*) Worries grow as South Africa detects new Covid variant with many mutations

Scientists have raised the alarm over a newly found Covid variant in Southern Africa with multiple mutations.

Australia has launched an investigation into the new Covid variant while the United Kingdom has suspended flights from six African nations.

The scientists are calling the new variant 'the worst one yet'. It could be more easily transmissible, and possibly more resistant to current vaccines.

*) Solomon Islands leader blames foreign powers for fuelling crisis

In the Solomon Islands, rioters have torched buildings during the third day of protests against the government.

In the capital Honiara, police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse the protesters.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has blamed the foreign powers for fueling the unrest in the country over his government's decision to switch alliances from Taiwan to China.

*) Dozens reportedly killed in Siberia coal mine accident

Arrests have been made in Russia, as the death toll from the Siberia coal mine accident surpassed 50 people.

According to regional authorities, there was a methane explosion caused by a spark. The mine then filled with smoke with 285 people inside.

Dozens have been hospitalised. One local news agency says three patients are in critical condition.

*) Ethiopia asks US to stop 'shameful fake news' on war with Tigray rebels

Ethiopia has accused the United States of spreading false information about security conditions in the war-hit country and warned such statements could harm ties.

It said the US government should refrain from disseminating what it called "shameful fake news and defamation regarding Ethiopia".

Washington once viewed Ethiopia as a vital security partner in the volatile Horn of Africa, but relations have soured over Ethiopia's year-long war against rebels.

And finally…

*) Protesters in Europe, Latin America seek end to violence against women

Thousands have marched through Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, and also in Guatemala and Honduras to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

This year's slogan was “Enough” as hundreds marched through central Madrid on Thursday with some banners calling to put an end to gender-based violence.

Nearly one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly by someone they know, according to United Nations Women.

*) US jury finds three white men guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery

A US jury has found all three white men charged in the death of black man, Ahmaud Arbery, guilty of murder.

Travis McMichael, who shot Ahmaud Arbery, his father Gregory, and their neighbour William "Roddie" Bryan now face minimum sentences of life in prison.


The convicts had chased Arbery in their pickup trucks and shot him dead in the southern US state of Georgia in February last year.

*) Dozens of migrants and refugees loose their lives in English Channel boat disaster

British and French officials have traded blame after 27 migrants and refugees died when their dinghy deflated as they made a perilous crossing of the English Channel.

Wednesday's accident was the worst disaster on record involving migrants and refugees in the narrow seaway separating the two countries.

Human traffickers typically overload the dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at the mercy of waves as they try to reach British shores.

*) UN seeks truce as Ethiopia's Abiy reaches frontline to fight Tigray rebels

The United Nations chief has called for an "unconditional and immediate" ceasefire in Ethiopia, where government forces are battling rebels from the northern Tigray region.

Antonio Guterres’ appeal came after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived at the frontline where government soldiers are fighting rebels.


International alarm has mounted over the escalating year-long conflict in Ethiopia, where Tigrayan rebels are feared to march on the capital Addis Ababa.

*) Germany’s centre-left-led alliance reach deal on new government

A centre-left-led alliance of parties has announced a deal to form Germany's new government.

The coalition will replace Angela Merkel's cabinet and put the Social Democrats (SPD) in charge for the first time in 16 years.

The alliance concluded a roadmap on Wednesday on plans for Germany's next four years that will install Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as chancellor.

And finally…

*) World honours Maradona on first death anniversary of 'Golden Kid'

The world marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Diego Maradona, regarded by some as the best player of all time.

Argentine club matches will mark a minute of silence and players will arrange themselves in a "10" formation on the pitch to honour Maradona's famous jersey number.

Two statues are set to be unveiled for the striker in the Italian city of Naples, where he spent part of his career.

*) UN reducing footprint in Ethiopia amid growing alarm

International alarm mounted over the escalating war in Ethiopia as Tigrayan rebels claimed to be edging closer to the capital Addis Ababa and more foreign citizens were told to leave.

The United Nations said it had ordered the immediate evacuation of family members of international staff.

France also advised its citizens to leave "without delay", following similar advisories by the US and the UK.

*) Biden taps US gas reserves as energy costs soar

US President Joe Biden is going to release emergency reserves of oil to address rising inflation in the world's largest economy.

The US is releasing 50 million barrels of oil in coordination with other major consumers of crude.

The unprecedented move should also help lower energy prices, which are up 250 percent since January.

Washington has been calling on the international oil cartel OPEC and its allies to raise production, to meet growing demand. But those appeals have been ignored.

