1. Pirates capture Saudi oil tanker…

Pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia, the US Navy reports.

2. CNN: Scooter Libby may have requested Bush pardon…

As President Bush gets closer to leaving the White House, expectations are mounting that he will follow his predecessors in issuing a slew of last-minute pardons on his way back to Texas.

3. Russia builds ties in United States’ backyard…

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to visit Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez has been cultivating stronger military and economic relations with Moscow. Stops in Brazil and Cuba are also planned, reports Chris Kraul from Bogota.

4. War, death and animation: Cartoon film stirs Israel’s conscience…

Until a matter of months ago, very few Israelis realised that their army fired flares to light up Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps while Lebanese Christian militiamen committed the notorious massacre of Palestinian civilians there in 1982.

5. Obama seen likely to renew funds for birth control clinics..

Among a slew of executive orders Barack Obama is said to be drafting, observers believe one may lift a ban on US funding for overseas family planning groups that even dare mention abortion.