BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — It wasn’t the most uplifting of inaugural addresses. Rather, Argentina’s newly empowered President Javier Milei presented figures to lay bare the scope of the nation’s economic “emergency,” and sought to prepare the public for a shock adjustment with drastic public spending cuts.

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Representatives from Myanmar's ruling military have held talks, facilitated by China, with three armed rebel groups leading an anti-junta offensive, state media reported a junta spokesperson as saying on Monday.

Myanmar's military is battling armed opponents on several fronts, in the fiercest challenge to its grip on the Southeast Asian country since it seized power from an elected government in a 2021 coup.

MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has kicked off his campaign for re-election in March 2024; the EU may ban the import of Russian gas; and Moscow plans to deploy dual-use naval assets to freeze NATO out of the Arctic. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a speech on human rights Saturday to accuse the West of “barbarism” for its stance on the Israel-Hamas war and what he alleged was its toleration of Islamophobia.

“Israel has carried out atrocities and massacres that will shame the whole of humanity,” Erdogan told a packed hall in Istanbul the day before the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

SEOUL, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed new initiatives on Saturday to respond to North Korea's threats in cyberspace, including cryptocurrency abuses and space launches, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

The three countries' national security advisers met in Seoul as Pyongyang warned that it would deploy more spy satellites.

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

HOUSTON (AP) — Two of Houston’s most powerful and longest serving political titans are facing off in a mayoral runoff election Saturday to see who will lead the nation’s fourth largest city, a young and diverse metro area facing challenges including crime, crumbling infrastructure and potential budget shortfalls.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, both Democrats, made it to Saturday’s runoff after breezing past a crowded field of nearly 20 candidates in the Nov. 7 general election.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is distancing him from efforts by allies and former aides to sketch out his plans for a possible second term, including who might fill his administration and what policies he might pursue.

In a memo Friday from senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, the campaign said messages about a potential Trump government that come from anyone but the Republican or his team should not be considered official and are “an unwelcomed distraction.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been hit with new criminal charges in California accusing him of scheming to avoid paying his taxes while spending lavishly on everything from luxury hotels to escorts to exotic cars.

The president’s son is also facing separate firearm charges in Delaware, raising the possibility he could be headed toward trial in two different cases as his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for re-election.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing.

With an election year around the corner, Biden is accelerating his fundraising to prepare for an astronomically expensive campaign. (Think billions, not millions.) In this rarefied world, money equals access, and supporters regularly pay top dollar for a personal glimpse of the world’s most powerful man.

DUBAI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Countries clashed on Saturday over a proposed agreement to phase-out fossil fuels at the COP28 summit in Dubai, jeopardising attempts to deliver a first-ever commitment to eventually end the use of oil and gas in 30 years of global warming talks.

Observers in the negotiations said Saudi Arabia and Russia were among several countries insisting that the conference in Dubai focus only on reducing climate pollution - and not on targeting the fossil fuels causing it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fox News pushed back Friday against a former reporter’s lawsuit saying he was targeted and fired for challenging false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The network argued that Jason Donner had not shown he faced illegal discrimination. The nation’s capital bans discrimination based on political party membership or endorsement, but Donner hasn’t shown he joined a political party, nor that his bosses knew and fired him for it, Fox lawyers said.