GREECE: Authorities on the Greek islands Rhodes and Lemnos declared a state of emergency today after storms battered the islands, leaving two people dead and widespread damage.

Rescue teams, assisted by the military and local authorities, rescued many older residents in flood-hit areas, after strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend flipped cars, caused power outages and damaged roads.

ROMANIA: Results of Sunday’s parliamentary election in Romania showed that pro-Western parties won the most votes and will now look to form a coalition government, officials reported today.

But Romania saw a surge of support for far-right nationalists who made huge gains in the country’s legislature.

The Social Democratic Party topped the polls in Sunday’s vote and the far-right nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians came in second, ahead of the National Liberal Party. 

CHINA: Chinese authorities slammed today Lithuania’s expulsion of three of its diplomats. 

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused Lithuania of expelling its diplomats and declaring them persona non grata “without any reason,” according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

PAKISTAN: Pakistani authorities, aided by community leaders, brokered a second ceasefire between warring minority Shi’ites and Sunni Muslims in a troubled north-western region bordering Afghanistan, officials said today. 

Sectarian violence in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, erupted after gunmen attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying mostly Shi’ites, killing 52 people on November 21.

Though nobody claimed the assault, some Shi’ites, after burying the victims, launched attacks on Sunni Muslims and clashes ensued, killing 78 people and wounding 200 others.