World News

LONDON (Reuters) – At least 65 oil tankers have dropped anchor at multiple locations, including off the coasts of China and Russia, since the United States announced a new sanctions package on Jan. 10, ship tracking data showed on Monday.

Five of those tankers were stationary off Chinese ports and a further seven dropped anchor off Singapore, with others halting near Russia in the Baltic Sea and the Far East, according to Reuters’ analysis based on MarineTraffic and LSEG ship tracking data.

The U.S. Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft SIBN.MM and Surgutneftegaz, as well as on 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, as it targets the revenues Moscow has used to fund its war with Ukraine.

The halt in trading for these tankers adds to further pressure on vessels already hit by previous U.S. sanctions.

These include another 25 oil tankers that were stationary around various locations, including off Iranian ports and also near to the Suez Canal, ship tracking analysis showed on Monday.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; editing by Mark Heinrich and Sharon Singleton)

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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s army said on Monday its security forces killed 27 militants in an operation in its southwestern region.

(Reporting by Ariba Shahid, writing by Tanvi Mehta; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canada’s outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday suggested that President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks about Canada becoming America’s “51st state” has distracted attention from the harm that steep tariffs would inflict on U.S. consumers.

Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports.

“The 51st state, that’s not going to happen,” Trudeau said in an interview with MSNBC. “But people are talking about that, as opposed to talking about what impact 25% tariffs (has) on steel and aluminum coming into the United States.”

Trudeau told MSNBC: “No American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada. That’s something I think people need to pay a little more attention to.”

Trump has also said that if Canada merged with the U.S., taxes would decrease and there would be no tariffs.

“I know that as a successful negotiator he likes to keep people off balance,” Trudeau said of Trump’s threats to use economic force to turn Canada into the 51st state. Trump has also erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada — a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil — as a subsidy.

Canadian officials say that if Trump follows through with his threat of punishing tariffs, Canada would consider slapping retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets and some steel products. Already during Trump’s first term in the White House, Canada responded to Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum with its own on American products like bourbon, Harley Davidson motorcycles and playing cards.

“He got elected to try and make life easier for all Americans, to support American workers,” Trudeau said of Trump. “These (tariffs) are things that are going to hurt them.”

Trump said last week that the U.S doesn’t need oil, or anything else, from Canada. But almost a quarter of the oil that the U.S. consumes each day comes from Canada. The energy-rich western province of Alberta exports 4.3 million barrels of oil a day to the U.S.

Data from the United States Energy Information Administration shows that the U.S. consumes 20 million barrels a day, and produces about 13.2 million barrels a day.

Canada, a founding partner of NATO and home to more than 40 million people, is also the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $2.7 billion worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

Trump has said that he would reconsider his tariff threat if Canada made improvements in managing security at the Canada-U.S. border, which he and his advisers see as a potential entry point for undocumented migrants.

Trudeau has said that less than 1% of illegal immigrants and fentanyl cross into the U.S. from Canada.

But after a meeting last November with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s private club and residence in Florida, Trudeau announced an increase in spending on border security, expressing willingness to address Trump’s concerns in hopes that he would reconsider his tariff threat.

With the challenge of Trump’s second administration looming and Trudeau’s party trailing badly in the polls, the beleaguered Canadian prime minister announced his resignation last Monday. He will be replaced on March 9, when his Liberal party is set to pick a new leader.

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LONDON (AP) — Mind the pants.

Hundreds of Londoners headed down to the Underground on Sunday afternoon, stripped down to their underwear and travelled around a bit, trying to look as though nothing unusual was going on.

As if.

This was the Official No Trousers Tube Ride, an annual event with no point other than injecting a little levity into the bleak midwinter. No deep meaning, no bigger motive. The only goal was to be silly, if but for one afternoon.

“There’s so much bad, so much not fun going on,’’ said ringleader Dave Selkirk, a 40-year-old personal trainer. “It’s nice to do something just for the sake of it.”

After gathering at the entrance to Chinatown, dozens of clothing anarchists trooped through the icy streets to the Piccadilly Circus Underground station in central London where they boarded their first train. The only hiccup was that the cars were so crowded some people couldn’t shed their trousers.

Selfies were taken. Grins were exchanged. Tourists looked puzzled.

The first stunt in this vein was held in New York in 2002, the brainchild of local comedian Charlie Todd. His idea was this: Wouldn’t it be funny if someone walked onto a subway train in the middle of winter wearing hat, gloves, scarf — everything but pants? Or trousers as they’re known in London, pants being synonymous with underpants in Britain.

“It would be unusual in New York, although you can see anything on our subway system, but what would really be funny is if at the next stop, a couple of minutes later, when the doors open and additional persons got on, not wearing trousers as well,” Todd told the BBC. “And they act like they don’t know each other, and they act like … it’s no big deal and they just forgot their trousers.’’

The idea took off, and no pants days have been held all over: in Berlin, Prague, Jerusalem, Warsaw and Washington, D.C., among other cities.

London hosted its first big reveal in 2009.

