World

MANILA, (Reuters) – Efforts by Philippine authorities to crack down on drugs under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr are being hampered by the involvement of a few high-ranking police officials in the narcotics trade, the interior minister said today.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Hardline Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday repeatedly blocked fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the chamber’s powerful speaker, leaving the chamber leaderless and plunging their new majority into turmoil.

HOUSTON,  (Reuters) – U.S. oil producer Chevron Corp CVX.N plans to export this month its first cargo of Venezuelan crude to its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery following a U.S.

(Reuters) – Russia’s defence ministry said yesterday that 89 servicemen were killed in the Ukrainian attack on Makiivka in the Moscow-controlled parts of the Donetsk region, adding the main reason for the attack was unauthorised use of mobile phones by the troops.

BEIJING/HONG KONG/GENEVA,  (Reuters) – State media in China played down the severity of a surge of COVID-19 infections yesterday, while its scientists briefed the World Health Organization, which has been seeking detailed information about the evolution of the virus.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty yesterday to criminal charges that he cheated investors in his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange and caused billions of dollars in losses in what prosecutors have called an epic fraud.

DAR ES SALAAM,  (Reuters) – Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan lifted a ban on political rallies yesterday, six-and-a-half years after her predecessor John Magufuli imposed the measure which caused frequent run-ins between opposition leaders and police.

SANTOS, Brazil, (Reuters) – Emotional crowds bid Brazil soccer legend Pele a final farewell today, lining the streets of Santos to watch his coffin taken to its final resting place from the city’s stadium where 230,000 mourners had filed past his open casket.

BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The European Union has offered free COVID-19 vaccines to China, the EU executive said today, as infections there surged following Beijing’s relaxation of its “zero-COVID” policies.

MOSCOW,  (Reuters) – Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers as anger grew over the killing of dozens of Russian soldiers in one of the deadliest strikes of the Ukraine conflict.

JERUSALEM, (Reuters) – Israel’s new far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir briefly visited Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem today, a site also revered by Jews, prompting fierce condemnation from the Palestinians and several Arab countries.

KYIV,  (Reuters) – Russia acknowledged that dozens of its troops were killed in one of the Ukraine war’s deadliest strikes, angering Russian nationalists, including lawmakers, and drawing demands for commanders to be punished for housing soldiers alongside an ammunition dump.

SANTA CRUZ/LA PAZ, Bolivia,  (Reuters) – Protesters in Bolivia’s farming region of Santa Cruz are blocking highways out of the province, threatening to snarl the domestic transport of grains and food, as anger simmers following the arrest of local governor Luis Camacho.

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Some people in China’s key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a spike in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activity today, confident of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court today upheld the legality of the government decision in 2016 to demonetise 86% of the country’s cash in circulation, saying the decision was taken in consultation with the central bank and followed due process.

 (Reuters) – Dozens of Russian recruits were killed in a Ukrainian New Year’s Eve attack on their quarters in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Donetsk province, a source close to the Russian-appointed leadership said today.

SEOUL, (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter U.S.-led

VATICAN CITY,  (Reuters) – Former Pope Benedict, the first pontiff in 600 years to resign and a standard bearer for conservatives who yearned for a more traditional Church, died yesterday, ending an extraordinary period in which two men wearing white lived in the Vatican.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela and Colombia will fully reopen their shared border on January 1 to allow passage of cargo and passenger transport via the cross-border Tienditas bridge, Colombia Migration said in a statement on Saturday.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, (Reuters) – Israel condemned and the Palestinians welcomed yesterday a United Nations General Assembly vote asking the International Court of Justice to provide an opinion on legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.