World News Update, what you need to know

Australia's diplomatic relations with Thailand face strains if a former Thai police general is granted a special protection visa to stay in Australia.

ELSEWHERE:

CHICAGO, Jan 3 Reuters - Residents of towns in far southern Illinois have been anxiously awaiting floodwaters from the swollen Mississippi River to peak, with hundreds electing to remain in their homes, as states downstream prepared for the rising waters. (US WEATHER)

LOS ANGELES - The legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, best known for The Deer Hunter and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, has died aged 85.

DUBAI/RIYADH - Iranian protesters have stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and Shi'ite Muslim Iran's top leader has predicted "divine vengeance" for Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric.

PARIS - A man who drove a car at troops guarding a French mosque has been placed under investigation on charges of attempted manslaughter, the local prosecutor says, but investigators say they have ruled out terrorism for now.

BEIRUT - A video circulating online purports to show the Islamic State group executing five men accused of spying for Britain in Syria.

LONDON - Britain's government has promised more than STG40 million ($A80.85 million) to rebuild and improve the country's flood defences that failed to protect thousands of homes over the Christmas holidays.