World news briefs

* Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to win a vote of no confidence triggered by angry Brexit supporters in her Conservative Party on December 12, saying her ouster would jeopardise Britain's divorce from the European Union. * US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration's handling of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on December 12, stressing Saudi Arabia's importance as a US ally against Iran. * European Union and Japanese plans to form the world's largest free trade area cleared their final hurdle on December 12 when EU lawmakers backed a partnership set to enter force early next year. * European Union leaders are likely to give Prime Minister Theresa May assurances to help the ratification of Britain's withdrawal agreement, a senior official with the bloc said, as long as they do not contradict the draft Brexit deal. * The Republic of Korea (RoK) was in consultation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to hold a groundbreaking … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 12

* China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on December 6 that the ultimate goal of Sino-US trade talks was to remove all additional tariffs, adding that China will hold consultation with the US on issues of common concern and strive to reach consensus. * As France is bracing for fresh country-wide social action this weekend, the government has planned tough security measures to handle "great violence" on Saturday's demonstrations, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on December 6. * US President Donald Trump will pick State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert as the next US ambassador to the United Nations (UN), US media reported Thursday, citing sources. * Russia's national economy can be mainly boosted by domestic investment, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on December 6. * The Ukrainian parliament on December 6 approved a bill on ending the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia on April 1, 2019, the parliament's press service … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 7

* Indonesian President Joko Widodo on December 5 ordered the military and police to arrest those responsible for the recent killing of construction workers and a troop in Papua province. Widodo reiterated the trans-Papua project would continue despite deadly challenges from insurgents. * An F/A-18 fighter jet and a KC-130 tanker plane belonging to the Marines collided and crashed off Cape Muroto of Japan's western coast early on December 6, with six of the seven crew members still missing, the Marines and Japanese Defense Ministry said. * Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on December 5 said Turkey may call for an international probe if a deadlock is reached on the Jamal Khashoggi case, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. * Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest trip to Europe and Latin America boosted China's ties with cooperation partners and steered global economic governance on the right path, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said. * Russian President … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 6

* Russia fully adheres to the provisions of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which the United States knows well, Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday (December 4), in response to the latest statements by the United States and its allies that urged Moscow to return to full compliance with the agreement. * The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will create an infantry division that mainly hunt down the elusive Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine Sulu province, the Philippine defense chief said on Tuesday. * At the meeting in Havana on December 4 between Raul Castro, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the two sides called for strengthening bilateral ties. * Some US senators said on December 4 that CIA chief should brief full Senate on the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after a … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: December 5