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US security experts say Ukraine's abandonment of NATO goal will not alter peace talks

NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine's offer to forgo joining the NATO military alliance probably will not significantly change the course of peace talks, two security experts said on Sunday.

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Russian air defence units destroy Moscow-bound drone, mayor says

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russian air defence units destroyed a drone heading for Moscow late on Sunday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

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14 killed in flash floods in Morocco

RABAT, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rainfall and flash floods have killed at least 14 people and injured 32 others in Morocco's Atlantic coastal Province of Safi, local authorities said in a statement on Sunday.

World

Brazilians rally against effort to soften punishment for Bolsonaro, allies

SAO PAULO, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Thousands of Brazilians on Sunday protested in major cities against a legislative effort to lower the jail sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters for plotting to overthrow democracy after he lost his 2022 reelection bid. 

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Released Belarus prisoners have no regrets over their actions

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Two prominent Belarusian opposition leaders released by Belarusian authorities in a deal brokered by the U.S. said on Sunday they had no regrets over the actions that led to their incarceration.

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"Zootopia 2" back on top at North American box office

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Disney's animated comedy film "Zootopia 2" reclaimed the top spot at the North American box office with an estimated three-day cume of 26.3 million U.S. dollars in its third weekend of release, according to data from measurement firm Comscore released on Sunday.

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West African bloc rejects Guinea-Bissau's military transition plan

ABUJA, Dec 14 - West African bloc ECOWAS rejected on Sunday a transition programme announced by Guinea-Bissau's military rulers and demanded a swift return to constitutional order, warning of targeted sanctions against those obstructing the process.

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Nearly one-third of Slovenians follow social media influencers: survey

LJUBLJANA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Nearly one-third of adult internet users in Slovenia regularly follow social media influencers engaged in promotional activities, according to a survey released Sunday by the Center for Social Informatics (CSI) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana.

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Flash floods kill seven people in Morocco's Safi

RABAT, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Flash floods triggered by torrential rains killed at least seven people and injured 20 others on Sunday in Morocco's Atlantic coastal province of Safi, 330 kilometres (205 miles) south of Rabat, Moroccan authorities said.

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Death toll climbs to 16 after mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach

SYDNEY, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australian police said on Monday that the alleged offenders behind an attack at a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi beach that killed 15 people, were a father and son duo. One of the gunmen was also killed, bringing the death toll to 16.

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Over 500,000 displaced by 2 weeks of fighting in DR Congo's South Kivu: UNICEF

KINSHASA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Over 500,000 people, including more than 100,000 children, have been displaced since Dec. 1 due to intense fighting in South Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Sunday.

World

Roundup: Forum on combating desertification calls for deeper China-Africa cooperation

NOUAKCHOTT, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Officials and experts from China and Africa on Sunday called for stronger scientific and technological cooperation to address desertification and land degradation, urging closer coordination to advance Africa's Great Green Wall initiative.

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Syria arrests five suspects over shooting of US, Syrian troops in Palmyra

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to the shooting of U.S. and Syrian troops in the central Syrian town of Palmyra on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

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Feature: From policing to peacemaking -- A 1930s Hong Kong building's new calling

HONG KONG, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- A 1930s neoclassical building at No. 123 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, has long been a witness to Hong Kong's evolution. Once the old Wan Chai Police Station, this 1,950-square-meter structure now houses the headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed), a landmark shift that blends the city's history with its emerging role in global governance.

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Chinese business community donates necessities to disabled children in Zimbabwe

HARARE, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese business community in Zimbabwe on Sunday donated a batch of daily necessities to disabled children in Epworth, a community southeast of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.

World

Over 10 dead after school bus accident in Colombia

Dec 14 (Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed and 20 were injured after a bus carrying school children fell off a cliff in rural area in northern Colombia, the local governor said on Sunday.

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Feature: Chinese cultural exhibition, robot dog show captivate crowds of visitors in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian visitor Ralin Havila was enthralled on Sunday when she saw a Chinese intangible cultural heritage exhibition and watched a vivid Chinese robot dog show.

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World's largest ice and snow theme park to open in northeast China

HARBIN, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The world's largest ice-and-snow theme park, the 27th edition of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, will open to the public on Dec. 17 in China's "ice city" Harbin, the capital of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.

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Britain's King Charles 'appalled and saddened' by shooting in Sydney

LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles said he and Queen Camilla were "appalled and saddened" by the shooting targeting Jewish people at a Chanukah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, which claimed the lives of at least 11 people and left dozens wounded.

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Bystander who tackled armed man at Bondi Beach shooting hailed as hero

SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - A bystander captured on video tackling and disarming an armed man during Sunday's deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach has been hailed as a hero whose actions saved lives.