WORLD
US charges 7 with military tech plot on Russian govt orders
In an official statement issued on Tuesday, the DOJ said a 16-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court in New York City. The seven persons are Yevgeniy Grinin, 44, of Moscow; Aleksey Ippolitov, 57, of Moscow; Boris Livshits, 52, of St. Petersburg; Svetlana Skvortsova, 41, of Moscow; Vadim Konoshchenok, 48, of St. Petersburg; Alexey Brayman, 35, of New Hampshire; and Vadim Yermolenko, 41, of New Jersey.
High-level ministerial meeting to take up UNSC reforms
Preparing for the meeting, he met on Tuesday with General Assembly President Csaba Korosi and Japan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yamada Kenji. After their meeting, both Korosi and Jaishankar tweeted that UN reforms figured in their talks. Japan is a member of G4, the group of countries that includes India, Brazil and Japan, which lobby together for Council reforms and support each other for permanent seats on an expanded Council.
Additional H-2B visas for FY 2023: USCIS
These supplemental H-2B visas are for US employers seeking to petition for additional workers at certain periods of the fiscal year before September 15, 2023, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). "The Department is making supplemental H-2B visas available earlier than ever, ensuring that American businesses can plan for their peak season labor needs," Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement.
Biden signs bill on same-sex marriage
The move, on Tuesday, came days after the Respect for Marriage Act went through the US Congress, Xinhua news agency reported. The legislation, among other things, overturns the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act while requiring states to recognise any valid marriage performed in other states.
Guterres calls for de-escalating tensions along India-China border
His spokesperson Stephane Guterres said: "We call for de-escalation to ensure that the tensions along the border in that area do not grow." India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that on Friday a physical scuffle took place between the armies of the two countries in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.
US 'closely monitoring' LAC situation after Tawang clashes
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at the daily briefing that the US is in "close contact" with its Indian "partners". Price declined to detail conversations with India. "We are glad to hear that both sides appear to have quickly disengaged from the clashes," Price said and went on to appeal to the two countries to discuss their boundary disputes utilising the existing bilateral channels.
India's footprints seen in all terror activities in Pakistan, says Pakistan Interior Minister
"India, through some way or the other, woos the international community and then engages in terrorist activities in Pakistan and we have clear evidence of it," he said during a press conference alongside Additional Inspector-General, Counter-Terrorism Department, Punjab Imran Mehmood, Geo News reported.
Key Covid indicators surge again in US, straining hospitals
The country averaged about 65,569 new cases each day in the week ending December 7, a 49.6 per cent surge from the previous week, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday. Experts believe the real count of cases are much higher as many were underreported due to at-home Covid-19 tests.
Putin scraps annual year-end news conference
Addressing media persons here on Monday, Peskov said that there won't be a news conference before the New Year, "but we expect that the President will still find an opportunity to talk to (reporters), as he does regularly, including during his foreign visits", the state-run TASS News Agency reported. The Kremlin spokesman also did not give out a possible date of Putin's address to the Federal Assembly, saying that "we will inform you in due time".
Number of Chinese seeking to move to Canada spikes as discontent grows
Canada's Department of Immigration and Citizenship received 9,925 applications from Chinese people for permanent residency during the third quarter, up 15 per cent from the same quarter of 2021. The exodus, mostly of middle-class families and high-earning corporate professionals who have the wherewithal to relocate, has been dubbed the "run" phenomenon, using a Chinese character that sounds a little like the English word "run", RFA reported.
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