Author: AFP

NATO chief Mark Rutte said Wednesday that Russia was giving support to North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes in exchange for Pyongyang sending troops to use in the war with Ukraine. “In return for troops and weapons, Russia is providing North Korea with support for its missile and nuclear programmes,” Rutte told journalists after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

South Korea’s cabinet approved a motion to lift martial law, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday. The report came minutes after President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that he had withdrawn his bid to impose martial law, and that cabinet was required to lift it.

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Ukraine joining the NATO military alliance would pose an unacceptable threat to Russia, as NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels with Kyiv pushing to join the bloc. “Such a potential decision is unacceptable to us, because it is a threatening event for us,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Ukraine said Tuesday that its forces had repelled a Russian effort to cross the Oskil river, which has long been a de facto front line across the east of the war-scarred country. “As a result of the successful operation, the enemy was destroyed. The right bank of the Oskil river is under the control of the Defence Forces,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday slammed as “deeply concerning” the situation in Georgia where dozens of people have been injured in days of anti-government protests by pro-Western demonstrators. “The reports of violence are deeply concerning, and I condemn them unequivocally,” Rutte told a press conference, saying NATO allies “urge the Georgian government to stay on the path” towards “more EU and NATO integration.”

Japan’s Nippon Steel said Tuesday that its planned takeover of US Steel will reinforce American industry, after US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to block the $14.9-billion deal. “Nippon Steel is determined to protect and grow US Steel in a manner that reinforces American industry, domestic supply chain resiliency, and US national security,” the Japanese firm said. US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said he would “block” the planned takeover. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.…

Qatar said Tuesday that there was no military solution to the Syrian civil war, as the Damascus government scrambled to contain a rebel offensive now nearing its second week. The gas-rich Gulf state, which has remained an outspoken critic of Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad even after his rehabilitation by most other Arab countries, called for a negotiated settlement and aid and protection for civilians caught up in the fighting. “The military solution will not lead to a sustainable result,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said. “The political solution is the only way to end the suffering of the Syrian…

Ukraine insisted Tuesday that NATO membership was the only “real guarantee” for its security, but foreign ministers from the alliance sidestepped Kyiv’s push for an invite ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency. A dinner of foreign ministers from Ukraine and the alliance’s 32 member states ended without any concrete decision. “There was no progress,” Lithuania’s Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters. Trump has vowed to press for a quick deal to end Russia’s war, leaving Kyiv scrambling to position itself ahead of his January inauguration. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said getting security guarantees from the Western alliance and…

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday rejected calls to resign to break a political impasse in the country, saying such a scenario amounted to “political fiction”. “It doesn’t make sense… it’s frankly not up to scratch to say these things,” Macron, whose government faces a no confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday, told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Saudi Arabia. “It so happens that if I am before you, it is because I was elected twice by the French people. I am extremely proud of this and I will honour this trust with all the energy that…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “alarmed” by the escalation of violence in Syria and is calling for an immediate end to fighting, his spokesman said Monday. “All parties must do their utmost to protect civilians and civilian objects, including by allowing safe passage to civilians who are fleeing hostilities,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “Syrians have endured the conflict for nearly 14 years. They deserve a political horizon that will deliver a peaceful future, not more bloodshed,” he added. Syria has been at war since President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on democracy protests in 2011, with subsequent fighting…