*) 'Apple suing Israeli hacker-for-hire company NSO Group
Tech giant Apple announced it is suing Israel’s NSO Group, seeking to block the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire company from breaking into Apple products.

Apple said NSO Group's spyware, called Pegasus, had been used to attack a small number of Apple customers worldwide.

It's the latest blow to the hacking firm, which was recently blacklisted by the US Commerce Department and is currently being sued by social media giant Facebook.

*) HRW: Belarus, Poland violating human rights at border
The Human Rights Watch said both Poland and Belarus have committed "serious human rights violations” against migrants on their border.

HRW researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 19 people, some of whom "had been pushed back, sometimes violently, by Polish border guards".

In Belarus, they said that "violence, inhuman and degrading treatment and coercion" by Belarusian border guards were "commonplace".

HRW added that this treatment "may in some cases constitute torture, in violation of Belarus's international legal obligations".
And finally…

*) NASA launches spacecraft to slam into and 'divert' asteroid
A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid to see if its course can be altered has blasted off from California.

The SpaceX rocket carrying the experiment lifted off early on Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base, NASA TV's livestream showed.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART is a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth.

*) Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed vows to lead army 'from the battlefront'


The Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed has announced he will lead his army from the battlefront against advancing rebel forces, in a statement on social media.

His remarks come as rival Tigray forces close in on the capital Addis Ababa, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency earlier this month.

Thousands of people have already been killed in the war between government forces, and fighters from the northern Tigray region.
*) Several killed in bus crash in Bulgaria

At least 45 people have been killed in western Bulgaria when a bus with North Macedonian plates caught fire on a highway, officials said.

There were children among the victims, and seven people with burns were rushed to hospital in the capital Sofia, local news reported.
The cause of the accident has yet to be determined.
*) Wisconsin driver to face homicide charges for Christmas parade deaths

The driver of the car that ploughed into a Christmas parade in the US state of Wisconsin will be charged with multiple counts of intentional homicide.

Five people were killed and 48 injured when the suspect drove an SUV into the crowd in Waukesha.

Police say he had left the scene of a domestic dispute minutes before, and that there is no evidence the incident was a terrorist attack.

*) Belarusian president calls for European powers to work with Minsk

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says he does not want confrontation with Poland, but he says if the situation at the border remains the same, war will be “unavoidable.”

Lukashenko has called on European leaders to work with Minsk to solve the migrant crisis.

He proposed Germany take in two thousand migrants, and that the remaining five thousand be repatriated - a request Berlin has rejected.

Poland and its Western allies have accused Minsk of instigating the crisis.

And finally…
*) Kevin Spacey ordered to pay $31M for ‘House of Cards’ losses

Kevin Spacey and his production companies must pay the studio behind “House of Cards” more than $30 million because of losses brought on by his firing for sexual misconduct.

A document filed in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting a judge's approval of the ruling says that arbitrators found that Spacey violated his contract's demands for professional behavior.


MRC, the studio behind “House of Cards,” had to fire Spacey, halt production of the show's sixth season, rewrite it to remove Spacey's central character, and shorten it from 13 to eight episodes to meet deadlines.


The 62-year-old Oscar winner's career came to an abrupt halt late in 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained momentum.

*) Several killed after SUV plows into Christmas parade in Wisconsin

At least 5 people died and more than 40 others were injured in the US state of Wisconsin after a vehicle drove into a busy Christmas parade in Waukesha.

US authorities confirmed the deaths in a statement.

Police said the numbers could change as many people transported themselves to hospitals.
A person of interest was in custody but no details have been given on a possible motive.
*) European cities hit with wave of protests against renewed Covid curbs

A fresh wave of protests has broken out in several European cities and in some French overseas territories over coronavirus restrictions.
Police and protesters clashed in the Belgian capital Brussels, several Dutch and Austrian cities, and in the French Caribbean territory Guadeloupe.
Europe is battling another wave of infections and several countries have tightened curbs despite high levels of vaccination, especially in the west of the continent.
*) Protests in Sudan continue despite deal reached by military, civilian leaders
A political agreement has been signed in Sudan which will see Abdalla Hamdok reinstated as prime minister following October's military coup.

Top general Abdel Fattah al Burhan signed the agreement on Sunday which guarantees a return to transitional civilian rule and the release of all political prisoners.

But many aren't convinced the agreement represents the demands of the Sudanese people, as anti-coup protests continue across the country.
*) Chile heads towards polarising presidential runoff

Chile's far-right former congressman is on track to win the first-round in the country's presidential election

Early results show Jose Antonio Kast in the lead followed closely by leftist lawmaker Gabriel Boric.

