Russia may take new measures to bolster security if the U.S. takes aggressive action and ignores requests ruling out NATO's eastward expansion into Ukraine, a senior diplomat said Saturday, AP reports.
Driving the news: Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Saturday that Western allies are "extending the limits of what’s possible" regarding relations with Russia, per AP.
Canada will retighten its border starting Dec. 21 and require travelers who are returning to the country to show proof of a negative PCR test, the government announced on Friday.
Chinese gaming giant Tencent is buying Turtle Rock Studios, the California-based makers of cooperative multiplayer games Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood, the companies announced today.
Why it matters: Based on the math of industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, Tencent has invested in over 100 gaming companies this year, nearly a third outside of China.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Rashad Hussain as ambassador-at large of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Why it matters: Hussain is the first Muslim to hold the position, Religious News Service reported. The role was created to coordinate the country's strategy to protect freedom of religion abroad and recommend retaliatory actions when the human right is violated.
Senior European diplomats briefed reporters on Friday that they were disappointed by Iran's decision to request a pause in the nuclear talks in Vienna amid what they described as “technical progress."
Why it matters: The U.S. and the deal's European signatories — France, Germany and the U.K — have stressed several times in the nearly three weeks since talks resumed that Iran is dragging its feet and taking maximalist positions. They insist the time for negotiations is running out.
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday voted to create an independent commission to investigate human rights violations in Ethiopia.
Why it matters: The move comes amid a deteriorating security situation in Ethiopia, where thousands have been killed and millions of others have fled due to a yearlong conflict between the federal government and rebel forces, particularly in the Tigray region, Reuters reports.
The Russian government released the draft of a new treaty proposal with NATO that would rule out eastward expansion and all military activity in former Soviet republics, as the threat of another Russian invasion of Ukraine looms over Europe.
Driving the news: A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday that the U.S. is prepared to discuss Russia's proposals with its allies, but said that "there are some things in those documents that the Russians know will be unacceptable."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is plowing forward with a plan to prove economists wrong.
Driving the news: Turkey’s central bank, under pressure from Erdoğan, on Thursday slashed interest rates for the fourth time in as many months, despite official inflation figures running at over 21%.
At least 24 people died after a fire broke out in an eight-story building in downtown Osaka, Japan, on Friday, according to AP.
The big picture: Police are treating the blaze as a possible case of arson. The fire originated in a mental and internal medicine clinic on the fourth floor of the building.
Super Typhoon Rai has killed at least three people after lashing the central and southern Philippines, officials said Friday, per AP.
Threat level: The storm that's equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane is the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the Philippines this year — causing over 300,000 people to evacuate coastal areas as it triggered flooding, communications and power outages and uprooted trees Thursday, AFP notes.
Two newpolls ahead of Sunday's presidential election in Chile show far-right former congressman Jose Antonio Kast threatening to eclipse his left-wing rival, Gabriel Boric.
Why it matters: Chile has long been a byword for stability and prosperity in the region, but protests beginning in 2019 — sparked by a small hike in metro fares — thrust the country into a fierce debate over economic inequality and national identity. Two very different visions of Chile's future are on the ballot.
It's beginning to look a lotlike an Omicron winter wave.
Zoom in: The U.K. recorded a record-high 88,376 cases Thursday, continuing a sharp upward trajectory over the past four days that appears to be driven by the new variant.
