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N. Korea launches missiles from submarine as US-South Korean drills begin

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Nuclear-armed North Korea test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine on Sunday, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, just as US-South Korea military drills were due to begin, Reuters reported.

"Strategic" is typically used to describe weapons that have a nuclear capability.

KCNA said the launch confirmed the reliability of the system and tested the underwater offensive operations of the submarine units that form part of North Korea's nuclear deterrent.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the military was on high alert and the country's intelligence agency was working with its US counterpart to analyse the specifics of the launch.

On Monday, South Korean and American troops were scheduled to begin 11 days of joint drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield 23," which will be held on a scale not seen since 2017, read the report.

The drills will strengthen the allies' combined defensive posture, the two militaries have said, and will feature field exercises including amphibious landings.

North Korea has long bristled over drills it regards as a rehearsal for invasion. It has conducted a record number of missile tests and drills in the past year in what it says is an effort to boost its nuclear deterrent and make more weapons fully operational.

"It's very regretful that North Korea is using our regular, defensive drills as a pretext for provocation," said Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson for South Korea's unification ministry handling relations with the North. "I hope North Korea realises that there is nothing they can earn from escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula."

The submarine launches aimed to show North Korea's determination to control a situation in which, KCNA said, "the US imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces are getting evermore undisguised in their anti-DPRK military manoeuvres."

DPRK stands for North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

KCNA said the strategic cruise missiles were fired from the "8.24 Yongung" submarine in the water off the east coast of Korea in the early hours of Sunday, Reuters reported.

The missiles travelled some 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) before hitting a target in the sea, the KCNA report said.

A JCS spokesperson said not everything North Korea claimed was accurate, but he did not give further details.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there was no information that the missile flew toward Japan's waters or caused any damage.

"If North Korea's announcement that the missile had a range of more than 1,500 kilometres was true, it would pose threats to the region's peace and stability – we are concerned," Matsuno said.

He said US military deterrence in Asia-Pacific is "essential" in the region, adding the North "may step onto further provocative acts such as a nuclear test."

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said North Korea could be exaggerating its capability to arm such missiles with nuclear warheads, read the report.

"The Kim regime wants to show it can match or surpass military capabilities on display during US-South Korea defence exercises. Yet the reality is North Korean soldiers are poorly fed and are being ordered to help farmers address the country’s food shortage," Easley said.

North Korea has a large submarine fleet but the 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is its only known experimental ballistic missile submarine. Analysts say it plays a critical role in the development of missiles, submarine technology and operational procedures, as well as hands-on training of new submariners.

North Korea has said it is building an operational ballistic missile submarine, Reuters reported.

While overseeing a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) launching exercise on Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the military to intensify drills to deter and respond to a "real war" if necessary.

On Sunday state media reported that Kim led a ruling party meeting to discuss and decide on "important, practical measures" to boost the country's war deterrence in the midst of stepped-up actions by the United States and South Korea. The report did not provide specifics on the measures.

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Trump, Putin speak as Biden plans to lobby Trump to stick with Ukraine

Zelenskiy said on Thursday he was not aware of any details of Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war quickly and that he was convinced a rapid end would entail major concessions for Kyiv.

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and advised him not to escalate the Ukraine war, a source familiar with the conversation told Reuters on Sunday, as President Joe Biden plans to urge Trump not to abandon Kyiv, Reuters reported.

Trump and Putin spoke in recent days, said the source. Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday. Trump has criticised the scale of U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv, vowing to end the war quickly, without saying how.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said it was not informed in advance of the call between Trump and Putin and subsequently could neither endorse or object to it.

"We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders," said Steven Cheung, Trump's communications director, when asked about the phone call, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republican Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Biden has invited Trump to come to the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that Biden's top message will be his commitment to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, and he will also talk to Trump about what's happening in Europe, in Asia and the Middle East.

"President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe," Sullivan told CBS News' "Face the Nation" show.

Sullivan's comments came as Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the beginning of the war.

When asked if Biden would ask Congress to pass legislation to authorize more funding for Ukraine, Sullivan deferred.

"I'm not here to put forward a specific legislative proposal. President Biden will make the case that we do need ongoing resources for Ukraine beyond the end of his term," Sullivan said.

Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars worth of U.S. military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February of 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and rallied against with other Republican lawmakers, read the report.

Trump insisted last year that Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if he had been in the White House at the time. He told Reuters Ukraine may have to cede territory to reach a peace agreement, something the Ukrainians reject and Biden has never suggested.

Zelenskiy said on Thursday he was not aware of any details of Trump's plan to end the Ukraine war quickly and that he was convinced a rapid end would entail major concessions for Kyiv.

According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress appropriated over $174 billion to Ukraine under Biden. The pace of the aid is almost sure to drop under Trump with Republicans set to take control of the U.S. Senate with a 52-seat majority.

