World News Roundup: Brazilian justice confirms senator told him about election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro; Chinese spy balloon flies over the United States, Pentagon says and more

Do Val revealed on Thursday that Silveira, a close ally of Bolsonaro, tried to persuade him to join a conspiracy to overturn the far-right leader's electoral loss, asking him to try and get Moraes to make compromising comments in a taped conversation that could lead to the judge's arrest. Analysis-Prudence, reforms can help Greece regain investment grade after election Greece will have to wait until after parliamentary elections this year to win back its long-awaited investment grade rating, and it will only do so if the new government stays on the path of reform and fiscal prudence, analysts told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Brazilian justice confirms senator told him about election conspiracy meeting with Bolsonaro

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes confirmed on Friday that Senator Marcos do Val told him about an election conspiracy meeting he allegedly attended with former President Jair Bolsonaro and former lawmaker Daniel Silveira last year. Do Val revealed on Thursday that Silveira, a close ally of Bolsonaro, tried to persuade him to join a conspiracy to overturn the far-right leader's electoral loss, asking him to try and get Moraes to make compromising comments in a taped conversation that could lead to the judge's arrest.

Chinese spy balloon flies over the United States, Pentagon says

A Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a couple of days, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in what would be a brazen act just days ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Fighter jets were mobilized, but military leaders advised President Joe Biden against shooting the balloon out of the sky for fear debris could pose a safety threat, advice Biden accepted, U.S. officials said.

Analysis-Prudence, reforms can help Greece regain investment grade after election

Greece will have to wait until after parliamentary elections this year to win back its long-awaited investment grade rating, and it will only do so if the new government stays on the path of reform and fiscal prudence, analysts told Reuters. Having emerged from previous bailout programmes in 2018, Greece had been hoping to regain such ratings - rubber-stamping its return to fiscal normality - by early 2023, ahead of a national election that could stir political uncertainty.

Ukraine unveils criminal case against Wagner boss

Ukraine unveiled a criminal case on Friday against the boss of Russia's Wagner mercenary company, and promised to track down and prosecute the company's fighters who try to flee abroad. Wagner, run by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has recruited thousands of fighters, including convicts from Russian prisons, to wage war in Ukraine. Prigozhin says his group is pivotal in recent battles in the east of Ukraine, among the bloodiest of the war.

Liberian warlord's trial concludes in Switzerland

The appeal hearings of a former Liberian rebel commander convicted of war crimes concluded on Friday in a trial that was broadened in its final stages to include crimes against humanity for the first time in Switzerland. Alieu Kosiah, who fought in the 1990s against then-President Charles Taylor's army, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2021 for rape, murder and cannibalism in one of the first trials for war crimes committed in the West African country.

Images of emaciated Iranian prisoner on hunger strike prompt outrage

Social media images purported to be of an emaciated jailed Iranian physician who went on hunger strike in support of demonstrations against the compulsory wearing of the hijab have caused outrage and warnings that he risks death. Farhad Meysami, 53, who has been in jail since 2018 for supporting women activists protesting against the headscarf policy, began his hunger strike on Oct. 7 to protest recent government killings of demonstrators, his lawyer said.

United States, South Korea stage air drills despite North Korean complaints

The United States and South Korea staged drills for the second time in a week on Friday with some of their latest warplanes, despite North Korean complaints that the exercises were increasing tensions on the peninsula. The two countries conducted a joint air exercise over the sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula on Friday, with warplanes such as South Korea's F35A, and United States' F-22 and F-35B participating, the South Korean military said in a statement.

Air raid sirens sound in Kyiv during visit by European leaders

Air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hosted European Union leaders to discuss further sanctions on Russia and Ukraine's prospects of joining the European bloc. The head of the EU's executive commission and the chairman of the 27 EU national leaders travelled to Kyiv to demonstrate support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of its neighbour approaches.

Man pleads guilty to treason offence, threatening to kill Queen Elizabeth

A man caught carrying a loaded crossbow at late Queen Elizabeth’s Windsor Castle home pleaded guilty in a London court on Friday to an offence under the Treason Act and threatening to kill the monarch. Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, said "I am here to kill the queen" when he was arrested dressed in black clothing and wearing a hood, metal mask and gloves in the grounds of the castle to the west of London at about 8 a.m. on Christmas Day, 2021.

EU set to promise Ukraine support but not quick accession

Air raid sirens wailed on Friday morning as European Union and Ukrainian leaders gathered for a summit, with Kyiv set to win pledges of further support but not a promise of quick accession to the wealthy bloc. Air raid alerts sounded in the capital and across the country but there were no immediate reports of Russian missile strikes as the summit was due to start in Kyiv, shortly before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.

(With inputs from agencies.)