WORLD
*The body of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is to be embalmed and put on display at a palace in the capital, Pyongyang.
*Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned an online video appearing to show US Marines urinating on the bloodied corpses of several Taliban fighters.
RUSSIA
*Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will not take part in televised debates with rival candidates ahead of presidential elections in March.
*Putin will in due time present his own presidential election program, which will differ from the program currently presented on his campaign website.