S Korea orders air safety probe after deadly plane crash

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan`s president for a "tragic incident" which happened in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed after air defences were used against Ukrainian drones.

An Embraer passenger jet crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, after diverting from an area of Russia that Moscow has recently defended against Ukrainian drone attacks.

Europe`s economic powerhouse Germany on Monday announced an extensive new arms package for Kiev in its war against Russia, now well past 1,000 days old. 

China has warned the United States over its latest military assistance to Taiwan and said to aid ‘Taiwan independence’ by arming Taipei is just like playing with fire and will get the US burned, Chinese state-run media reported on Sunday.

A group of Spanish legal experts called on the government Tuesday to impose an arms embargo on Israel over its war in Palestine.

A space rocket built by a Japanese startup blasted off on Wednesday but was later seen spiralling downwards in the distance as the company said the launch attempt had failed.

Elon Musk, charged with cracking down on waste across the US federal government, has recently singled out one particular target: the Pentagon’s costly fleet of F-35 fighter jets.

The United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine Francesca Albanese called for a halt to direct arms transfers to Israel and a review of Israel`s UN credentials to demonstrate that impunity will not be tolerated.

Germany is not thinking of sending its troops to Ukraine, chancellor Olaf Scholz said. He emphasized that his government would refrain from actions that could trigger a conflict between NATO and Russia.

European Council President Antonio Costa announced Sunday the continuation of humanitarian, economic and military support to Ukraine, including an additional €4.2bn ($4.4bn) to support the Ukrainian budget.

The Joe Biden administration is preparing a $725 million weapons package for Ukraine, two U.S. officials said on Wednesday, as the outgoing US president seeks to bolster the government in Kyiv before leaving office in January.

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon`s Hezbollah in Lebanon took effect on Wednesday after more than a year of fighting that has killed thousands of people.

A deal to end the fighting with Hezbollah could be finalised “within days”, as US diplomats work to broker a ceasefire agreement that would end more than a year of conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group, Israeli officials say.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow would keep testing its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile in combat and had a stock ready for use, while Ukraine said it was already at work to develop air systems to counter the weapon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if his country’s security and military are threatened and if he has no other option, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned Tuesday.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has approved provision of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, a U.S. official has confirmed, a step that could help slow Russian advances in its east, especially when used along with other munitions from the United States.