Author: Disha Mishra

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday Kyiv is ready to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to their leader Kim Jong Un if he can facilitate their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia. “In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” Zelenskiy said on the social media platform X. Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine had taken two North Koreans prisoner in Russia’s Kursk region, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean…

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Chinese and Indian refiners will source more oil from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, boosting prices and freight costs, as new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and ships curb supplies to Moscow’s top customers, traders and analysts said. The U.S. Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), opens new tab and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, targeting the revenues Moscow has used to fund its war with Ukraine. Many of the tankers have been used to ship oil to India and…

(Forelines) – A high-ranking Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for discussions regarding a potential Gaza hostage release and ceasefire agreement, according to a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reported by Reuters, signaling possible progress in ongoing negotiations. According to Reuters, Qatar along with mediators Egypt and the United States is stepping up renewed efforts to negotiate a deal to end the fighting in Gaza and ensure the release of the remaining 98 hostages before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office stated on Saturday that the delegation comprises Mossad chief…

LOS ANGELES, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Firefighters were slowly making progress in their battle to contain the inferno that has razed swathes of Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood to the ground, but still-spreading flames threatened communities in the populous San Fernando Valley on Sunday. Aircraft dropped water and fire retardant on steep hills to stem the eastward spread of the Palisades Fire and KTLA television reported that ground crews had managed to save a number of houses, although others were lost. “LA County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said. Six simultaneous…

(Forelines) – On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged allies to fulfil their pledges to supply Ukraine with weapons, including those needed to counter Russian air attacks, reported by Reuters. Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that in the past week, Russian forces had carried out hundreds of strikes on Ukraine and deploying nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used, as per Reuters. Ukrainian air defences intercepted 60 of the 94 drones carried out by Russia overnight, according to the air force Sunday, cited by Reuters. The air force further stated that 34 drones were “lost” due to Ukraine’s…

(Forelines) – On Saturday, two individuals believed to be linked to government-backed militias, locally referred to as “Death Squads,” were killed, and three others injured in separate incidents in Balochistan’s Kech and Kohlu districts in Pakistan, The Balochistan Post reported. In the first incident, unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle attacked Jameel, the son of Malik Dadullah, in the Kohad area of Tump Tehsil, Kech. Another person, Meraj Arif, was injured and taken to Turbat Civil Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. According to local sources, the victims were reportedly affiliated with a government-backed militant group, The Balochistan Post…

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], January 12 (ANI): Several areas in Rawalpindi are facing a severe water shortage after the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) cut off electricity to nine key tubewells, citing non-payment of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 1.8 billion in outstanding dues by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), as reported by the Dawn. The disconnection, which occurred on Thursday evening, has left residents in localities between Chandni Chowk and Shamsabad without water. Wasa officials explained that these areas, which rely on tube wells for water, are now facing disruptions in supply. While Wasa paid PKR 60 million to Iesco on Friday…

N’DJAMENA, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Chad’s ruling party won two-thirds of the seats in the legislative election which was boycotted by many in the opposition last month, provisional results showed on Sunday, reinforcing President Mahamat Idriss Deby’s hold on power. Results of the Dec. 29 election seal the oil-producing Central African nation’s transition to constitutional rule more than three years after Deby seized control following the sudden death of his father and long-standing predecessor Idriss Deby Itno. Deby’s party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, secured 124 of the 188 seats at the National Assembly, the national electoral body said. The participation…

RIYADH, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Foreign ministers and top diplomats from Western and Middle Eastern countries are meeting Syria’s new foreign minister in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday at the first such regional meeting on Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last month. German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Riyadh on Sunday morning ahead of the meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani. British foreign minister David Lammy was also expected to join the talks, according to a statement issued by the UK Foreign Office. Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,…

(Reuters) – The Biden administration delayed until June an order for Nippon Steel (5401.T), opens new tab to abandon its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel(X.N), opens new tab, the companies said on Saturday, giving them some time to revive the politically contentious deal. President Joe Biden blocked the acquisition on national security grounds on Jan. 3, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week the proposed deal had received a “thorough analysis” by the interagency review body, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The delay will give the courts time to review a legal challenge the…