Control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the next Congress is not yet clear with some votes still being counted. Republicans have won 213 seats, according to Edison Research, just shy of the 218 needed for a majority. If Republicans win both chambers, it will mean the majority of Trump's agenda will have a significantly easier time passing through Congress, Reuters reported.

Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, a Trump ally who is considered a top contender for secretary of state, criticized U.S. funding for Ukraine in a CBS interview.

"The American people want sovereignty protected here in America before we spend our funds and resources protecting the sovereignty of another nation," Hagerty said.

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its final act after Moscow's forces advanced at the fastest pace since the early days of the war.

Any fresh attempt to end the war is likely to involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the early months of the war.

Moscow's forces occupy around a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war cannot end until its claimed annexations are recognized. Kyiv demands all of its territory back, a position that has largely been supported by Western allies.

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At least 40 killed as Israel pounds Lebanon, Lebanese officials say

The Iran-backed group announced more than 20 operations on Saturday, as well as one that it said fighters carried out the previous day against a military factory south of Tel Aviv.

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Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon over the last day have killed at least 40 people including several children, Lebanese authorities said on Saturday, after heavy Israeli bombardment pounded the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut overnight, Reuters reported.

At least seven people were killed in the coastal city of Tyre late on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said. The Israeli military has previously ordered swathes of the city to evacuate but there were no orders published by the Israeli military spokesperson on social media platform X before Friday's strikes.

The ministry said two children were among the dead. Rescue operations were ongoing and other body parts retrieved in the aftermath of the attack would undergo DNA testing to identify them, the ministry added.

Strikes in nearby towns on Saturday killed 13 people, including seven medics from rescue groups affiliated to Hezbollah and its ally Amal, the health ministry said.

At least 20 more people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday across the eastern plains around the historic city of Baalbek, the health ministry said.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the areas of Tyre and Baalbek, including fighters, "operational apartments," and weapons stores.

The Lebanese health ministry said Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,136 people and wounded 13,979 in Lebanon over the last year. The toll includes 619 women and 194 children, read the report.

Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since October 2023, but fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year. Israel has intensified and expanded its bombing campaign, and Hezbollah has ramped up daily rocket and drone attacks against Israel.

The Iran-backed group announced more than 20 operations on Saturday, as well as one that it said fighters carried out the previous day against a military factory south of Tel Aviv.

More than a dozen Israeli strikes also hit the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight, once a bustling collection of neighbourhoods and a key stronghold of Hezbollah.

Now, many buildings have been almost entirely flattened, with Hezbollah's yellow flags jutting out from the ruins, according to Reuters reporters who were taken on a tour of the area by Hezbollah, Reuters reported.

Some buildings were partially damaged by the strikes, leading some floors to collapse and sending furniture and other personal belongings spilling onto parked cars below.

Men and women were picking through the rubble for their belongings, shoving blankets and mats under their arms or into black plastic bags.

"We are trying to gather as many (of our possessions) as we can, so we can manage to live off them, nothing more," said Hassan Hannawi, one of the men looking for his belongings.

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ICC to investigate alleged misconduct by war crimes prosecutor – Reuters

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The International Criminal Court's governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, Reuters reported.

Khan is called on in an internal document circulated to member states to temporarily step down from his role at the world's permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, while an inquiry is ongoing.

The undated and unsigned document, seen by Reuters, was circulated to member states by ICC staff.

Khan's office referred questions to his attorney and phone calls and repeated requests for comment sent to his lawyers went unanswered.

Khan has denied allegations of misconduct that were reported to the court's governing body last month. At that time he asked the court's own internal oversight body to investigate them.

A source with knowledge of the matter said an external probe was agreed at a meeting on Thursday of a core group of the court's governing body, the Assembly of States Parties.

Reuters couldn't determine who would conduct the investigation.

ICC judges are currently reviewing a request Khan made in May for arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and Hamas leaders. Khan has said the misconduct allegations coincided with a campaign of misinformation against his office.

The internal document, circulated for discussion, argued that the court's independent, internal body for assessing matters of conduct should have launched a formal inquiry into the allegations when they were first reported.

A source familiar with the matter said the alleged victim in the Khan case does not have confidence in the independence of the court's internal body, whose incoming head is a former member of Khan's staff, because details of reports to it about the alleged misconduct were leaked.

The current and future head of the independent body did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The document also shows pressure is mounting on Khan to temporarily step aside and let one of his deputy prosecutors take over while the investigation takes place.

"The prosecutor should step aside with immediate effect to pave the way for an independent investigation," the document says. It was unclear if the court's governing body has asked Khan to do so.

The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression in member states or by their nationals. It's governing body holds its annual meeting early next month.

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