Zelenskyy heads for the White House as Trump presses for Russia deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union, and NATO, is set to meet President Donald Trump in Washington. President Trump could pressure Zelenskyy into accepting a settlement that is favorable to Russia.
The European leaders hope to help Kyiv in the negotiations and prevent any repetition of the previous Oval Office encounter between Trump and Zelenskyy in February.
Pakistan resumes rescue operations in flood-hit areas
Pakistani authorities resumed rescue and relief operations in the northwest region of the country, where flash floods have reportedly killed over 300 people after heavy rain forced them to suspend operations for several hours.
In hilly areas, the rains caused flash floods, mud slides and rock slides that washed away houses, buildings, and vehicles. The district of Buner was the worst hit, where the floods resulted in over 200 deaths.
South Korea keen to mend ties with North Korea
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who has been looking forward to improving the strained relations with Pyongyang, ordered his cabinet to prepare a partial step-by-step implementation of existing agreements with North Korea.
President Lee during a cabinet meeting said that, “Relations between South and North Korea are crucial in order to protect the national interests of South Korea and expand the space to operate diplomatically in the face of rapidly changing external conditions.”
Nigeria boat accident results in 40 missing
The country’s emergency agency reported that around 40 people were said to be missing in a boat accident in Nigeria after a boat conveying 50 persons to Goronyo market in northwest Sokoto State capsized on Sunday.
In his statement on X, Zubaidar Umar, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency, said ‘the passengers were travelling to Goronyo market which is a popular food produce market in the state, when the boat capsized. Ten people have been rescued.’
Hungary halts its Russian oil flow after a Ukrainian attack
Myanmar to hold first phase of general election, state television reports
Myanmar will hold the initial phase of its general election on December 28, state television reported on Monday, outlining a roadmap for the first polls in the war-torn country in nearly five years that have already been referred by critics as a sham.
The final dates for the phases of the elections, which authorities are said to hold over December and January, will be announced later, Myanmar’s Union Election Commission said, according to an announcement on MRTV.
China prepared for peaceful ‘reunification’ with Taiwan
China is prepared to work with a great effort for peaceful “reunification” with Taiwan, its foreign ministry said on Monday, responding to interview comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump had said that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him over a phone call that China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office.
China refuses allow anyone from separating Taiwan from China in any way, said Mao Ning, foreign ministry spokesperson said at a regular news briefing.
Google agrees to pay fine of 36 million dollar in anti-competitive deals
Google agreed to pay a 35.8 million dollar (55 million Australian dollars) fine to Australia after the came to their attention found that it had undermined competition by paying the country’s two largest telephone companies to pre-install its search application on Android phones, but excluding rival search engines.
The fine extends a bumpy period as last week a court mostly ruled against it in a lawsuit brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games accusing Google and Apple of preventing rival application stores in their operating systems.
Also read: ‘Dialogue & diplomacy’ only way forward, says MEA as it welcomes Trump-Putin’s Alaska summit