Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Jan. 4

The gunman who staged an armed attack that claimed 39 lives in Istanbul's Reina nightclub has been identified, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday.

Works conducted to reveal more details on the attack were ongoing, the minister said at the Anadolu Agency's Editor's Desk. (Turkey-IS)

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MOSCOW -- The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the U.S.-led coalition has caused serious damage in Syria, refuting the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s accusation that Russia uses a "scorched-earth" policy in the Middle Eastern country.

CIA Director John Brennan said Tuesday that Russia is pursuing scorched-earth tactics that have led to devastation and thousands upon thousands of innocent deaths. (Russia-CIA-Syria)

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JAKARTA -- Indonesia has suspended all forms of military cooperation with Australia due to humiliation of its national principle, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Indonesia made the decision in mid December last year, military spokesman Maj. General Wurjanto said. (Indonesia-Australia)

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TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday that he has no immediate plan of dissolving the lower house of parliament for a snap election and priority for the new year would be on the economy.

Speaking at a New Year press conference in Mie Prefecture, central Japan after visiting the Ise Grand Shrine, the prime minister said that he "is not considering at all dissolving the lower house to call a snap election." (Japan-Abe) Endi