Reuters World News Summary

Nearly three years into the war, the strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said. South Korea's Yoon defies second agency summons over martial law South Korea's suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol did not respond on Wednesday to a second summons by anti-corruption authorities who, along with prosecutors, are investigating his short-lived martial law decree issued early this month.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Kurdish militia in Syria will be buried if they do not lay down arms, Turkey's Erdogan says

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish militants in Syria will either lay down their weapons or "be buried", amid hostilities between Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and the militants since the fall of Bashar al-Assad this month. Following Assad's departure, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the Kurdish YPG militia must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria's future. The change in Syria's leadership has left the country's main Kurdish factions on the back foot.

Suriname ex-President Desi Bouterse dead at 79, foreign minister says

Suriname's fugitive former President Desi Bouterse has died aged 79, the country's government said on Wednesday, almost a year after he fled authorities to avoid jail following his conviction over the murder of 15 political activists in 1982. "The government has been informed through the family and its own investigations of the passing of Mr. D. Bouterse, ex-President of the Republic of Suriname," Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin told Reuters.

Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan, many feared dead

An Embraer passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying 32 survivors had been rescued. Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea, after what Russia's aviation watchdog said was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.

On Christmas Day, Pope Francis calls for talks to end Ukraine war

Pope Francis in his Christmas message on Wednesday called for talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and has killed tens of thousands. In his Christmas Day "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and world) address, Francis mentioned the Ukraine conflict directly and called for "the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation".

China, Japan foreign ministers agree visit, security dialogue

Talks between China and Japan's foreign ministers in Beijing have paved way for Japan to host China's foreign affairs chief next year, and mutual agreement to hold a security dialogue as soon as possible, Japan said on Wednesday. No details were given for when the events will take place but Japan's Takeshi Iwaya told reporters after his meeting and a working lunch with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that both agreed on continued high-level talks, including potentially an economic dialogue during the 2025 visit.

Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina's son denies graft in $12.65 billion nuclear deal

Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son and adviser on Tuesday described allegations of corruption involving the family in the 2015 awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract as "completely bogus" and a "smear campaign". Bangladesh's Anti Corruption Commission said on Monday it had launched an enquiry into allegations of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, backed by Russia's state-owned Rosatom.

Russia launches 'inhuman' Christmas Day attacks, Ukraine says

Russia attacked Ukraine's energy system and some cities with cruise and ballistic missiles plus drones on Wednesday in an "inhuman" Christmas Day assault, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Nearly three years into the war, the strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

South Korea's Yoon defies second agency summons over martial law

South Korea's suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol did not respond on Wednesday to a second summons by anti-corruption authorities who, along with prosecutors, are investigating his short-lived martial law decree issued early this month. Yoon had not appeared for questioning as of 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Christmas Day as requested by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), after ignoring its first summons last week.

Russian governor says Ukrainian drone debris caused fatal fire in shopping centre

Falling debris from a Ukrainian drone that was shot down caused an explosion and a fatal fire in a shopping centre in the city of Vladikavkaz in Russia's North Ossetia region, the local governor said on Wednesday. Sergei Menyailo, the regional governor, wrote on his official Telegram account that air defence systems had shot down the drone at 0828 Moscow time (0528 GMT).

Serbian students march in Belgrade to protest train station disaster

Hundreds of university students rallied in Belgrade on Wednesday to protest the policies of President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), whom they blame for a railway disaster last month in which 15 people died. The concrete awning of the recently renovated roof of the train station in the northern city of Novi Sad caved in on Nov. 1, killing 14 and injuring three. One of the injured died later.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)