WORLD
* At least 26 people were killed and 63 injured when a bomb went off in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar said
* The husband of Ukraine’s jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been granted political asylum in the Czech Republic, Czech Interior Minister Jan Kubice said
* The Japanese government plans to limit the service life of nuclear reactors to 40 years, nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono said, according to the Kyodo news agency
* Bulgaria needs no more nuclear power plants but should focus instead on energy efficiency, the opposition Union of Democratic Forces party said
RUSSIA
* The Russian opposition will only be able to field a presidential candidate popular enough to challenge Vladimir Putin “in one and half or even two years at the earliest,” former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin wrote in his blog
* Central Electoral Commission head Vladimir Churov said he will not resign over claims of ballot rigging in December’s parliamentary elections
BUSINESS
* Tehran is considering a twofold increase in power exports to neighboring Turkey after a new transmission line is put into operation, an Iranian official said
SPORTS
* Sweden won gold, defeating Russia 1-0 in the world junior hockey championship final’s overtime