“You know, it’s meant to be a bit of harmless fun,’’ Todd said. “Certainly we are living in a climate where, you know, people like to have culture war fights. My rule in New York was always the goal of this event is to amuse other people, to give people a laugh. It’s not to be provocative, it’s not to irritate someone. So hopefully the spirit of that continues.”

Basil Long, a lawyer, showed up at the meeting point in a down coat and hat on a freezing winter afternoon. But after his journey underground in the warm tunnels of the Tube, he had been transformed, wearing only a white shirt with bold rainbow stripes, pink underwear and Underground-themed socks.

“I just saw it online and I just thought, why not? It’s always a question, isn’t it?’’ he said. “When someone is asked why they climbed Everest, they were just like, why not?”

But Miriam Correa had a purpose. The 43-year-old chef wanted to come because she had seen pictures of previous no trouser rides that featured lots of thin, scantily clad women.

“I am a real woman,’’ she said, adding that there was no reason to be ashamed of her shape. “All bodies are perfect.”

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Malala Yousafzai Urges Muslim Leaders To Reject Taliban Rule and Defend Girls’ Education 

Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai called on Muslim leaders to withhold recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and to actively oppose its harsh restrictions on women’s and girls’ education. Speaking at the closing session of the International Conference of Girls’ Education in Muslim Countries in Islamabad on Sunday, Yousafzai pressed Muslim leaders to use their influence to confront the Taliban’s oppressive policies. 

“Do not legitimize them [the Afghan Taliban],” Malala implored. “Now is the time for you, as Muslim leaders, to speak out and use your influence. You have the power to show real leadership.” She criticized the Taliban for systematically denying women basic human rights, saying, “The Taliban do not see women as human beings. They mask their crimes with cultural and religious justifications.” 

Malala also condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing it of devastating the region’s educational infrastructure. “They have bombed all the universities, destroyed more than 90% of the schools, and indiscriminately attacked civilians seeking refuge in school buildings,” she said. She further highlighted the suffering of Palestinian children, noting, “A Palestinian girl cannot have the future she deserves if her school is bombed and her family is killed.” 

Malala, who survived a 2012 assassination attempt by Pakistani terrorists for her advocacy of girls’ education, has become a global icon for human rights. After recovering in the United Kingdom, she became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate at 17. 

The conference, titled “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” brought together more than 150 representatives from 47 countries, including educators, religious leaders, diplomats, and politicians. Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), pledged to adopt the summit’s declaration on girls’ education as a guiding document for the MWL. He emphasized the need for actionable steps to overcome barriers to education for girls in Muslim societies. 

Despite being invited, the Taliban refused to participate in the conference, missing a crucial opportunity to address growing international criticism over their treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan. 

Malala arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to attend the conference. Earlier, expressed her enthusiasm for participating in the summit on social media, writing, “I am happy to be among the important leaders of the Islamic world on the critical issue of girls’ education.” 

The event comes at a time of growing international demands for the Taliban to reverse their repressive policies against Afghan women and girls.

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MANILA (Reuters) -Japan, the Philippines and the United States vowed to further strengthen their ties under a trilateral arrangement in the face of growing tensions in regional waters, Manila said on Monday following a call among their leaders.

The three countries “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation”, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s office said in a statement after a virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that was held on Monday morning Asian time.

“I am confident that our three countries will continue to work together closely to sustain the gains that we have made in enhancing and deepening our ties,” Marcos said during the meeting, according to a readout from his communications office.

The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington last April.

Marcos’ office said Biden also commended the Philippine leader for his diplomatic response “to China’s aggressive and coercive activities in the South China Sea”.

Biden was quoted as saying he is “optimistic” his successor would see the value of continuing the partnership. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will assume office next Monday.

Japan and the Philippines are both involved in separate territorial disputes with China in the East and South China Seas, respectively.

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal voided Beijing’s sweeping claims for the South China Sea, saying they had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated in the past two years over run-ins between their coast guards in the South China Sea.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair)

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BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s striking university students protested outside the Balkan country’s top court on Sunday to draw their attention to what they say have been violations of their civil rights under the populist authorities, including pressure from the secret service.

The rally began with thousands of people standing in silence for 15 minutes in front of the Constitutional Court in the capital, Belgrade, to commemorate the victims of a concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad in November which triggered almost daily anti-corruption protests.

A separate rally was also held in the southern city of Nis.

The ongoing protests reflect wider discontent with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s increasingly autocratic rule. Vucic formally says he wants to steer Serbia toward European Union membership but he has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them

Classes at Serbia’s universities have been suspended for weeks with the students demanding accountability for the canopy collapse at the railway station building in Novi Sad on Nov. 1.

Many in Serbia believe the huge canopy collapsed because of sloppy reconstruction work that resulted from corruption. The Novi Sad railway station building was renovated twice in recent years in a deal with Chinese state companies.

Fourteen people were killed and three others were severely injured after tons of concrete crashed without warning. One more person later died while in the hospital.

Striking students have reported pressure from Serbian state security and Vucic, who has accused the students of receiving money from the West for their protests.

The pro-government media have bluntly published personal data of some of the protesters, which would not be possible without the involvement of Serbia’s secret service, or BIA.

