Trying to defuse large protests by environmentalists, Serbia’s populist government has decided to suspend two key laws that would help mining giant Rio Tinto launch a lithium mine in western Serbia.

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country’s military education system must redouble efforts to turn out officers who “remain absolutely loyal” to the country’s ruling party, state media reported on Tuesday.

DUNKIRK, France – When Kaiwan Hussein, a 26-year-old from Iraqi Kurdistan, arrived in Germany on Nov. 23 after he slipped across the European Union border from Belarus, he sent a one-word WhatsApp message to his brother back home saying “OK.”

China has reported its exports rose by double digits in November but growth declined, while imports accelerated in a sign of stronger domestic demand.

THE HAGUE – World Court judges on Tuesday issued urgent decisions ordering both Azerbaijan and Armenia to prevent racial hatred in similar rulings in tit-for-tat cases brought by the feuding Central Asian neighbours.

Beijing’s state media on Monday used the punitive measure from the White House to spread conspiracy theories about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Israel’s Defense Ministry says it is tightening supervision over cyber exports — a move that follows a series of scandals involving Israeli spyware company NSO Group.

Global supply shortages have hit toy shops in the US and coffee producers in Brazil. In Canada, the country’s liquid gold – maple syrup – is running low.

Senior officials from the Slovak Republic are in Taiwan for talks on deepening ties with the island in the highest-level visit by the EU-member country since it opened a representative office in Taiwan in 2003.

WASHINGTON – Iran abandoned any compromises it had made in talks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, pocketed those made by others, and demanded more during indirect U.S.-Iran talks this week, a senior U.S. State Department official said.