World

BRUSSELS,  (Reuters) – Belgium’s intelligence service worked closely with other European countries for more than a year to uncover the graft scandal now rocking the European Parliament, the justice ministry said.

TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) – Honduras will sign an agreement today to install a United Nations-backed anti-corruption mission in the country, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday, making good on a key campaign pledge of President Xiomara Castro to root out graft.

(Reuters) – Moscow said no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards after nearly 10 months of devastating war in Ukraine, even as the release of dozens more prisoners including an American showed that some contacts between the two sides remain.

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Russia’s flagship Urals crude has been sold at deeper discounts this month following a European ban on Russian oil imports, and dominant buyer India has bought barrels at well below a $60 price cap agreed by the West, four market sources said.

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Deforestation in the world’s most biologically diverse savanna, the Brazilian Cerrado, rose by around 25% in the 12 months through July from the previous period, two people familiar with the still unreleased government data told Reuters.

STRASBOURG,  (Reuters) – The European Parliament stripped Greek lawmaker Eva Kaili of her senior assembly post yesterday over allegations that World Cup host Qatar had bribed her to influence decision-making, charges she has denied.

KYIV/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States was finalising plans to send its sophisticated Patriot air defence system to Ukraine in a potentially pivotal move while allies pledged just over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) to help Ukrainians survive the freezing winter.

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) yesterday stopped an impeachment process from being launched against President Cyril Ramaphosa, as most of its lawmakers voted to reject an inquiry report into alleged misconduct.

HONG KONG,  (Reuters) – China is working on a more than 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) support package for its semiconductor industry, three sources said, in a major step towards self sufficiency in chips and to counter U.S.

STRASBOURG,  (Reuters) – The European Parliament stripped Greek lawmaker Eva Kaili of her senior assembly post on Tuesday over allegations that World Cup host Qatar had bribed her to influence decision-making, charges she has denied.

(Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas at the behest of U.S.

KYIV,  (Reuters) – Russian missiles, artillery and drones hammered targets in eastern and southern Ukraine, the Ukrainian General Staff said, as global economic powers pledged to beef up Kyiv’s military capabilities with a focus on air defence.

LONDON, (Reuters) – The billionaire co-chairman and CEO of Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd is wanted in the United States, accused of paying kickbacks to obtain permits for a construction project in San Francisco, a court in London heard yesterday.

LONDON/WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – A Libyan man accused of making the bomb that killed 270 people after it blew up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988 is in custody in the United States, Scottish and U.S.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – People in China celebrated the withdrawal on Tuesday of a state-mandated app used to track whether they had travelled to COVID-stricken areas, in the latest loosening of some of the world’s toughest anti-virus rules.

BRUSSELS,  (Reuters) – The European Union’s credibility is at stake, EU foreign ministers warned today, following allegations Qatar lavished cash and gifts on European Parliament officials to influence decision-making.

BOGOTA,  (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Indigenous leaders from rainforests from Brazil to Indonesia say a new European Union law preventing the import into the bloc of key commodities linked to deforestation is insufficient to protect forests and will do little to bolster indigenous rights.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on the son of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, several other Zimbabwean nationals and two entities, as part of Washington’s efforts to address corruption in the country.

BRUSSELS,  (Reuters) – The European Union’s credibility is at stake, EU foreign ministers warned today, following allegations Qatar lavished cash and gifts on European Parliament officials to influence decision-making.

KYIV, (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held talks with U.S.