Reuters: World

Biden aides find second batch of classified documents at new location, reports say Aides to U.S. President Joe Biden have discovered at least one more batch of classified documents in a location separate from a think tank office he used after serving as vice president, news outlets reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Biden aides have been searching for additional classified materials that might be in other locations since a set of classified documents was found in November at the Washington-based think tank, according to a report in NBC News, which first broke the news, and CNN. The NBC News report said the classification level, number and precise location of the additional documents was not immediately clear. It also said it was not clear when the additional documents were discovered and whether the search for any other classified materials Biden may have from his time as vice president is complete. read more

U.S. House Republicans vote to go after Biden Justice Department Republicans controlling the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to launch an investigation into what they term President Joe Biden's weaponization of the federal government, but Democrats branded it a partisan fishing expedition. Republicans have been promising to use their new majority against the Justice Department, FBI and other federal agencies investigating Republican former president Donald Trump and his supporters who on Jan. 6, 2021, stormed the Capitol. The party-line vote on Tuesday aims to do just that, setting up a "Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government." The body is set to launch a wide-ranging probe of Democrat Biden's administration, which Republicans accuse of "weaponizing" the FBI against Trump. read more

Classified documents from Biden's vice presidency found at think tank Classified documents from Joe Biden's vice-presidential days were discovered in November by the U.S. president's personal attorneys at a Washington think tank, a White House lawyer said on Monday. Nearly 10 documents were found at Biden's office at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, CBS News reported earlier, adding that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland had asked the U.S. attorney in Chicago to review the classified documents which were handed over to the National Archives. The classified material was identified by personal attorneys for Biden on Nov. 2, days before the midterm elections, Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said in a statement on Monday. read more

Thailand U-turns on COVID vaccination rule for visitors Thailand has rescinded an entry policy announced at the weekend requiring visitors to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, its health minister said on Monday, citing sufficient immunisation levels in China and globally. Anutin Charnvirakul said checking evidence of vaccinations was inconvenient and a panel of heath experts had agreed to withdraw the new rule, which was announced on Saturday by aviation authorities ahead of an expected deluge of visitors from China, where COVID-19 cases have surged. Anutin said those not vaccinated would also be granted entry without restriction. read more

Bolsonaro backers ransack Brazil presidential palace, Congress, Supreme Court Supporters of Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded and defaced the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court on Sunday, in a grim echo of the U.S. Capitol invasion two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries from their rampage, but the invaders left a trail of destruction, throwing furniture through the smashed windows of the presidential palace, flooding parts of Congress with a sprinkler system and ransacking ceremonial rooms in the Supreme Court. The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green clad protesters running riot in the capital capped months of tension following the Oct. 30 presidential vote. read more

Sweden says Turkey is asking too much over NATO application Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but cannot fulfil all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden's prime minister said on Sunday. "Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden. Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. read more

Kevin McCarthy elected U.S. House speaker, but at a cost Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives early on Saturday, after making extensive concessions to a group of right-wing hardliners that raised questions about the party's ability to govern. The 57-year-old Californian suffered one final humiliation when Representative Matt Gaetz withheld his vote on the 14th ballot as midnight approached, prompting a scuffle in which fellow Republican Mike Rogers had to be physically pulled away. McCarthy's victory in the 15th ballot brought an end to the deepest congressional dysfunction in over 160 years. But it sharply illustrated the difficulties that he will face in leading a narrow and deeply polarized majority. read more

Biden raises concern over China's COVID response after WHO questions data U.S. President Joe Biden raised concern about China's handling of its COVID-19 outbreak hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) said China was under-reporting deaths from the disease. The United States is one of more than a dozen nations that have imposed restrictions on travellers from China since it scrapped stringent COVID controls last month that had shielded its 1.4 billion population from the virus for three years. Global health officials are now trying to get to grips with an outbreak that is filling hospitals and overwhelming some funeral homes, at odds with China's low official virus death toll. Mike Ryan, the WHO's emergencies director, told a media briefing on Wednesday that current numbers being published from China under-represent hospital admissions, intensive care unit patients and deaths. Speaking hours later, Biden said that he was concerned about how China was handling the outbreak. read more

U.S. FDA allows abortion pills to be sold at retail pharmacies The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the United States for the first time, the agency said on Tuesday, even as more states seek to ban medication abortion. The regulatory change will potentially expand abortion access as President Joe Biden's administration wrestles with how best to protect abortion rights after they were sharply curtailed by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling and the state bans that followed. Pharmacies can start applying for certification to distribute abortion pill mifepristone with one of the two companies that make it, and if successful they will be able to dispense it directly to patients upon receiving a prescription from a certified prescriber. read more

Marvel actor Jeremy Renner in 'critical condition' after snow plow accident Marvel actor Jeremy Renner is in "critical but stable" condition after being injured in an accident while plowing snow, entertainment magazine Variety reported on Monday. Oscar-nominated Renner, 51, has owned a home in Washoe County, Nevada for several years, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. That area in northern Nevada received heavy snowfall on New Year's Eve. The actor has starred in multiple Marvel projects. In addition to being an Avenger, Renner has starred in two "Mission: Impossible" films, as well as "Arrival," "American Hustle" and "28 Weeks Later." He won best actor for the 2008 film "The Hurt Locker" and has received two Oscar nominations for the crime drama film "The Town".

Former Pope Benedict dies aged 95 VATICAN CITY, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Former Pope Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, died on Saturday aged 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican where he had lived since his resignation, a spokesman for the Holy See said. "With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible," the spokesman said in a written statement. Earlier this week, Pope Francis disclosed during his weekly general audience that his predecessor was "very sick", and asked for people to pray for him. For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was the powerful head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Conservatives in the Church have looked to the former pope as their standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to acknowledge Francis as a legitimate pontiff.

Ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate detained by Romania in rape, human trafficking case Romanian prosecutors asked a Bucharest court on Friday to extend the detention of Andrew Tate by 30 days, after the divisive internet personality was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. Tate, a former professional kickboxer, and his brother Tristan were detained on Thursday for an initial for 24 hours alongside two Romanian suspects, prosecutors from the anti organised-crime unit said in a statement after raiding their properties in Bucharest. "Anti-organised crime prosecutors have notified the rights and liberties judge with the Bucharest Court with a proposal to remand the four suspects for 30 days," the prosecutors said on Friday. read more