World News Summary: Lebanon protests turn violent for second night; Putin shake-up could keep him in power past 2024 as cabinet steps aside

Iran social media posts call for more protests after plane disaster

Iranian social media posts urged citizens to take to the streets for a fifth day on Wednesday, after public anger erupted following the belated admission by the authorities that they had shot down a passenger plane in error last week. Protesters, with students at the forefront, have staged daily rallies in Tehran and other cities since Saturday, when the authorities admitted their role in bringing down a Ukrainian plane last week, killing all 176 aboard, after days of denials.

Guatemalan leader says Mexico plans to contain new caravan

Guatemala's new president on Wednesday faced an early test of his ability to manage migration as a caravan of hundreds of people left Honduras for the United States, and said Mexico would halt its progress. President Alejandro Giammattei inherited a contentious deal that his predecessor's government struck with Washington designed to make migrants from Honduras and El Salvador seek asylum in Guatemala rather than the United States.

U.S. envoy sees China scaling back economic support for Venezuela's Maduro

The Trump administration's envoy on Venezuela said China appears to be scaling back economic support for President Nicolas Maduro, and Beijing acknowledged a diminishing role largely due to U.S. sanctions against the OPEC nation. As China's economic activities have declined, Maduro and his socialist government are becoming more reliant on Russia and its oil giant Rosneft as his financial lifeline for staying in power, Elliott Abrams, President Donald Trump administration's special representative on Venezuela, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Iran rejects idea of a new 'Trump deal' in nuclear row

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Wednesday a proposal for a new "Trump deal" aimed at resolving a nuclear row, saying it was a "strange" offer and criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump for always breaking promises. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has praised Trump as a great dealmaker, called on Tuesday for the president to replace Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers with his own new pact to ensure Tehran does not get an atomic weapon.

Trump impeachment: Was someone tracking the U.S. ambassador in Kiev?

A top Democrat in Congress vowed on Wednesday to investigate "profoundly alarming" messages suggesting that the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was subject to surveillance before President Donald Trump fired her in May. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said the messages, which were released on Tuesday as part of the impeachment case against Trump, suggested former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch faced security risks when Trump allies tried to discredit her before she was fired.

Merkel to seek end to Huawei dispute in her conservative camp: sources

Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet senior conservative lawmakers on Thursday to resolve a dispute in her own party over whether to bar China's Huawei from the country's 5G network rollout, party sources said. Merkel's conservatives are divided on whether to support a proposal by their Social Democrat junior coalition partners that, if approved, would effectively shut out the Chinese technology giant from the network.

Putin shake-up could keep him in power past 2024 as cabinet steps aside

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed constitutional changes on Wednesday that would give him scope to extend his grip on power after leaving the presidency, and picked a new prime minister after Dmitry Medvedev and his cabinet stepped down. Most importantly, Putin suggested diminishing the powers of the presidency and beefing up those of the prime minister.

Canada investigators to examine Iran crash wreckage later on Wednesday

Crash investigators from Canada have visited the site of an Iranian plane disaster in which 57 Canadians died and will examine the wreckage later on Wednesday, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said. The investigators have not yet been granted access to the flight and cockpit recorders, Garneau told a news conference.

Lebanon protests turn violent for second night

Protests in Lebanon turned violent for a second night on Wednesday, with dozens injured after Lebanese security forces used batons and tear gas to forcefully break up demonstrations. Lebanon has been swept by a wave of mostly peaceful protests aimed at the country's elite that prompted Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to resign on Oct. 29, pushing the country deeper into economic crisis.

U.N. official blames politicians for 'dangerous chaos' in Lebanon

Lebanese politicians are to blame for the country's economic collapse, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday, rebuking a ruling elite that has failed to draw up a rescue plan for a country hit by more violent protests. With banks tightly limiting access to cash, lenders were targeted overnight by demonstrators in Beirut's Hamra district. Bank facades and ATMs were smashed and dozens of people wounded in confrontations with police.