Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Ukraine expects Trump-Zelenskiy meeting, swift contact after inauguration
Ukraine expects high-level contact with the new U.S. administration immediately after Donald Trump takes office, including an eventual meeting between the U.S. president-elect and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kyiv said on Friday. Kyiv sees cultivating close ties with Trump as a paramount goal and has been making overtures to the Republican who won the U.S. presidential election in November, promising to rapidly end Russia's nearly three-year all-out war with Ukraine.
Austrian foreign minister Schallenberg takes over as caretaker chancellor
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was sworn in as caretaker chancellor on Friday, succeeding fellow conservative Karl Nehammer who quit last weekend after his attempt to form a centrist coalition government without the far right failed. The current government, led by the People's Party (OVP), has served in a caretaker capacity since September's parliamentary election, which the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) won. The FPO has been tasked with forming a government and is due to start coalition talks with the OVP on Friday.
South Korean leader's security chief warns against violent attempts to arrest Yoon
The security chief of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, under investigation for blocking Yoon's arrest, resigned on Friday and said any further efforts to detain the ex-leader must avoid bloodshed. Yoon's short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 has plunged one of Asia's most vibrant democracies into a period of unprecedented political turbulence.
Bulgarian ex-PM Petkov faces prosecutors over 2022 arrest of political rival
Bulgarian former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said after testifying to prosecutors on Friday that he had committed no crime in the 2022 arrest of political rival Boyko Borissov in which Petkov is accused of overstepping his authority. Borissov, who is also a former prime minister and still leads the center-right GERB party, spent 20 hours in custody along with two members of his party in March 2022 as part of a police investigation into alleged blackmail. They were released without charge.
Venezuela's Maduro to be sworn in for third term as opposition leader vows to return
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose nearly 12 years in office have been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, is set to be sworn in for a third term on Friday, staying in power despite a six-month dispute over a July election and international calls for him to stand aside. Maduro, president since 2013, was declared the winner of July's election by both Venezuela's electoral authority and top court, though detailed tallies confirming his victory have never been published.
Analysis-NATO won't back Trump's new defense spending target but will raise its sights
NATO won't heed Donald Trump´s proposal for a massive hike in defense spending but will likely agree to go beyond its current target, according to officials and analysts. The U.S. president-elect declared on Tuesday members of the military alliance should spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense - a huge increase from the current 2% goal and a level that no NATO country, including the United States, currently reaches.
Los Angeles wildfires rage for third night, death toll rises to 10
Firefighters reported some progress fighting the wildfires that have charred hillsides, homes and streets in Los Angeles County, but the strong winds that fanned the flames were expected to pick up again on Friday, worsening conditions. The fires, engulfing iconic Los Angeles neighborhoods and tearing through the Hollywood Hills, have so far killed 10 people and destroyed nearly 10,000 structures.
US House votes to sanction International Criminal Court over Israel
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza. The vote was 243 to 140 in favor of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
Thousands protest outside Romanian top court over canceled presidential election
Thousands of Romanians rallied outside the country's top court on Friday to protest against the December cancellation of the presidential election in which a little-known pro-Russian candidate won the first round. Although small, protests have been continuing since Dec. 6, when the Constitutional Court voided the election two days before the second round. Its move came after state documents showed frontrunner Calin Georgescu had benefitted from an unfair social media campaign likely orchestrated by Russia.
Russia won't cancel Navalny's 'terrorist' status even though he's dead, widow says
Russia's financial watchdog has rejected a request to remove late opposition leader Alexei Navalny from its list of "terrorists and extremists" even though he is dead, his widow Yulia Navalnaya said on Friday. She published a Dec. 16 letter from the watchdog, Rosfinmonitoring, that said Navalny was the subject of a criminal investigation into money laundering and the financing of terrorism. It said the watchdog had not been informed of any move to drop the case, and therefore he was still on the list.