The pair will likely face-off in a run-off election next month. Sunday's vote will not only determine the president, but also members of congress and regional councils.

The vote comes after years of tense protests, with Chileans demanding better living standards.

And finally...
*) Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai tells IOC she is 'safe and well'

The International Olympic Committee says Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai told its president that she is safe and well, during a video call on Sunday.

Peng told Thomas Bach that she was at her home in Beijing, and asked that her privacy be respected.

Peng had not been seen or heard from since she accused the country's former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her — prompting global concerns over her safety.

*) India’s Modi withdraws controversial farm laws

​​After more than a year of Indian farmers displaying massive street power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repealed three highly controversial agricultural reform laws.

Farmers were against the laws as they would no longer be assured of a minimum price for their crops.

At the time, the government said the reforms were essential to modernise the nation but has now backed down ahead of elections in three heavily agrarian states.

*) Sudan's police chief denies role in protester deaths

Sudan’s police chief has defended his security forces after at least 15 people were killed by live fire at Wednesday's protests against last month’s coup.

Lieutenant General Khalid Mahdi Ibrahim said security forces only used legal means to contain protests.

Wednesday’s deaths brought the overall death toll since the coup to at least 39.

*) Belarus clears main refugee camps at EU border

Belarus has cleared the main camps where refugees were sheltering at the border with Poland.

Belarus state media said late on Thursday that the refugees sheltering in the forest had been taken to a warehouse away from the Polish border.

The EU has accused Belarus of deliberately creating the crisis by flying in refugees and forcing them to attempt illegal border crossings into Poland and Lithuania.

Minsk denies "orchestrating" the crisis and both sides have agreed to talks.

*) World Food Programme drivers released after weeklong detention in Ethiopia

All of the World Food Programme drivers and UN workers arrested by the Ethiopian government in the north have been released.

Ethiopia arrested 72 drivers in Afar province, on the only functional road leading into the conflict-and-famine-hit region of Tigray.

The arrests follow an escalation of conflict between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and Tigray forces in early November – when the rebels threatened to besiege capital Addis Ababa.

*) Deforestation of Amazon surges to highest levels since 2006

The deforested area in Brazil's Amazon has reached a 15-year high, after a 22 percent jump from the previous year.

The Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometres of rainforest in the 12 months from August 2020 to July 2021, according to the National Institute for Space Research.

Brazil's Amazon had not recorded a single year with more than 10,000 square kilometres of deforestation in over a decade before Jair Bolsonaro’s term started.

*) UN envoy warns Afghan Taliban unable to thwart Daesh on its own

A UN envoy has warned that the Taliban has proven unable to prevent the growth of the Daesh Afghanistan affiliate.

Deborah Lyons told the UN Security Council that the terrorist group has grown from being in only "a few provinces and Kabul" to now being present "in nearly all" of the country”.

She said the group has dramatically increased attacks. These include 13 attacks in the second half of August, 38 in September and 48 the following month.

*) Sudan forces shoot dead anti-coup protesters

Sudan's security forces have shot dead at least 15 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more in the bloodiest day since the military's October 25 takeover.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said most of Wednesday's casualties had suffered gunshot wounds to the head, neck or torso.

At least 38 people have died in unrest in Sudan since the military seized power.

*) Merkel, Lukashenko agree on talks with EU on border crisis

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have agreed that Minsk and Brussels should discuss the crisis on the EU border.

The EU holds Belarus responsible for flying in and then transporting refugees to Poland's frontier, an accusation Lukashenko denies.

Thousands of refugees and migrants have been stuck at the border since November 8, and want to reach Germany or other western European countries.

*) Canada's British Columbia declares state of emergency

Canada's province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency after devastating floodwaters and mudslides.

Officials said downpours in British Columbia this week trapped motorists in mudslides that left at least one person dead and four missing.

Thousands of people have been evacuated as unprecedented rainfall over two days caused rivers to overflow banks and flood entire communities.

*) Missing Chinese tennis star issues a statement but concerns deepen for her safety

Chinese media has issued what they said was a #metoo retraction by a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a top politician of sexual assault.

But WTA Chair and CEO Steve Simon said that a statement attributed to Peng Shuai only raises his concerns "as to her safety and whereabouts.”

In a detailed social media post earlier this month, Peng said an ex-vice premier and member of the Communist Party forced her to have sex despite her refusals.

Peng went silent after her accusation was scrubbed from China's internet, with her retraction the first statement attributed to her since.