World

'Peace is not far away' says Erdogan, returning from Putin meeting

ISTANBUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, fresh from a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin, said he hopes to discuss a Ukraine-Russia peace plan with U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that "peace is not far away".

World

US and Ukraine to discuss ceasefire in Berlin before European summit

BERLIN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Germany will host U.S. and Ukrainian delegations over the weekend for talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine, before a summit with European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin on Monday, a German official said.

World

Inside Honduras’ election chaos: Infighting, delays, and broken systems

TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Weeks before Honduras' November 30 presidential election, a test run exposed deep flaws in the vote-counting system: only 36% of practice ballots were processed, according to electoral council member Marlon Ochoa. That warning proved prescient.

World

'Pins on a Map': How Chicago students are tracking ICE raids

CHICAGO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The windowless newsroom of The Phoenix, the Loyola University Chicago newspaper, hums like an old refrigerator. A coffee pot burbles in the corner as juniors Julia Pentasuglio and Ella Daugherty lean over a glowing laptop, updating a Google map.

World

Libya's Red Castle museum opens for first time since fall of Gaddafi

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Libya's national museum, formerly known as As-Saraya Al-Hamra or the Red Castle, has reopened in Tripoli, allowing the public access to some of the country's finest historical treasures for the first time since the revolt that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. 

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Ousted Nepal PM's party holds biggest rally since Gen Z protests

KATHMANDU, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands rallied for the party of Nepal's ousted prime minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, on Saturday, in the largest gathering in the Himalayan country since youth-led anti-graft protests forced him out three months ago.

World

Rights groups condemn reported re-arrest of Nobel laureate Mohammadi in Iran

Dec 13 (Reuters) - International human rights groups on Saturday condemned the reported re-arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran, with the Nobel committee calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately clarify her whereabouts.

World

Ukraine's Odesa suffers major blackouts after Russian attack

KYIV, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa and the surrounding region suffered major blackouts on Saturday after a large overnight Russian attack on the power grid across the country.

World

Iran detains 18 crew members of foreign tanker seized in Gulf of Oman

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million litres of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday, citing the Hormozgan province judiciary.

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Two killed in Ukrainian drone strike on Russia's Saratov, regional governor says

MOSCOW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Two people were killed overnight in a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Saratov, regional governor Roman Busargin said on Saturday.

World

US seized tanker near Venezuela just as warrant was set to expire, court document shows

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government carried out its seizure of the M/T Skipper off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday just as a judge-signed warrant was set to expire, according to the document which was unsealed on Friday.

World

Dick Van Dyke turns 100: ‘It’s not enough, you want to live more’

LONDON: Hollywood actor Dick Van Dyke is celebrating his 100th birthday and said he plans to exceed the milestone, PA Media/dpa reported.

World

Russia attacks two Ukrainian ports, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels

KYIV, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Russia attacked two Ukrainian ports on Friday, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels including a ship carrying food supplies, Ukrainian officials and one ship owner said, days after Moscow threatened to cut "Ukraine off from the sea".

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US envoy Witkoff will travel to Berlin to meet with Zelenskiy and European leaders

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders in Berlin this weekend, a U.S. official briefed on the matter said.

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Thailand vows to keep fighting Cambodia after Trump ceasefire claim

BANGKOK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Thailand's leader vowed on Saturday to keep fighting on the disputed border with Cambodia as fighter jets struck targets hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had brokered a new ceasefire.

World

Venezuela-US tensions spike in wake of seized tanker as Nobel winner vows change

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Friday promised political change after slipping out of the country in secret to collect the Nobel Peace Prize, as the shock waves intensified from the Trump administration's seizure of an oil tanker earlier this week. 

World

Bolivia judge rules ex-President Arce be held in pre-trial detention for five months

Dec 12 (Reuters) - A Bolivian judge on Friday said that ex-President Luis Arce will be held in pre-trial detention for five months following his detention earlier this week and as he is investigated for alleged embezzlement.

World

Joint Saudi-Emirate delegation in Aden for talks as 32 killed in STC takeover

Dec 12 (Reuters) - A joint Saudi-Emirati military delegation arrived in Aden to discuss measures aimed at defusing tensions in southern Yemen, days after the country's main southern separatist group claimed broad control across the south, a government source told Reuters on Friday.

World

Canada announces Ottawa-Montreal as first segment of high-speed rail

OTTAWA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian government announced Friday that the first segment of the Alto High-Speed Rail project will link Ottawa and Montreal.

World

Feature: From Cairo streets to UNESCO heritage -- koshary tells a story shared by every Egyptian

CAIRO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- In the heart of Cairo, the air hangs heavy with the comforting scent of lentils, rice, and fried onions. Behind the counter of a bustling eatery, Mustafa Aboul-Fotouh moves with quiet precision, assembling plates of koshary: the humble, hearty dish that has quietly come to embody Egypt itself.