News in Brief -2023-12-19)

Iraqis vote in provincial elections

BAGHDAD, Dec 18: Iraqis voted Monday in the first provincial council elections in a decade, which are expected to strengthen powerful pro-Iran Shiite Muslim groups. The vote comes at a time of widespread public disillusionment in the oil-rich and corruption-plagued country of 43 million people. Elections are being held in 15 provinces but not in the three which make up an autonomous Kurdish region in the north. The vote is seen as a key test for the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. — AFP

12 killed in attack on Mexico party

SALVATIERRA, Dec 18: At least 12 people were killed and another dozen were wounded in an attack early Sunday on a pre-Christmas party in central Mexico, authorities in the state of Guanajuato said. The violence occurred in the town of Salvatierra, reportedly at a hacienda, or ranch, that can be rented out for festivities. "So far 12 people are reported dead," the state's prosecutor's office said on X, the former Twitter. Twelve others who were wounded have been taken to hospital, according to authorities. — AFP

Russian PM visits China from today

BEIJING, Dec 18: Russia's prime minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit China this week, Beijing said on Monday, the latest in a series of high-profile visits between the two countries. China and Russia have ramped up economic and diplomatic cooperation in recent years, with ties growing closer since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine despite Beijing's insistence it is neutral in the conflict. Mishustin's visit will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday and is a part of a series of regular meetings with his counterpart Li Qiang, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.