• The Trump administration ordered Russia to close several diplomatic sites, in San Francisco, New York and Washington, in retaliation for Moscow’s limits on U.S. embassy staffing in Russia. [The New York Times]

• Iraq’s prime minister claimed victory in Tal Afar, one of the last Iraqi cities held by the Islamic State, after an 11-day battle. [The New York Times]

• Casualties from cluster bombs more than doubled in 2016. The vast majority of victims were in Syria. Other countries reporting casualties were Laos, Yemen, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Serbia, South Sudan and Vietnam. [The New York Times]

• A man in Melbourne was charged with destroying wildlife after a video taken by a laughing friend showed him brutally killing an injured kangaroo that he addressed in Chinese. The video caught Australian authorities’ attention after it went viral on Chinese social media. [Shanghaiist]

• Japanese scientists believe they are on the verge of a breakthrough in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Their tests on monkeys show that transplanting dopamine-producing nerve cells created from human stem cells can reduce symptoms. [The Asahi Shimbun]

Smarter Living

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