China ‘likely’ preparing Taiwan invasion: Pentagon

RT.COM, 9 DEC, 2021 - Defending Taiwan from Chinese invasion has become an “urgent” and “priority” task for the US military, a senior Pentagon official told lawmakers, claiming Beijing has plans to forcefully “unify” the island under mainland rule.

China not worried about any ‘domino effect’ of Olympic boycotts

BEIJING, DEC 9 (REUTERS) - China is not worried about a “domino effect” of diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Winter Olympics, it said on Thursday, after Australia, Britain and Canada joined the United States in deciding not to send officials to the Games.

Journalist shot dead in “cowardly” killing in Philippines

MANILA, DEC 9 (REUTERS) - A Filipino journalist who formerly worked with Reuters has been killed in a drive-by shooting, authorities said on Thursday, one of more than a dozen journalists killed in the country in the past five years.

New Zealand to ban cigarette sales for future generations

DEC 9 (REUTERS) - New Zealand plans to ban young people from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetime in one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on the tobacco industry, arguing that other efforts to extinguish smoking were taking too long.

SCHOLZ TAKES OVER AS GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ENDING MERKEL ERA

Social Democrat Olaf Scholz was sworn in as German chancellor on Wednesday, ending Angela Merkel’s 16 years of conservative rule and paving the way for his coalition government that has promised to boost green investment and strengthen European unity.

Ukraine welcomes Biden-Putin call as path to deterrence and de-escalation

KYIV, DEC 8 (REUTERS) - Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Reuters on Wednesday that talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had enabled “deterrence and de-escalation”.

Killings expose special powers of Indian security forces

NEW DELHI, DEC 6 (REUTERS) - Chief ministers of two Indian border states on Monday called for the withdrawal of a law that gives armed forces special powers to operate in some northeastern regions affected by insurgencies.

Kremlin expects no breakthrough at Putin-Biden talks

MOSCOW, DEC 7 (REUTERS) - The Kremlin said it expected no breakthrough later on Tuesday at virtual talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden over Ukraine, but urged people to remain calm despite mounting tensions.

Indonesia bolsters recovery efforts after volcano kills 34

JAKARTA, DEC 7 (REUTERS) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo promised on Tuesday to bolster evacuation efforts and repair damaged homes after visiting the site of a volcanic eruption on Java that has killed at least 34 people. The 3,676-metre Mt. Semeru volcano erupted on Saturday sending a cloud of ash into the sky and dangerous py

UK AFGHAN EVACUATION CHAOTIC AND DYSFUNCTIONAL: WHISTLEBLOWER

Britain’s handling of the evacuation of vulnerable Afghans from Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August was dysfunctional and chaotic, a Foreign Office whistleblower said in evidence disputed by former foreign secretary Dominic Raab.

INDIAN STATE TENSE AFTER 14 CIVILIANS MISTAKENLY KILLED BY SECURITY FORCES

Indians outraged by the security forces’ mistaken killing of 14 civilians in Nagaland state held funeral rites for the dead on Monday amid intense security and sporadic internet outages aimed at damping unrest in the remote northeastern region.

Germany urges Iran to return to nuclear talks with realistic proposals

BERLIN, DEC 6 (REUTERS)- Germany wants Iran to present realistic proposals in talks over its nuclear programme, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Monday, adding that offers Tehran made last week almost all violate previously agreed compromises.

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi found guilty in widely-criticised trial

DEC 6 (REUTERS) – A court in military-ruled Myanmar found deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of charges of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions on Monday, drawing international condemnation of what some critics described as a “sham trial”.

China threatens countermeasures if US boycotts Beijing Olympics

BEIJING, Dec 6 (Reuters) – U.S. politicians should stop calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics to avoid hurting bilateral ties and China will take “countermeasures” if necessary, China’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

BIDEN-PUTIN TALKS SET FOR TUESDAY AMID UKRAINE TENSION

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden are scheduled to hold talks by video conference on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, as tensions rise over Ukraine.

At Least 14 Dead as Volcano Erupts in Indonesia

SUMBERWULUH, DEC 5 (REUTERS) - The eruption of Indonesia’s Semeru volcano has killed at least 14 people and injured dozens, the disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said on Sunday, as search teams looked for victims in a landscape covered in deep layers of ash.

Five dead after Myanmar security forces ram car into protest

DEC 5 (REUTERS) - Five people were killed and at least 15 arrested after Myanmar security forces in a car rammed into an anti-coup protest on Sunday morning in Yangon, local news portal Myanmar Now reported. Witnesses on the scene told Reuters dozens had been injured. Photos and videos on social media show a vehicle that crashed through the protesters and bodies lying on the road.

Global leaders condemn Taliban amid allegations of summary killings

More than 20 countries, including the US, Germany, and Britain, have issued a joint statement expressing concern regarding allegations former security force members have disappeared or were executed in Afghanistan.

Omicron ‘quite infectious’, must not panic: WHO chief scientist

The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan told the Reuters Next conference on Friday that while the new coronavirus variant Omicron appeared to be very transmissible, the right response was to be prepared, cautious and not panic.

Large scale Russian offensive possible in January: Ukraine

Russia has massed more than 94,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders and may be gearing up for a large-scale military offensive at the end of January, Ukraine’s defence minister told parliament on Friday, citing intelligence reports.

Heart inflammation risk in Pfizer and Moderna jabs evaluated

The European Medicines Agency’s safety committee has confirmed a “very rare” risk of myocarditis and pericarditis in individuals who’ve had the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Covid vaccines, having conducted large Europe-wide studies.

UN seeks record $41 bln for aid to hotspots led by Afghanistan, Ethiopia

The United Nations appealed on Thursday for a record $41 billion to provide life-saving assistance next year to 183 million people worldwide caught up in conflict and poverty, led by a tripling of its programme in Afghanistan.

Germany agrees new COVID curbs as Omicron variant spreads across globe

Germany agreed on new COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday and the United States prepared to do the same, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Omicron variant showed the pandemic could be around for “some time”.

Taiwan scrambles to see off Chinese air force 

Taiwan’s air force scrambled again on Sunday to warn away 27 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defence zone, Taiwan’s defence ministry said, the latest increase in tensions across the Taiwan Strait as China’s president met his top generals.

Thirteen cases detected in Netherlands as Omicron variant spreads

The new Omicron coronavirus variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday, with 13 cases found in the Netherlands and two each in Denmark and Australia, even as more countries tried to seal themselves off by imposing travel restrictions.

Indian farmers reinforce protest sites to mark year of demonstrations

Tens of thousands of Indian farmers marched overnight to reinforce protesting colleagues camping on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi to mark a year of sustained demonstrations against three farm laws introduced last year.

New COVID variant triggers global alarm as WHO urges caution

Global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant.

Macron tells UK to ‘get serious’ on migrant crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron told Britain on Friday it needed to “get serious” or remain locked out of discussions over how to curb the flow of migrants escaping war and poverty across the Channel.

11 killed in Russian mining accident

At least 11 miners died in a coal mining accident in Russia’s Siberia on Thursday and an operation to rescue dozens more people stuck underground was suspended due to the risk of an explosion, the region’s governor said.

France beefs up sea rescue work, spars with UK over migrant deaths

France said on Thursday it was mobilising reservists and beefing up sea rescue operations as London and Paris traded blame over the deaths of 27 migrants trying to reach Britain in an inflatable dinghy.