Reuters: World

Philippines, China trade accusations over South China Sea collision The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate. The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship. read more

Palestinians report Israeli battles in Khan Younis after US blocks Gaza ceasefire call Israel ordered residents out of the centre of Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis and pounded the length of the enclave overnight, after the United States wielded its U.N. Security Council veto to shield its ally from a demand for a ceasefire. Since a truce with Hamas in the two-month-old war collapsed on Dec. 1, Israel has expanded its ground assault into the southern half of the Gaza Strip, pushing into Khan Younis, where residents reported fierce battles. Both sides reported a surge in fighting in the north. Israel said its campaign was making progress. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Israeli forces had killed at least 7,000 Hamas militants, without saying how that estimate was reached, and military chief Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi told soldiers "we need to press harder". read more

Israel, on Reuters finding its forces killed Lebanon journalist, says area a combat zone The Israeli military, responding on Friday to a Reuters investigation that determined its forces killed a Reuters journalist in southern Lebanon on Oct. 13, said the incident took place in an active combat zone and was under review. Without directly addressing the death of visuals journalist Issam Abdallah, a military statement said Lebanese Hezbollah fighters had at the time attacked across the border and Israeli forces opened fire to prevent a suspected armed infiltration. A Reuters special report published on Thursday found that an Israeli tank crew killed Abdallah and wounded six reporters by firing two shells in quick succession from Israel while the journalists were filming cross-border shelling. read more

Despite Gaza death toll soaring, U.S. unlikely to rethink weapons supplies to Israel Facing a soaring death toll from Israel's renewed offensive in southern Gaza, the Biden administration is trying to pressure its ally to minimize civilian deaths while stopping well short of the kind of measures that might force it to listen, such as threatening to restrict military aid. Top U.S. officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have urged Israel publicly to conduct a more surgical offensive in the south to avoid the heavy civilian casualties inflicted by its attacks in the north. read more

Israel storms Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing scores Israeli forces stormed the main city in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday and hospitals struggled to cope with scores of Palestinian dead and wounded. In what appeared to be the biggest ground assault since a truce collapsed last week, residents said Israeli tanks had entered the eastern parts of Khan Younis for the first time, crossing from the Israeli border fence and advancing west. Some took up positions inside the town of Bani Suhaila on Khan Younis' eastern outskirts, while others continued further and were stationed on the edge of a Qatari-funded housing development called Hamad City, residents said. read more

Britain announces stricter visa measures to reduce net migration Britain announced plans to slash the number of migrants arriving by legal routes on Monday, raising the minimum salary they must earn in a skilled job by a third, amid pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to tackle record net migration figures. High levels of legal migration have dominated Britain's political landscape for more than a decade and were a key factor in the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Sunak has promised to gain more control after lawmakers in his Conservative Party criticised his record ahead of an election expected next year, with the opposition Labour Party far ahead in opinion polls. read more

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. read more

Eleven climbers killed as Indonesia volcano erupts, search on hold Eleven climbers were found dead in Indonesia on Monday following the eruption of the Marapi volcano in West Sumatra, a rescue official said, as a search to find 12 more missing was temporarily halted over safety concerns. Three survivors were found on Monday along with the bodies of the 11 climbers, among 75 in the area at the time of Sunday's eruption, said Jodi Haryawan, spokesperson for the search and rescue team. read more

One dead and two injured in Paris attack near the Eiffel Tower One German tourist died and two others were injured after a man attacked tourists in central Paris near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday evening in what President Emmanuel Macron described as "a terrorist attack". Police quickly arrested the 26-year-old man, a French national, using a Taser stun gun, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Saturday. The suspect had been sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for planning another attack, was on the French security services' watch list and was also known for having psychiatric disorders, the interior minister added. read more

'Foreign terrorists' behind deadly Philippine bombing, officials say Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr condemned a deadly bombing on Sunday, blaming "foreign terrorists", as police and the military strengthened security in the country's south and around the capital Manila. At least four people were killed and at least 50 injured after a bomb exploded during a morning Catholic Mass in a university gymnasium in Marawi, a city in the south of the country besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017. "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless and most heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists," Marcos said in a statement. "Extremists who wield violence against the innocent will always be regarded as enemies to our society." read more

Strong quake in Philippines triggers tsunami warnings and evacuations Evacuations were under way in the Philippines after a quake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck the southern region of Mindanao on Saturday night, triggering tsunami warnings in the country and in Japan, though a U.S. agency said the risk of large waves had passed. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System, which initially warned of waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) above the usual high tide level, later said there was no longer a tsunami threat. Evacuations were continuing in the Philippines, where there were no initial reports of significant wave damage or casualties despite continuing aftershocks. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Phivolcs, maintained that the risk of a tsunami remained. read more

Munich flights, long-distance trains cancelled due to snow Long-distance trains and hundreds of flights in and out of the German city of Munich were cancelled on Saturday because of heavy snowfall, according to statements by Deutsche Bahn and Munich Airport. Flights were not scheduled to depart or arrive at Munich airport until at least 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Sunday according to a statement on its website. Trains could not arrive at Munich's central train station, Deutsche Bahn said on its website. The halt was expected to last all day, it added, advising travellers to rebook their trips. source