South Korea: North Korea will no longer pursue reconciliation with South because of hostility, Kim Jong Un says

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would no longer pursue reconciliation with South Korea and called for rewriting the North’s constitution to eliminate the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided countries, state media said Tuesday.

Hungarian PM highlights need to provide assistance to Ukraine outside of EU budget

BUDAPEST, January 16. /TASS/: Budapest believes that the European Union should provide assistance to Ukraine without damaging its own budget, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

"I think that we should help Ukraine but without damaging the European Union’s budget," Orban told reporters following talks with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico.

He added that financial assistance to Kiev should be provided outside of the EU budget.

A freed Israeli hostage relives horrors of captivity and fears for her husband, still held in Gaza

KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (AP) — Standing in the ruins of her home in the Nir Oz farming village on the Gaza border, Sharon Alony Cunio gazed at the distant skyline of Khan Younis, the Palestinian city where Hamas militants dragged her more than three months ago. Her husband, David, remains captive in Gaza.

He’s kilometers away but completely out of reach.

Death Toll Rises To 12 Due To Rains In Rio De Janeiro

SAO PAULO, Jan 16 (NNN-CMA) – The death toll from the storm that hit the south-eastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, has risen to 12, with two more people reported missing, Governor Claudio Castro announced, yesterday.

The storm caused landslides, floods and the consequent disruption of public services, in much of the northern part of Rio de Janeiro and neighbouring municipalities, such as Duque de Caxias, Sao Jose de Meriti, Belford Roxo and Nova Iguacu.

Switzerland: At Davos, Zelenskyy lashes out at Putin and presses allies to boost Ukraine’s fight

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came out swinging Tuesday against Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos and even had a harsh tone for his allies as war fatigue grows, pressing political and corporate leaders to enforce sanctions, help rebuild his country and advance the peace process.

Russia jails officer for buying wrong hardware to protect Crimean bridge from Ukrainian attack - TASS

MOSCOW, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A court on Tuesday sentenced a former senior officer in the National Guard to six years in a prison colony after convicting him of buying equipment unable to protect the bridge which links southern Russia to Crimea, the TASS state news agency reported.

TASS said that Colonel Sergei Volkov had purchased two radar-based air defence systems for 395 million roubles ($4.5 million) which were meant to be able to bring down Ukrainian attack drones by suppressing their signal.

Evacuation underway for stranded tourists after multiple avalanches trap 1,000 people in China

BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers evacuated tourists on Tuesday from a remote skiing area in northwestern China where dozens of avalanches triggered by heavy snow have trapped more than 1,000 people for a week, state media said.

The avalanches have blocked roads, stranding both tourists and residents in a village in Altay prefecture in the Xinjiang region, close to China’s border with Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Those injured were being airlifted out on a military helicopter while supplies such as food and fuel were being flown in.

Putin meets with Russian, North Korean foreign ministers

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the foreign ministers of Russia and North Korea, Sergey Lavrov and Choe Son Hui, who earlier in the day held talks in Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin received at the Kremlin DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui," Peskov said.

According to him, the top diplomats informed the Russian president of the agreements reached.

USA: IMF chief says AI will affect almost 40 pct of jobs worldwide

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Sunday that artificial intelligence (AI) will affect almost 40 percent of jobs around the world, calling for a careful balance of policies to tap its potential.

USA: Biden and the Democrats raise $97 million to close out 2023 after a December fundraising blitz

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee said they raised more than $97 million in the final three months of last year, boosted by a star-studded December fundraising blitz that came even as the political world’s attention shifted to the start of the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

USA: Iowa principal who risked his life to protect students during a high school shooting has died

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa principal who put himself in harm’s way to protect students during a school shooting earlier this month died Sunday, a funeral home confirmed.

Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home & Crematory confirmed the death of Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger after the family announced it on a GoFundMe page.

USA: Trump’s campaign banks on its loyal supporters to turn out and caucus in Iowa despite frigid weather

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump was stuck in Florida, forcing his presidential campaign to cancel his in-person events two days before Iowa’s kickoff Republican caucuses.

But at his campaign’s Iowa headquarters in a nondescript brick building northwest of Des Moines, volunteers were busy working the phones, trying to turn out the vote for Monday’s contest as the snow whipped in frigid winds outside.

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