World

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday resisted calls for the repeal of farm reforms that have ignited the biggest protests by farmers in years around the national capital, saying they were being misled and that deregulation would benefit them.

• Maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, and U.S. mediators will now contact the two old foes separately, Israeli and Lebanese officials said on Monday.

• NATO must think harder about how to handle China and its military rise, though Russia will remain its main adversary during this decade, according to a report to be published on Tuesday on reforming the Atlantic Alliance.

• On Monday, American pharmaceutical firm Moderna has stated that it would be requesting U.S and European regulators, to permit the emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine.

• Iran's foes had singled out Fakhrizadeh as a target "for twenty years", and an attack was anticipated to take place at some point, Shamkhani said.

• A communications blackout in Tigray has made it difficult to verify claims from both sides about how the fighting is going.

• Last week authorities banned prison visits and staff from travelling across the country as the number of cases increased.

• As he entered trade talks in London, Barnier was asked if there was reason for optimism: "There are reasons for determination," he said.

• They said that measures adopted on Nov. 17, including nightly curfews at weekends, had been insufficient.

• Authorities also reported 368 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 39,895.

• The European Union will begin discussions on Monday on how best to improve transatlantic relations after the departure of U.S. President Donald Trump, EU officials said.

• The incoming administration has been hampered for weeks by President Donald Trump who has refused to concede claiming, without evidence, that Biden's Nov. 3 electoral victory was due to fraud

• Bolsonaro, who currently has no political party -- but must choose one to stand in 2022 -- meanwhile got bleak results for his candidates.

Dany Fortin recently served as the chief of staff for the Canadian Joint Operations Command. He was also commander of the NATO military training mission in Iraq from November 2018 until last fall.

• There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption in a remote part of the Southeast Asian archipelago.

• The Oruc Reis seismic survey vessel has become a symbol of Turkey's growing appetite to find natural gas in the contested waters despite opposition by Greece and Cyprus.

• Rome has sought to avoid another lockdown after the first crippled the economy, focusing instead on regional restrictions alongside a nationwide night-time curfew.

• We were officially informed of the postponing of the indirect round of negotiations," a military source told AFP.

• A follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline fractures and Biden will likely require a walking boot for several weeks

Reuters reported earlier this month that the Department of Defense (DOD) was planning to designate four more Chinese companies as owned or controlled by the Chinese military, bringing the number of Chinese companies affected to 35. A recent executive order issued by President Donald Trump would prevent U.S. investors from buying securities of the listed firms starting late next year.

The visits would focus on resolving a dispute between Qatar and a Saudi-led alliance, the Wall Street Journal reported, but a number of issues could be on the agenda.

• Fakhrizadeh, who had little public profile in Iran but had been named by Israel as a prime player in what it says is Iran’s nuclear weapons quest, was killed on Friday when he was ambushed on a highway near Tehran and his car sprayed with bullets

With just over four weeks left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU’s orbit on Dec. 31, both sides are demanding concessions from the other on fishing, state aid and how to resolve any future disputes.

• The United Arab Emirates on Sunday approved the establishment of a new national cybersecurity council, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice-President and ruler of Dubai, said on Twitter.

• On Monday, Australia demanded that China apologise for posting a fake picture on an official government Twitter account, depicting an Australian soldier murdering an Afghan child.

• Afghan officials stated that a massive vehicle-borne bombing of a military base in the Eastern Ghazni province on Sunday, killed at least 30 security force members and injured another 24.

• “This is a very significant week, the last real major week, subject to any further postponement... we’re down to really two basic issues,” EU negotiator Michel Barnier said.

BANGKOK: Hundreds of protesters marched on a barracks of Thailand's royal guards unit on Sunday hoisting inflatable...

WASHINGTON: Americans should brace for a "surge upon a surge" in the coronavirus as millions of travelers return ...

MADRID: Thousands of health workers marched in Madrid on Sunday in support of Spain's public health system, sorely...

ADDIS ABABA: Hospitals in the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region faced an influx of trauma patients, an aid group...

GAZA: The World Health Organization delivered 15 ventilators to Gaza hospitals on Sunday amid a spike in Covid-19...

SHANGHAI: Around 9,000 runners -- some wearing face masks -- took part in the Shanghai International Marathon ...

WASHINGTON: In the first TV interview since losing his re-election bid, President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that...

LONDON: Increased patrols and technology will be deployed along France's beaches under a new agreement between Paris...

COLOMBO: Guards opened fire Sunday to contain a prison riot near Sri Lanka's capital where at least four inmates ...

• Despite Trump's unprecedented attack on the validity of the US election system, his legal team has yet to provide any evidence that stands up in court.

• Schools would also reopen but with some classes still held online, Hassan said after a meeting of Lebanon's coronavirus task force.

• New York first closed its 1,800 public schools on March 16 as the virus was surging. They remained closed through June.