World News Roundup: Germany to extend border controls with Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland; Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupts, killing 11 climbers; 12 missing and more
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Germany to extend border controls with Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland
Germany plans to extend its border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland to stem a migration surge and combat people-smuggling until Dec. 15, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said on Monday. Berlin will notify the European Commission of the extension, the spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin.
Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupts, killing 11 climbers; 12 missing
Eleven climbers were found dead in Indonesia on Monday and 12 were missing after the Marapi volcano erupted in West Sumatra, a rescue official said, as search operations - which were halted temporarily over safety concerns - resumed. Three survivors were found on Monday along with the bodies of the 11 climbers, out of 75 who were in the area at the time of Sunday's eruption, said Jodi Haryawan, spokesperson for the search and rescue team, adding they were all local climbers.
Major events during eight weeks of war between Israel and Hamas
Israel ordered people out of swathes of Gaza's main southern city on Monday as it pressed its ground campaign deep into the south of the enclave, sending desperate residents fleeing, after the collapse on Friday of a week-long truce. Following is a timeline of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip.
First empty lorries pass through new Ukraine crossing at Polish border
The first 30 empty lorries drove through a newly opened Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv crossing on the Ukrainian-Polish border, which Kyiv hopes will offer relief as Polish driver protests blocked other land corridors, Ukraine's border service said on Monday. Those protests, over what Polish truckers see as unfair competition from their Ukrainian peers, started on Nov. 6, with four border crossings now under blockade.
Philippines VP says peace talks with communist rebels a pact 'with the devil'
Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday opposed a government decision to restart peace negotiations with communist rebels, describing the move as an "agreement with the devil" in a rare rebuke to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The government and the communist rebels agreed last week to restart talks after a six-year hiatus, aiming to end half a century of conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people.
Climate finance takes centre stage at COP28 climate talks
Money pledges grabbed the spotlight again at COP28 in Dubai on Monday as delegates turned their focus to the yawning gap in the need for climate finance and what's on offer. The United Arab Emirates, the host of this year's conference, pledged $270 billion in green finance by 2030 through its banks, and several development banks made fresh moves to scale up their funding efforts, including by agreeing to pause debt repayments when disaster strikes.
Analysis-India's Modi seen unstoppable after surprise state polls sweep
India's opposition faces a "herculean task" in next year's general elections against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which wrested control of key states in a surprisingly strong showing in local polls. The defeat of Congress in all three heartland states, which was announced on Sunday, dashed any notion that the opposition could pose a serious challenge through a newly formed 28-party alliance led by the party that has ruled India for 54 years since independence from Britain, analysts and politicians said.
Israel orders more Gazans to flee, bombs areas where it sends them
Israel ordered people out of swathes of the main southern city in the Gaza Strip on Monday as it pressed its ground campaign deep into the south, sending desperate residents fleeing even as it dropped bombs on areas where it told them to go. Israel's military posted a map on X on Monday morning with around a quarter of the city of Khan Younis marked off in yellow as territory that must be evacuated at once. Three arrows pointed south and west, telling people to head towards the Mediterranean coast and towards Rafah, near the Egyptian border.
2023 in photos: Israel-Hamas war
The last three months of 2023 have been marked by a war in the Middle East that has cost thousands of lives, left families across Israel and Gaza and further afield anxious or grieving, and destroyed homes and livelihoods. The conflict flared on Oct. 7 when gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Hamas crossed into southern Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Jailed Nobel winner Mohammadi to continue protests, she says in smuggled letter
Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi will continue her fight for human rights even if it leads to her death, she said in a letter smuggled out from prison and published on Monday by Swedish public broadcaster SVT. Mohammadi is serving multiple sentences in Tehran's notorious Evin prison on charges including spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic.