Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, Dec. 19

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LONDON -- The British audit sector may face overhaul following the controversial role of auditors in major corporate failures, two government-backed reports suggested Tuesday.

The Big Four audit firms in Britain, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers, have come under criticism for focusing more on generating revenue from offering consulting services than the quality of auditing, especially with KPMG being accused of being "complicit" in the run-up to the collapse of Construction giant Carillion. (Britain-Audit Sector)

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BRUSSELS -- After Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel visited the King on Tuesday evening to submit the resignation of his government, King Philippe announced that he was holding "his decision in abeyance."

The most likely outcome now is that the King will make a final decision once consultations are held and after they find "the lowest common denominator between the parties," reported the local newspaper Le Soir. (Belgian PM-Resignation)

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WASHINGTON -- A federal judge agreed here Tuesday to postpone the sentencing of Michael Flynn, U.S. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, until he has finished assisting the ongoing Russia probe.

The turn of event came as U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan gave harsh words to Flynn at the hearing. "Arguably, you sold your country out. The court's going to consider all that," he said. (US-Michael Flynn-Sentencing)

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BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi said Tuesday that he will complete filling his 22 cabinet members at next parliament session slated for Thursday despite intense political differences.

"Thursday session of the Council of Representatives (parliament) will witness completing (approval) of candidates of remaining ministries, and I'm ready to submit new names to the vacant ministries," Abdul Mahdi told a press conference after a weekly cabinet meeting. (Iraq-Cabinet)

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GENEVA -- The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey on Tuesday said here they have agreed to make efforts at convening the first session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in early 2019.

In a joint statement read out here after the three ministers meeting with U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, they said that the work of the new body "should be governed by a sense of compromise and constructive engagement." (Russia-Iran-Turkey)

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order Tuesday directing the establishment of "Space Command."

Trump said the new command will be created as a "unified combatant command," according to his memo to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, which was made public by the White House. (US-Space Command) Enditem

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