World News Roundup: China gold miners rescued early after cavities in shaft discovered; China says U.S. military in South China Sea not good for peace and more

Putin says palace Navalny alleges he owns is not his or his family's Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that an opulent Black Sea palace jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has accused him of owning did not belong to him or his family.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China gold miners rescued early after cavities in shaft discovered: official

Eleven Chinese gold miners trapped underground after an explosion were rescued much earlier than expected thanks to steel pipes supporting blockages in the mine shaft, according to state-media, as the search continued for 10 others. An air ventilation shaft, which was the most feasible way to bring up the workers, had been cleared to a depth of 368 metres (1,207 feet), Xiao Wenru, chief engineer for the mine rescue, told Xinhua News Agency on Monday.

China says U.S. military in South China Sea not good for peace

The United States often sends ships and aircraft into the South China Sea to "flex its muscles" and this is not good for peace, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after a U.S. aircraft carrier group sailed into the disputed waterway. The strategic South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade flows each year, has long been a focus of contention between Beijing and Washington, with China particularly angered by U.S. military activity there.

EU states no longer recognise Guaido as Venezuela's interim president

Venezuela's Juan Guaido is a "privileged interlocutor" but no longer considered interim president, European Union states said in a statement on Monday, sticking by their decision to downgrade his status. The EU's 27 states had said on Jan. 6 they could no longer legally recognise Guaido as after he lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in Venezuela in December, despite the EU not recognising that vote.

Indian farmers ride caravan of tractors into capital ahead of Republic Day

Caravans of tractors clogged a key highway in northern India on Monday as tens of thousands of farmers protesting against agriculture reforms streamed into the capital ahead of celebrations for Republic Day. India marks its founding as a republic on Tuesday with a military parade in the historic city centre, but the farmers, who are demanding a rollback of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's deregulation effort, plan their own peaceful show of strength.

Iran asks Indonesia to explain seizure of tanker accused of illegal oil transfer

Iran has asked Indonesia to provide details about the seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday, a day after Jakarta said it had seized Iran and Panama-flagged tankers in its waters. Indonesia said on Sunday its coast guard had seized the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya vessels over suspected illegal oil transfer in the country's waters.

EU to debate Russia sanctions after Navalny protest arrests

The European Union will consider fresh sanctions on Russian individuals on Monday after more than 3,000 people were arrested across Russia on Saturday to demand the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Lithuania's foreign minister, arriving in Brussels for a meeting of the bloc's 27 top diplomats, said "a change is in the air in Russia" that the bloc must support, especially after Navalny's detention as he returned to Russia from Germany.

Earth is losing ice faster today than in the mid-1990s, study suggests

Earth’s ice is melting faster today than in the mid-1990s, new research suggests, as climate change nudges global temperatures ever higher. Altogether, an estimated 28 trillion metric tons of ice have melted away from the world’s sea ice, ice sheets and glaciers since the mid-1990s. Annually, the melt rate is now about 57 percent faster than it was three decades ago, scientists report in a study published Monday in the journal The Cryosphere.

Putin says palace Navalny alleges he owns is not his or his family's

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that an opulent Black Sea palace jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has accused him of owning did not belong to him or his family. Navalny's team released a video last week in which he levelled his allegations about the palace, which has since been viewed more than 86 million times on YouTube.

Japan likely to hit COVID-19 herd immunity in October, months after Olympics: researcher

Japan is likely to achieve herd immunity to COVID-19 through mass inoculations only months after the planned Tokyo Olympics, even though it has locked in the biggest quantity of vaccines in Asia, according to a London-based forecaster. That would be a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who has pledged to have enough shots for the populace by the middle of 2021, as it trails most major economies in starting COVID-19 inoculations.

Ugandan court orders freedom of opposition leader Bobi Wine

A Ugandan court has ordered security forces to cease surrounding the home of opposition leader Bobi Wine, whose house arrest since a mid-month presidential election has drawn international pressure, his lawyer said on Monday. Troops have blocked the 38-year-old pop star-turned-politician from leaving his house in a suburb of the capital Kampala since he voted in the Jan. 14 election where he ran against long-serving incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.

(With inputs from agencies.)