CHINA EASES ‘ZERO COVID’ CURBS IN WIN FOR PROTESTERS

China has finally relaxed stringent Covid-19 restrictions, following rare protests by the people in the Xi Jinping-led ruling Communist Party regime.

Last week, thousands of protestors had assembled in China’s Wulumuqi Road -- which is named after Xinjiang provincial capital Urumqi. It had witnessed night long protests despite the heavy presence of police.

The observers had said the rare protests in China were significant, considering the country’s politics of Covid-19 policies, which reflect wider political frustrations including the slowing down of the economy.

With now restrictions being eased, Reuters reported that people in Beijing are welcoming the move, which has otherwise left them frustrated.

Reuters reported that China’s southern city of Shenzhen has announced that no more negative Covid-19 tests are required to use public transport or enter parks. Similar announcements have been  made in  Chengdu and Tianjin.

The reports also said Covid-19 testing facilities have been closed in China’s capital, while no negative Covid-19 tests are required in the city to enter places such as supermarkets and subways.

However, there are some restrictions for offices.

GERMANY FOILS FAR-RIGHT PLOT TO INSTALL PRINCE HEINRICH XIII IN COUP

Twenty-five people have been arrested in raids across Germany on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government.

The group of far-right and ex-military figures are said to have prepared for a "Day X" to storm the Reichstag parliament building and seize power.

A man named as Heinrich XIII, from an old aristocratic family, is alleged to have been central to their plans.

According to federal prosecutors, he is one of two alleged ringleaders among those arrested across 11 German states.

The plotters are said to include members of the extremist Reichsbürger [Citizens of the Reich] movement, which has long been in the sights of German police over violent attacks and racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

They also refuse to recognise the modern German state.

Other suspects came from the QAnon movement who believe their country is in the hands of a mythical "deep state" involving secret powers pulling the political strings.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser assured Germans that authorities would respond with the full force of the law "against the enemies of democracy".

PUTIN: NUCLEAR RISK IS RISING, BUT WE ARE NOT MAD

Vladimir Putin has said the threat of a nuclear war was rising, but insisted Russia had not "gone mad" and would not use its nuclear weapons first.

The Russian president insisted that his country would only use weapons of mass destruction in response to an attack.

Speaking at Russia's annual human rights council meeting, he also said the war in Ukraine could be a "lengthy process".

Western officials believe Putin initially planned for a rapid victory.

Russia's capacity to use nuclear weapons has come under increased scrutiny since it invaded Ukraine in February.

"Such a threat is growing, it would be wrong to hide it," Putin warned while talking about the prospect of nuclear war via video link from Moscow.

But he asserted that Russia would "under no circumstances" use the weapons first, and would not threaten anyone with its nuclear arsenal.

"We have not gone mad, we are aware of what nuclear weapons are," he said, adding: "We aren't about to run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor."

Putin also boasted that Russia had the most modern and advanced nuclear weapons in the world, and contrasted its nuclear strategy to the US - who he said had gone further than Russia by locating its nuclear weapons on other territories.

"We do not have nuclear weapons, including tactical ones, on the territory of other countries, but the Americans do - in Turkey, and in a number of other European countries," he said.

U.S. WARNS SAUDI ARABIA AHEAD OF XI JINPING’S VISIT

The White House on Wednesday responded to the visit of President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia by warning that China’s attempt to spread influence worldwide is “not conducive” to international order.

Asked about the Xi visit, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Saudi Arabia remains a crucial U.S. ally, but he issued a warning over China.

“We are mindful of the influence that China is trying to grow around the world. The Middle East is certainly one of those regions where they want to deepen their level of influence,” he said.

BLAST IN INDONESIA KILLS 1, INJURES 10; BOMBER SLAMS NEW LAW IN A NOTE

Bandung : A suspected Islamist militant, angered by Indonesia’s new criminal code, killed one other person and wounded at least 10 in a suicide bomb attack at a police station in the city of Bandung on Wednesday, authorities said. The suicide bomber was believed to be affiliated with the IS-inspired group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah and had previously been jailed on terrorism charges, Indonesian police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said. He said the attacker, identified as Agus Sujatno, was released in 2021 and investigators had found dozens of documents protesting the country’s controversial new criminal code at the crime scene.

Though there are sharia-based provisions in the new criminal code, Islamist hardliners could have been angered by other articles that could be used to crackdown on the propagation of extremist ideologies, analysts say. West Java police chief Suntana told Metro TV that authorities had found a blue motorbike at the scene, which they believed was used by the attacker. Attached to the bike was a note carrying a message decrying the new criminal code as “an infidel product”, Suntana said. Todd Elliott, a security analyst, said it was likely the attack was an ideological rejection of the country’s new laws. “There are changes in the criminal code that hardliners wouldn’t support. . . including outlawing any ideology that goes against the state ideology and that would also include extremist ideology. ”

ZELENSKY IS TIME’S PERSON OF THE YEAR

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was named Time magazine’s person of the year on Wednesday in recognition of his leadership during his country’s war against Russia. The magazine also recognised “the spirit of Ukraine,” pointing to the country’s resilience in a rebuke to President Putin of Russia.

The closely watched honour marks the latest step in a remarkable ascent that has seen Zelensky catapulted from a career as a television comedian, first to the presidency in 2019 and then, this year, to the status of a leader with global stature.

The Ukrainian leader, who has come to personify the nation’s resistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February, has characterised the war as a struggle by a peace-loving people seeking freedom from tyranny.

Two decisions made in February came to define his style. When the war began, Western powers and military experts assumed Russian forces would quickly overrun Kyiv, the capital, and expected the government to retreat to safer ground. Instead, Zelensky stayed in the city as a symbol of defiance and the continuity of civilian authority. Eventually, Ukrainian forces repulsed the Russian attack there. The second decision was to start nightly speeches broadcast on social media. In a speech, delivered on the night that Russian forces started bombing Kyiv, he expressed anew national mission. “Putin began a war against Ukraine and against the entire democratic world,” he said. “He wants to destroy our country and everything we’ve been building, but we know the strength of the Ukrainian people. ”

Even his look — combat boots, khaki pants and a green T-shirt — has become a trademark, bolstering his image as a citizen soldier.

PERU'S PRESIDENT PEDRO CASTILLO REPLACED BY DINA BOLUARTE AFTER IMPEACHMENT

Peru has a female president for the first time, after ex-president Pedro Castillo was impeached - hours after he tried to dissolve parliament.

Dina Boluarte - previously the vice-president - was sworn in after a dramatic day in Lima on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Mr Castillo had said he was replacing Congress with an "exceptional emergency government".

But lawmakers ignored this, and in an emergency meeting impeached him. He was then detained and accused of rebellion.

Ms Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, said she would govern until July 2026, which is when Mr Castillo's presidency would have ended.

Speaking after taking the oath of office, she called for a political truce to overcome the crisis which has gripped the country.

"What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country," she said.

Wednesday's dramatic chain of events began with President Pedro Castillo giving an address on national television in which he declared a state of emergency.

He announced that he would dissolve the opposition-controlled Congress, a move which was met with shock both in Peru - several ministers resigned in protest - and abroad.

TALIBAN CARRY OUT FIRST PUBLIC EXECUTION SINCE TAKEOVER

An Afghan man convicted of murder was executed in public on Wednesday, the Taliban said, the first confirmation of such a sentence since the hardline Islamists returned to power.

Last month Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered judges to fully enforce aspects of Islamic law that include public executions, stonings and floggings, and the amputation of limbs from thieves.

“The supreme court was instructed to implement this order in a public gathering of compatriots,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, referring to the “eye for an eye” justice in Islamic law.