World News Roundup: Indonesia finds local trader forged ingredient label in probe of cough syrup deaths; Exclusive-Pro-Kremlin activists in Germany gave money for Russian army gear and more

The army said troops opened fire on the man's car after he rammed into one of them and attempted to flee an inspection. Ukrainians to get millions of LED light bulbs to ease energy shortfall Ukrainians were urged on Monday to swap old light bulbs for free energy-efficient LED bulbs under a scheme intended to ease an energy shortfall caused by Russian attacks.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 30-01-2023 18:47 IST | Created: 30-01-2023 18:28 IST
World News Roundup: Indonesia finds local trader forged ingredient label in probe of cough syrup deaths; Exclusive-Pro-Kremlin activists in Germany gave money for Russian army gear and more
Representative image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Indonesia finds local trader forged ingredient label in probe of cough syrup deaths

Indonesian police said on Monday a local trader of industrial-grade chemicals sold them as pharmaceutical-grade, leading to their use in medicated syrups that authorities suspect may have caused deaths of more than 200 children across the country. Authorities have said two ingredients, ethylene glycol (EG) and diethyelene glycol (DEG), found in some syrup-based paracetamol medications are linked to acute kidney injury, which many of the children suffered.

Exclusive-Pro-Kremlin activists in Germany gave money for Russian army gear

A group of pro-Russian activists in Germany donated funds to a Russian army division fighting in Ukraine, and the money was used to purchase walkie-talkie radios, headphones and telephones, according to an officer in the division and messages from the group's organisers seen by Reuters. The couple at the centre of the group, Elena Kolbasnikova and Max Schlund, handed the sum of 500 euros ($540) to the officer in person late last year. Their messages show they knew the money paid for telecommunications equipment – despite European Union sanctions which restrict the supply of such gear to Russia's military.

Finland says to stick with Sweden in NATO process

Finland is maintaining its plan to join NATO at the same time as Nordic neighbour Sweden, and hopes to do so no later than July, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said on Monday. Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara could agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday made similar statements.

Suicide bombing at mosque in Pakistan kills 32, targeted police

A suicide bombing at a crowded mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar killed at least 32 people on Monday, the latest attack targeting police in this northwestern city where Islamist militants remain active. Hospital officials said at least 147 people were wounded, with many of them in critical condition.

Britain's Boris Johnson says Putin threatened him with missile strike

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call in the run up to the invasion of Ukraine, a charge denied by Moscow. Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said the Russian leader had asked him about the prospects of Ukraine joining NATO, to which he had responded it would not be "for the foreseeable future".

Blinken reaffirms two-state solution ahead of Israeli-Palestinian visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would urge Israelis and Palestinians to calm tensions as he visits on Monday during the worst violence in years, and reaffirmed a long-stalled peace vision as the "only path" forward. In new bloodshed, Palestinian officials said Israeli troops killed a 26-year-old man at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. The army said troops opened fire on the man's car after he rammed into one of them and attempted to flee an inspection.

Ukrainians to get millions of LED light bulbs to ease energy shortfall

Ukrainians were urged on Monday to swap old light bulbs for free energy-efficient LED bulbs under a scheme intended to ease an energy shortfall caused by Russian attacks. Launching a programme backed by the European Union and aimed at replacing 50 million light bulbs, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said all adults would be able to exchange five incandescent light bulbs for five LED bulbs at post offices.

WHO maintains highest alert over COVID, but sees hope ahead

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that COVID-19 continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern, its highest form of alert. The pandemic was likely in a "transition point" that continues to need careful management to "mitigate the potential negative consequences", the agency added in a statement.

Russia claims gains in relentless battles in east Ukraine

Russian forces claimed incremental gains in eastern Ukraine on Monday adding up to their biggest advances in months, after relentless battles that Kyiv described as human wave attacks which showed Moscow had no regard for the lives of its own men. The administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, claimed troops had secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war.

Kremlin-linked Russian businessman faces U.S. trial for hack-and-trade scheme

A wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin faces trial on Monday on U.S. charges that he participated in a vast scheme that generated tens of millions of dollars in illegal trading profits using corporate information stolen through hacking. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in federal court in Boston in the case of Vladislav Klyushin, 42, who before his arrest in Switzerland in 2021 owned a Moscow-based information technology company with ties to the Russian government.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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