World News Roundup: Think of what happened to Hong Kong when you vote, Taiwan president says; In boost for Modi, India's BJP set to win 3 of 4 key state polls and more

The Saturday night quake shook parts of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces, triggering coastal evacuations and tsunami alerts in the country and in Japan. Kyiv accuses Russian forces of shooting surrendering Ukrainian soldiers Kyiv officials accused Moscow of committing a war crime after a grainy video on social media appeared to show several soldiers shooting two surrendering military personnel who emerged from a dugout at gunpoint.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Think of what happened to Hong Kong when you vote, Taiwan president says

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen appealed to voters on Sunday to think of what had happened to Chinese-controlled Hong Kong when they cast their ballots next month, saying peace must be backed up with a commitment to boost defences. Taiwan prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 13 as China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory, ramps up military pressure to assert its claims, including two major war games around the island in the past year and a half.

In boost for Modi, India's BJP set to win 3 of 4 key state polls

India's ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday appeared set to win three of four states in key regional polls, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of general elections in six months. The heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and the southern state of Telangana, voted last month in the last set of provincial elections before the national vote due by May, when Modi seeks a third term.

'Foreign terrorists' behind deadly Philippine bombing - officials

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemned a deadly bombing on Sunday, blaming "foreign terrorists", as police and the military strengthened security in the country's south and around the capital Manila. At least four people were killed and at least 50 injured after a bomb exploded during a morning Catholic Mass in a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city in the south of the country besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017.

India agrees to withdraw soldiers from Maldives - President Muizzu

India's government has agreed to withdraw its soldiers from the Maldives, the Indian Ocean archipelago's President Mohamed Muizzu said on Sunday. Muizzu won the presidential election in September, having campaigned to alter the Maldives's "India first" policy and promising removal of a small Indian military presence of some 75 personnel.

Gaza residents seek shelter as Israeli bombing intensifies

Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip sought shelter in an ever-shrinking area of the south on Sunday as Israel stepped up its bombing from air, sea and land across the enclave. Bombardments were concentrated on Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, residents said. Hospitals were struggling to cope with the flow of wounded, they said.

Paris attack leaves German tourist dead, two hurt, near Eiffel Tower

A German tourist died and two other people, including a British citizen, were hurt after an attack by a man armed with a knife and a hammer near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, in what President Emmanuel Macron described as "a terrorist attack". Police quickly arrested the 26-year-old man, a French national, after subduing him with a Taser stun gun, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Saturday.

Venezuelans to vote in referendum on disputed territory with Guyana

Venezuelans will vote on Sunday in a referendum backed by President Nicolas Maduro's government over a potentially oil-rich territory that is the subject of a long-running border dispute with Guyana. The five-question referendum includes a question rejecting International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction to decide to which country the territory around the Esequibo river belongs.

Residents begin to return home after Philippine quake kills one

Philippine residents were allowed to return to their homes on Sunday after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the country's south, killing at least one person, with disaster officials reporting minor damage to some infrastructure. The Saturday night quake shook parts of Surigao Del Sur and Davao Oriental provinces, triggering coastal evacuations and tsunami alerts in the country and in Japan.

Kyiv accuses Russian forces of shooting surrendering Ukrainian soldiers

Kyiv officials accused Moscow of committing a war crime after a grainy video on social media appeared to show several soldiers shooting two surrendering military personnel who emerged from a dugout at gunpoint. The unverified video shows one soldier coming out of a foxhole on the battlefield with his hands up and then lying on the ground. A second soldier stumbles out and also lies down. The Russian troops then appear to open fire and the video ends.

COP28 delegates urge greater action on climate-linked health risks

Physicians, activists and country representatives at this year's COP28 U.N. climate summit in Dubai have called for greater global efforts to protect people from the increasing health and safety risks posed by climate change. With global temperatures set to continue climbing for decades, experts say countries will need to boost funding for healthcare as heatwaves become more dangerous and diseases like malaria and cholera spread.