Luka Stojakovic, who was targeted by the pro-government media along with his twin brother, told N1 television that “we have learned that BIA (Serbia’s state security agency) can knock on our doors, conduct repression against our parents and invited us for a ‘friendly’ chat.”

“They published our (personal) data and no one was held responsible,” said Stojakovic.

“I expect that there will be more pressure, I know there will be,” added Stojakovic. “I expect there will be pressure on our parents and that they will link us to political parties, but we will not give up until all our demands are fulfilled.”

Student protests have posed the biggest challenge so far on Vucic’s tight grip on power. The students have received widespread popular support and their rallies have drawn tens of thousands of people.

During their rally on Sunday, the protesters read out the articles of Serbia’s Constitution that they say have been violated with the various forms of state pressure on their protests. Vucic’s constitutional role as president should be mostly ceremonial, but instead he has gradually assumed control of almost all levers of power since taking office 13 years ago.

In one of his frequent public appearances on state-controlled media, Vucic called the Sunday protest “stupid” and added that he will step down only when he decides to do so.

“They (the protesters) live in their own world. They are not my problem, but I blame those who are pushing them about all this. I mean their professors,” Vucic told Pink TV.

Serbia’s prosecutors have filed charges against 13 people over the train station canopy collapse, including a government minister and several state officials. But doubts prevail over the probe’s independence under the authorities.

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By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday Kyiv is ready to hand over North Korean soldiers to their leader Kim Jong Un if he can facilitate their exchange for Ukrainians held captive in Russia.

“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” Zelenskiy said on the social media platform X.

Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine had captured two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region, the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last autumn.

Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.

Zelenskiy has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.

“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organise their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” Zelenskiy said.

He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men who are presented as North Korean soldiers. One of them is lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other is sitting with a bandage on his jaw.

One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise.

He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found a couple of days later. He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but that he was ready to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.

Reuters could not verify the video.

“One of them (soldiers) expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other to return to Korea,” Zelenskiy said in a televised statement.

Zelenskiy said that for North Korean soldiers who did not wish to return home, there may be other options available and “those who express a desire to bring peace closer by spreading the truth about this war in the Korean (language) will be given that opportunity.”

Zelenskiy provided no specific details.

(Reporting by Pavel PolityukEditing by Ros Russell and Bill Berkrot)

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An emergency task force arrived in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region on Sunday as an oil spill in the Kerch Strait from two storm-stricken tankers continues to spread a month after it was first detected, officials said.

The task force, which includes Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, was set up after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on authorities to ramp up the response to the spill, calling it “one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in recent years.”

Kurenkov said that “the most difficult situation” had developed near the port of Taman in the Krasnodar region, where fuel oil continues to leak into the sea from the damaged part of the Volgoneft-239 tanker.

Kurenkov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that the remaining oil will be pumped out of the tanker’s stern.

The Emergencies Ministry said Saturday that over 155,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been collected since oil spilled out of two tankers during a storm four weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, which separates the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula from the Krasnodar region.

Russian-installed officials in Ukraine’s partially Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region said Saturday that the mazut — a heavy, low-quality oil product — had reached the Berdyansk Spit, some 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of the Kerch Strait. It contaminated an area 14 1/2-kilometer (9-mile) long, Moscow-installed Gov. Yevgeny Balitsky wrote on Telegram.

Russian-appointed officials in Moscow-occupied Crimea announced a regional emergency last weekend after oil was detected on the shores of Sevastopol, the peninsula’s largest city, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Kerch Strait.

In response to Putin’s call for action, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi accused Russia of “beginning to demonstrate its alleged ‘concern’ only after the scale of the disaster became too obvious to conceal its terrible consequences.”

“Russia’s practice of first ignoring the problem, then admitting its inability to solve it, and ultimately leaving the entire Black Sea region alone with the consequences is yet another proof of its international irresponsibility,” Tykhyi said Friday.

The Kerch Strait is an important global shipping route, providing passage from the inland Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. It has also been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014.

In 2016, Ukraine took Moscow to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, where it accused Russia of trying to seize control of the area illegally. In 2021, Russia closed the strait for several months.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, described the oil spill last month as a “large-scale environmental disaster” and called for additional sanctions on Russian tankers.

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KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on allies on Sunday to honour all promises to supply Ukraine with weapons, including those to counter Russian air attacks.

Zelenskiy said that over the past week Russian forces had launched hundreds of strikes on Ukraine and nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used.

Ukrainian air defences downed 60 out of 94 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Sunday. It said that 34 drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.

“Every week, the Russian war continues only because the Russian army retains its ability to terrorise Ukraine and exploit its superiority in the sky,” Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.

He called on Ukraine’s allies to fulfil agreements already made.

“The decisions made at the NATO summit in Washington, as well as those adopted during the Ramstein meetings regarding air defences for Ukraine, have still not been fully implemented,” Zelenskiy said.

Ukraine’s leader this week said he had discussed with partners and the United States the possibility of granting Ukraine licenses to produce air defence systems and missiles.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Ros Russell)

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