On Friday, the US vetoed a proposed UN Security Council (UNSC) demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Thirteen other members backed the UAE’s draft resolution, while the UK abstained. The US and Israel are opposed to a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas, Reuters reported.
The French Defence Ministry announced on Sunday that its warship in the Red Sea had shot down two drones aimed at it from the Yemen coast. The multipurpose frigate Languedoc intercepted and destroyed a first drone near the Yemeni coast near Al Hudaydah at around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, and a second one two hours later, the Ministry said.
Javier Milei, a libertarian economist, was sworn in as Argentina’s new president on Sunday and warned in his first remarks that he had no choice but to implement harsh policies to address the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, with inflation heading towards 200%. “The outgoing government has left us on track towards hyperinflation,” Milei asserted.
Hong Kong’s first district council poll since a China-imposed electoral overhaul witnessed a record-low turnout of 27.54% on Sunday. Despite an enthusiastic drive to encourage citizens to vote, the turnout was a sharp drop from the 71.23% recorded in the last municipal-level vote in 2019, which was held at the peak of the anti-government protests.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) PM James Marape said on Monday that his country had not held security talks with China after signing a security agreement with Australia last week. Marape said that PNG had been transparent and that when he visited Beijing this year with his ministers, “there was no conversation on security.” “We keep them in the space of the economy, we went with traditional security partners for security,” he said.
Oman’s Head of State, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, is set to travel, along with a high-level delegation, to India on 16 December for a State Visit, at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu. This will mark the Arab leader’s first such visit to India.