China’s manufacturers, exporters urged to speed up low-carbon transition as EU wields ‘trade weapon’ with import tax (www.scmp.com)
Top US general speaks to Chinese counterpart, ending freeze on military talks (www.politico.com)
Gen. C.Q. Brown, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to his Chinese counterpart Gen. Liu Zhenli on Thursday morning, ending a nearly year-and-a-half impasse between the two militaries, the Pentagon announced....
War in Ukraine Has China Cashing In (www.nytimes.com)
The country’s trade with Russia this year has exceeded $200 billion, and makers of cars and trucks are the big winners....
After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid 'rigid ideologies' (www.independent.co.uk)
Pope Francis has urged Vatican bureaucrats to avoid “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from understanding today’s reality...
US engaging in high-level diplomacy to avoid vetoing UN resolution on critical aid (www.scmp.com)
Italy schools that scrap nativity could face fine (www.bbc.co.uk)
Some Mexican pharmacies are selling full bottles of Adderall. But it's actually meth. (www.latimes.com)
Hamas Rejection Sours Israeli Bid to Revive Hostage Talks (www.wsj.com)
Palestinian group rejected an Israeli offer to stop fighting for one week in exchange for dozens of hostages, saying it wouldn’t discuss releasing their Israeli captives until a cease-fire goes into effect first.
Ban on sale of vapes and e-cigarettes to children to come into force tomorrow (www.irishtimes.com)
Myanmar’s ragtag rebels fire dynamite from catapults – and they’re winning (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Killings of Palestinian children are soaring in the West Bank. Advocates say it happens with impunity (www.cbc.ca)
British tourist sentenced to three months in Dubai jail for ‘insulting’ airport staff (www.independent.co.uk)
A UK citizen has been sentenced to three months in jail in Dubai after “insulting” airport staff who were slow to bring his mother a wheelchair....
Israel still holding bodies of 17 dead Palestinian detainees, says prisoners group (www.newarab.com)
What Palestinian Children Face in Israeli Prisons (time.com)
US sees ceasefire in Congo holding through country’s presidential elections (www.politico.com)
The Biden administration is increasingly confident that a pact it brokered to deescalate fighting in eastern Congo will hold through the country’s elections — a key step toward preventing a larger conflict between Congo and Rwanda....
Red Sea Maritime Coalition Much Bigger Than Originally Disclosed - Ten nations who joined Operation Prosperity Guardian, the international effort to protect Red Sea shipping, don’t want to go public. (www.thedrive.com)
The newly minted international maritime effort to defend against ongoing attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen is much larger than originally announced....
Poland’s new government sacks state TV, radio and news bosses (www.theguardian.com)
The new Polish government has gutted the top management of public television, making good on a campaign promise to reform a broadcaster that functioned as a mouthpiece of its rightwing populist predecessor, but also prompting criticism of their methods from some quarters....
5 million barrels of Russian oil on the way to India never arrived (markets.businessinsider.com)
Roughly five million barrels of Russian oil that was on the way to India never reached their destination, according to a Bloomberg report....
Syria’s Assad claims Holocaust was a lie fabricated to justify creation of Israel (www.timesofisrael.com)
Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this week declared that there is no evidence that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust and accused the United States of funding the German Nazi party....
Russians accused of carving swastikas on captured Ukrainians (www.firstpost.com)
A Ukrainian soldier named Serhiy, returning from Russian captivity, has reportedly been found mutilated with swastikas carved into his forehead, as disclosed by Dr. Olexandr Turkevich, who is treating him....
Hermes billionaire to leave £5bn to former gardener (www.telegraph.co.uk)
Ukrainian army proposal to call up more civilians gets mixed reaction in Kyiv (www.reuters.com)
A Ukrainian army proposal to conscript up to 500,000 more civilians has produced mixed feelings in Kyiv, with many people saying more troops are needed to fight Russia but some suggesting it is pointless unless they get more weapons.
Record breaking: Chinese scientists use electricity to extract uranium from sea (www.scmp.com)
Mainland China suspends tariff cuts on 12 Taiwanese imports from January in response to ‘discriminatory measures’ (www.scmp.com)
Trudeau says he's sensed a 'tonal shift' from India since U.S. reported alleged murder plot (www.cbc.ca)
PM says India may realize now that ‘they can’t bluster their way through this’...