SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Russia will be invited to attend meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc hosted by the United States next year, a U.S. official said on Monday. As “good stewards of APEC”, the United States will invite Russia, which is a member of the 21-country bloc, Matt Murray, a senior U.S. official for APEC, told a media briefing in Singapore. Relations between Washington and Moscow have deteriorated to their worst in 60 years since the Ukraine war started in February. At an APEC meeting hosted by Thailand in May, representatives from the United States and some other countries walked out of a meeting in protest of Russia’s actions in Ukraine when Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov was delivering remarks. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend a summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Bali last month despite an invitation from host Indonesia, which had resisted pressure from Western countries to disinvite the leader and even expel Russia from the bloc.

 

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- Kosovo and Serbia must de-escalate a tense situation in the region, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Monday, after Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked main roads for a third day on Monday. In recent weeks Serbs in northern Kosovo have responded with violent resistance to moves by Pristina that they see as anti-Serb. The latest protests were triggered by the arrest of a former police officer on Saturday. He was part of a mass resignation of Serbs from the force last month, after Pristina said it would require Serbs to scrap Serbian license plates dating to before the 1998-99 Kosovo War that led to independence. For a third day on Monday, trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles blocked several main roads leading to two border crossings with Serbia. Both crossings were closed to traffic. Kosovo had planned to hold local elections next Sunday in four municipalities after their mayors quit, but President Vjosa Osmani postponed the votes until April citing security concerns.

 

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BEIJING (Reuters) -- U.S. sanctions on two senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in Tibet were illegal and seriously harmed Sino-U.S. ties, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. The comments came after the U.S. Treasury department said on Friday it imposed sanctions on Wu Yingjie, the chief of the ruling Communist Party in Tibet between 2016 and 2021, and Zhang Hongbo, a senior public security official in the region. Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the steps were a gross interference in China’s internal affairs and a violation of basic norms of international relations.  “We urge the U.S. side to immediately withdraw the so-called sanctions,” he said. They did serious damage to Sino-U.S. relations, Wang said, adding that China would safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. “The United States has no right to impose sanctions on other countries at every turn and is not qualified to play the world police,” Wang added.

 

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LONDON (Reuters) -- Heavy snowfall blanketed parts of Britain on Monday, disrupting airports, train networks and roads in London, while two coal plants have been put on standby in case of a power crunch over winter. Operations in many parts of the city’s underground network were either suspended or faced delays, while motorways witnessed gridlocks due to snow. London’s Gatwick and Stansted airports warned that the conditions could disrupt flight schedules. The Met Office issued yellow weather warning for snow and ice in London and south-east England, with ice and fog warnings in other parts of England and the whole of Northern Ireland. The snow caused issues for commuters and holidaymakers at the start of a fortnight where rail workers and border officials plan industrial action. Southeastern, which operates rail services into London, advised passengers not to travel due to severe disruption caused by snow and ice. 

 

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PARIS (Reuters) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that his government would push back the presentation of its pension reform plans, which had been due this week, until January. The government is currently holding consultation talks with unions on the planned reform, through which Macron seeks to raise France’s minimum retirement age, but opposition to the reform remains strong against a backdrop of rising inflation. Reforming France’s costly and complicated pension system was a key election pledge for Macron when he first came to power in 2017. But his initial proposals infuriated the unions and provoked weeks of protests and transport strikes just before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

 

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BEIJING (AFP) -- China said Monday it would retire an app used to track travel to areas with Covid-19 cases, a milestone in the country’s rapid turn away from its zero-tolerance coronavirus strategy. Beijing has effectively thrown in the towel on zero-Covid, last week announcing an end to large-scale lockdowns, mandatory quarantine in central facilities, and a broad relaxation of testing measures. The changes have been introduced despite a top health expert warning of a surge in Omicron cases that could tear through the country where millions of elderly are still unvaccinated.  But social media users nevertheless hailed the Itinerary Card’s retirement, noting the symbolism of the central government shutting down its main tracking app. Many posted screenshots of their “last” logins. “Bye bye, this announces the end of an era, and also welcomes a brand new one,” one person wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.