News in Brief -2024-12-31

FE Team | Published: December 30, 2024 23:48:58

China-US relationship 'one of the most
important' in world, Xi tells Biden
BEIJING, Dec 30: Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday told US President Joe Biden the relationship between their two countries was "one of the most important" in the world, state media reported. "China is willing to work with the United States... (to) promote the development of healthy, stable China-US relations, moving sustainably forward down the right track", state broadcaster CCTV reported Xi as saying in a condolence letter, following the death of former US president Jimmy Carter. — AFP
Azerbaijan says Russia pledged to punish
those responsible for plane crash
BAKU, Dec 30: Azerbaijan said Monday that Moscow had promised to identify and punish those responsible for the downing of Azerbaijan Airlines plane that Baku says was shot at by Russian air defences before crash landing in Kazakhstan on December 25. Azerbaijan's General Prosecutor said in a statement that Russia-which has not confirmed that one of its air defence missiles hit the plane-had informed Baku that "intensive measures are being carried out to identify the guilty people and bring them to criminal responsibility." — AFP
Taliban will close all NGOs employing
Afghan women: Economy Ministry
KABUL, Dec 30: The Taliban say they will close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women. It comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. In a letter published on X Sunday night, the Economy Ministry warned that failure to comply with the latest order would lead to NGOs losing their license to operate in Afghanistan.
The ministry said it was responsible for the registration, coordination, leadership and supervision of all activities carried out by national and foreign organizations. — AP
27 killed in 24 hours in Gaza
GAZA, Dec 30: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that 27 people were killed in the Palestinian territory in the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll of the war to 45,541. The ministry also said in a statement that at least 108,338 people had been wounded in more than 14 months of war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the Palestinian group's October 7, 2023 attack. — AFP
Spain seizes seven tonnes of cocaine
MADRID, Dec 30: Spanish authorities said on Monday they had seized seven tonnes of cocaine stashed in sea freight containers installed underneath a farm, arresting three suspected smugglers. The Civil Guard police said they launched the operation on Friday when they detected two suspicious speedboats at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. The boats were tracked to a rural estate in the municipality of Coria del Rio, south of the city of Seville, where the suspects stored the drugs in two containers hidden underground. The Civil Guard said it was the largest seizure of cocaine smuggled into southern Spain by speedboat. They impounded three weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle, and two stolen vehicles. Spain is one of the main gateways to Europe for international drug traffickers due to its proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer, and close ties with former colonies in Latin America. — AFP