospital (HUG) said in a statement.

    The hospital is one of several worldwide hosting trials of the experimental VSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine, manufactured by the Public Health Agency of Canada and licensed by U.S. firm NewLink Genetics.

    5. Protests erupt after chokehold decision

    A New York City grand jury decided not to charge a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man, sparking outrage and protests on December 3, and the U.S. Justice Department said it would investigate the incident.

    Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, was accused of illegally selling cigarettes on July 17 when police officers tackled him and put him in a chokehold*.

    The deadly encounter on Staten Island, New York was captured on video, which quickly spread over the Internet and fueled debate about how U.S. police use force, particularly against minorities.

    6. Top al-Qaida militant killed in raid

    Pakistani soldiers killed a top al-Qaida operative on December 6 who was indicted* in the United States for his alleged involvement in a plot to bomb New York’s subway system.

    As al-Qaida’s head of external operations, the 39-year-old Shukrijumah occupied a position once held by September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The FBI lists the Saudi-born Shukrijumah as a “most wanted” terrorist.

    7. Potato fries seek to be cultural heritage

    There are few things people agree on in linguistically divided Belgium, but an effort to get Belgian potato fries recognized as global cultural heritage* and put on par with* Beijing opera and the Argentinian tango may get unequivocal support.

    Belgian fries are traditionally sold in a paper cone in a “fritkot,” generally a shack or trailer.

    There are some 5,000 of these in Belgium, making them 10 times more common, per capita*, than McDonald’s restaurants in the United States.

    (SD-Agencies)