9 Nov 2021; MEMO: Sixteen UN national staff have been detained in Ethiopia, while six others have been released, according to a spokesman on Tuesday.

"We are, of course, actively working with the Government of Ethiopia to secure their immediate release," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said at a news conference.

"No explanation was given to the international body why the staffers were detained," said Dujarric.

Ethiopian authorities have yet to comment.

STOCKHOLM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Swedish centre-left Prime Minister Stefan Lofven formally resigned on Wednesday, opening the way for Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson to become the country's first woman premier if she can win parliament's approval.

Lofven, a former welder and union negotiator, has headed a minority coalition with the Greens since 2014 and said earlier this year that he would step down ahead of the next general election, due in September 2022. 

10 Nov 2021; MEMO: The US sharply denounced on Tuesday a visit from the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) top diplomat to Damascus and issued a veiled warning to regional states to carefully consider any effort to normalise relations with the Syrian regime.

UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, earlier on Tuesday led an Emirati delegation of senior officials to Damascus, where they were received by Bashar Al-Assad in what marks the first such visit since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Tensions are rising as new challenges and threats emerge in the field of non-proliferation and global arms control, Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said at a board meeting of the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries on Wednesday.

ATHENS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fallout of a new wave of the pandemic in Europe dominated discussions between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in Athens Tuesday evening.

"The measures are common everywhere. We have decided to avoid shutting down our society and economy, to extend the use of mask and social distancing, to give more support to our national health systems, to keep on with vaccination program and booster shots in order to surpass the crisis," Mitsotakis said following the meeting.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Two Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers practiced interoperability with command posts of the Russian and Belarusian armed forces and checked the Union State’s air defenses, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

As the ministry specified, the two Tu-22M3 bombers of the Russian Aerospace Force conducted a patrol in the Belarusian airspace.

"During the flight, the aircraft practiced interoperability with the ground command posts of the armed forces of Russia and the Republic of Belarus," the statement says.

Raipur, Nov 10 (PTI) A 20-year-old police informer, who had also helped in the setting up of a police camp, was killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when Umesh Markam, who was working as 'Gopniya Sainik' (secret police informer), was coming from his native Tetam village under Katekalyan police station limits to Dantewada town, he said.

OVRUCH, Ukraine, Nov 10 (Reuters) - "As soon as I recover, I will have to be vaccinated," says Halyna, one of 75 COVID patients in a Ukrainian city hospital whose doctors are pushing the message that vaccination is the best way to keep local people out of the wards.

Mistrust in vaccines is widespread in Ukraine. Several years ago it led to an outbreak of measles and today it puts thousands in hospital with COVID.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An autistic Cambodian teenager was released from prison Wednesday after serving time for posting comments critical of the government on social media in a case that has attracted global attention.

Kak Sovannchhay, 16, was met by his mother and supporters outside Prey Sar prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

He clutched a bouquet of red roses and lilies tightly to his chest and smiled shyly as reporters snapped photos.

BEIJING, Nov 10 (APP): China was ready to work with Pakistan to further deepen and expand cooperation with Pakistan, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday, welcoming Pakistan’s participation in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the fourth consecutive year.

“We are pleased with the achievements of China-Pakistan economic and trade cooperation at the expo,” Wang Wenbin said during his regular briefing in response to a question raised by APP.

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: Moscow and Minsk have expressed concern over NATO’s buildup near the borders of the Union State, while the alliance prefers not to pay attention to these concerns, Belarussian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told a news conference following a joint board meeting of the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries. 

MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/: The Ukrainian leadership is giving the appearance that it is working in the Contact Group on settling the crisis in eastern Ukraine, however Moscow doesn’t hold any hopes for a meeting of its specialized subgroups, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reported on Wednesday.