BERLIN (Reuters) - Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday in a New Year's address to the nation, and she vowed to introduce laws that improve security after a deadly attack before Christmas in Berlin.

By Oliver Denzer and Geert De Clercq BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - European capitals tightened security on Friday ahead of New Year's celebrations, erecting concrete barriers in city centers and boosting police numbers after the Islamic State attack in Berlin last week that killed 12 people.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The chairman of China's Ying Kou Port Group was sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting around 26.8 million yuan (3.13 million pounds) in bribes, said the official Xinhua news agency on Saturday. President Xi Jinping has waged a widespread campaign to wipe out systemic corruption since he came to power in late 2012.

By Ben Blanchard and Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military has become alarmed by what it sees as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's support of Taiwan and is considering strong measures to prevent the island from moving toward independence, sources with ties to senior military officers said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - There is no space for Hong Kong independence in the "one country, two systems" agreement under which Beijing governs the former British colony, but there can be tolerance for differences in their systems, a senior Chinese official said.

By Stephen Kalin NEAR MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces faced fierce resistance from Islamic State militants in southern Mosul on Friday, the second day of a renewed push to take back the city after fighting stalled for several weeks.

By Paulo Prada RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Rio de Janeiro policeman confessed to murdering Greece's ambassador to Brazil in what investigators on Friday called a "cowardly act" carried out at the direction of the diplomat's Brazilian wife with whom the officer was romantically involved. Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis, 59, was missing since Monday night.

By Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congolese President Joseph Kabila will step down after elections to be held by the end of 2017 under a last-minute deal struck by political parties on Friday, the lead mediator of the talks said. Negotiators spent weeks in tense talks seeking to ensure Democratic Republic of Congo’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1960.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An air strike by the U.S.-led coalition near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul hit a van in a hospital compound parking lot and could have killed civilians, the U.S. military said on Thursday. A van carrying Islamic State fighters was targeted and hit in the air strike, the Combined Joint Strike Force said in a statement.

By Hugh Bronstein and Luc Cohen BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - An Argentine appeals court on Thursday revived a case accusing former President Christina Fernandez of trying to cover up Iran's alleged role in the bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center in 1994.