World News Roundup: Israel's Netanyahu faces key witness in court; Belarus says it does not want confrontation, wants EU to take migrants and more

Protests turned to violence in Brussels and across the Netherlands over the weekend amid frustration over yet more government controls nearly two years after the virus was first identified in China. Bahrain says it foiled planned attack, confiscated Iranian weapons and explosives Bahrain security forces arrested a number of suspected militants ahead of a planned attack and confiscated weapons and explosives that had come from Iran, the interior ministry said on its official Twitter on Monday.


Reuters | Updated: 22-11-2021 18:50 IST | Created: 22-11-2021 18:30 IST
World News Roundup: Israel's Netanyahu faces key witness in court; Belarus says it does not want confrontation, wants EU to take migrants and more
Image Credit: Twitter (@orlygogo)

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israel's Netanyahu faces key witness in court

Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court on Monday to face a key prosecution witness in his corruption trial. Netanyahu, who served as prime minister for 12 years until June, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud in cases that centre on alleged regulatory favours he awarded to media tycoons in return for positive press coverage and receipt of gifts, including cigars and champagne.

Belarus says it does not want confrontation, wants EU to take migrants

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday Belarus seeks no confrontation with Poland but wants the European Union to take in 2,000 migrants stranded on its border, and he added that if the crisis deteriorated "too far, war is unavoidable". The European Union accuses Belarus of flying in thousands of people from the Middle East and pushing them to cross into the EU via Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in response to EU sanctions imposed over Lukashenko's crushing of protests against his disputed re-election.

Xi tells Southeast Asian leaders China does not seek 'hegemony'

Chinese President Xi Jinping told leaders of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit on Monday that Beijing would not "bully" its smaller regional neighbours, amid rising tension over the South China Sea. Beijing's territorial claims over the sea clash with those of several Southeast Asian nations and have raised alarm from Washington to Tokyo.

France's Macron: Situation in Guadeloupe "very explosive"

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday protests over COVID-19 restrictions in the French overseas region of Guadeloupe have created a "very explosive" situation. Macron was talking to journalists ahead of a meeting between the French prime minister and lawmakers from the Caribbean island scheduled later on Monday.

Exclusive: Sudan's Hamdok says he returned to safeguard economic gains

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Monday that maintaining economic gains from the past two years was among the reasons he has decided to return to his post, under a deal with the military nearly a month after he was removed in a coup. In an interview with Reuters at the Khartoum residence where he had been held under house arrest following the Oct. 25 military takeover, Hamdok said he believed a technocratic government would have a chance to improve living standards.

Indian farmers hold mass rally, keep pressure on Modi despite climbdown

Flushed with victory after Prime Minister Narendra Modi caved into demands for agricultural reform laws to be repealed, Indian farmers held a mass rally on Monday to demand minimum support prices be extended to all produce, not just rice and wheat. The protest movement launched by farmers more than a year ago became the most serious political challenge to the government, and resulted in Modi making a surprise commitment on Friday to roll back the reforms.

Explainer-Sudan's political transition in the balance

Sudan's military has announced a deal to reinstate Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister, just under a month after dissolving his government in a coup. The agreement faces opposition from protesters who previously saw Hamdok as a symbol of resistance to military rule but viewed his signature of the deal as a betrayal.

Exclusive-U.N. warns of 'colossal' collapse of Afghan banking system

The United Nations on Monday pushed for urgent action to prop up Afghanistan's banks, warning that a spike in people unable to repay loans, lower deposits and a cash liquidity crunch could cause the financial system to collapse within months. In a three-page report on Afghanistan's banking and financial system seen by Reuters, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) said the economic cost of a banking system collapse - and consequent negative social impact - "would be colossal."

Austria enters fourth lockdown as COVID cases soar anew in Europe

Austria entered its fourth national lockdown on Monday after tens of thousands of people, many of them far-right supporters, protestedaustria in Vienna against renewed curbs on movement as Europe again becomes the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. Protests turned to violence in Brussels and across the Netherlands over the weekend amid frustration over yet more government controls nearly two years after the virus was first identified in China.

Bahrain says it foiled planned attack, confiscated Iranian weapons and explosives

Bahrain security forces arrested a number of suspected militants ahead of a planned attack and confiscated weapons and explosives that had come from Iran, the interior ministry said on its official Twitter on Monday. The ministry did not say how many people were arrested or specify their nationalities. It described them as "linked with terrorist groups in Iran" and said they were "plotting terrorist operations against security and civil peace".

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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