Reuters World News Summary

Figa-Talamanca is one of four people arrested earlier in December on charges of corruption, money laundering and criminal organisation within the European Parliament, in one of the biggest corruption scandals to hit Brussels. Chinese make travel plans as Beijing dismantles zero-COVID rules Chinese people, cut off from the rest of the world for three years by stringent COVID-19 curbs, flocked to travel sites on Tuesday ahead of borders reopening next month, even as rising infections strained the health system and roiled the economy.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine weighs heavy on minds in Moscow as New Year holiday nears

The Christmas markets are in full swing and gleaming ice sculptures greet visitors to Gorky Park, but some Muscovites admit they are struggling to feel festive ahead of traditional New Year celebrations. In street interviews in the centre of the capital, some also said they were noticing the scarcity of Western goods this year as they shopped for food and gifts.

U.N. Security Council denounces Taliban bans on women in Afghanistan

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday called for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan, denouncing a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups. In a statement agreed by consensus, the 15-member council said the ban on women and girls attending high school and universities in Afghanistan "represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

North Korea's weapons programme defies COVID outbreak, reaches 'uncharted territory'

North Korea forged ahead with its missile programme in 2022 and took steps toward resuming testing of nuclear bombs, as world events including the COVID pandemic and war fractured the already tenuous international pressure against it. The country acknowledged its first COVID-19 outbreak in May, prolonging already stringent border closures and other anti-pandemic measures, blocking international engagement and causing economic woes, but doing little to slow its weapons tests.

Russia retaliates on oil price cap as eastern Ukraine sees heavy fighting

Russia retaliated on Tuesday against a price cap on its oil imposed by Western countries, while its forces were involved in heavy fighting around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Moscow will ban oil sales to countries that abide by the price cap that was imposed on Dec. 5, President Vladimir Putin decreed.

Belgian court decides to keep EU corruption case suspect in detention

A Belgian appeals court decided on Tuesday to keep Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, an Italian suspect in a European Parliament corruption scandal, in detention after prosecutors objected to a decision to release him with an electronic tracking bracelet. Figa-Talamanca is one of four people arrested earlier in December on charges of corruption, money laundering and criminal organisation within the European Parliament, in one of the biggest corruption scandals to hit Brussels.

Chinese make travel plans as Beijing dismantles zero-COVID rules

Chinese people, cut off from the rest of the world for three years by stringent COVID-19 curbs, flocked to travel sites on Tuesday ahead of borders reopening next month, even as rising infections strained the health system and roiled the economy. Zero-COVID measures in place since early 2020 - from shuttered borders to frequent lockdowns - last month fuelled the Chinese mainland's biggest show of public discontent since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.

Backpack prompts bomb scare in Brasilia ahead of Lula inauguration

Police in Brazil's capital, Brasilia, said on Tuesday that a backpack found near where President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was staying that had prompted a bomb scare contained only personal belongings. News of the bomb squad being called into action just days before Lula takes office underscores the nervy atmosphere in Brasilia after the most fraught election in a generation.

Star rising in Kremlin, Russia's Medvedev predicts war in West

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an arch loyalist of Vladimir Putin given a new job this week, predicted war between Germany and France next year and a civil war in the United States that would lead to Elon Musk becoming president. Medvedev, deputy head of Putin's advisory security council, served as president during a four-year spell when Putin held the office of prime minister. He appears to have seen his fortune rise in the Kremlin, which said on Monday he would now serve as Putin's deputy on a body overseeing the military industry.

U.N. urges countries to help Rohingya at sea as hundreds land in Indonesia

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) urged countries on Tuesday to help Rohingya Muslims stranded at sea as at least 20 reportedly died and hundreds more landed in Indonesia after weeks adrift in the Indian Ocean. Nearly 500 Rohingya have reached Indonesia in the past six weeks while "many others did not act despite numerous pleas and appeals for help", the UNHCR said in a statement.

Kosovan minister says Serbia aims to destabilise the country

Kosovan Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla on Tuesday said Serbia, under the influence of Russia, was aiming to destabilise Kosovo by supporting the Serb minority in the north who have been blocking roads and protesting for almost three weeks. Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo erected new barricades on Tuesday, hours after Serbia said it had put its army on the highest combat alert following weeks of escalating tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.