BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday condemned comments by the Philippine defense minister about China, calling them “baseless accusations” that “maliciously attacked” China’s ruling Communist Party. Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday that the Philippines has the right to allow the deployment of a U.S. missile system in the country despite China’s continued opposition to it, Philippine media reported. China’s embassy in Manila said in a statement that Teodoro’s remarks were “filled with ideological bias, factional confrontation, cold war mentality”. It urged Manila to quickly withdraw its deployment of the mid-range U.S. Typhon missile system.

 

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SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol did not respond on Wednesday to a second summons by anti-corruption authorities who, along with prosecutors, are investigating his short-lived martial law decree issued early this month. Yoon had not appeared for questioning as of 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Christmas Day as requested by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), after ignoring its first summons last week. An agency official said it would continue waiting for Yoon on Wednesday, adding it would need to review the case further before seeking an arrest warrant, Yonhap news agency reported.

 

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MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Violence that engulfed Mozambique after the country’s highest court confirmed ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo as the winner of disputed Oct. 9 elections killed at least 21 people, including two police officers, authorities said. Mozambique Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told a news conference in Maputo that a wave of violence and looting was sparked by the court’s announcement a day earlier. He said it was led by mostly youthful supporters of losing candidate Venancio Mondlane, who received 24% of the vote, second to Chapo, who got 65%. “From the preliminary survey, in the last 24 hours, 236 acts of violence were recorded throughout the national territory that resulted in 21 deaths, of which two members of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique also died,” Ronda said. He said 13 civilians and 12 police were injured.

 

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BALDWIN, COUNTY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama law enforcement fatally shot two men during separate traffic stops in separate events, according to statements from officials. In the northern part of the state, law enforcement in Morgan County fatally shot Drew Patterson Banks, 41, according to a statement from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is leading the investigation into his death. Priceville police officers tried to initiate a traffic stop because Banks was driving a car that was reported stolen, according to the statement. Banks refused to pull over and led officers on a pursuit through multiple highways that also involved officers from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department.

 

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son and adviser has described allegations of corruption involving the family in the 2015 awarding of a $12.65 billion nuclear power contract as “completely bogus” and a “smear campaign”. Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission said it had launched an enquiry into allegations of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, backed by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom. A deal for two power plants, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, was signed in 2015. The commission has alleged that there were financial irregularities worth about $5 billion involving Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed and her niece and British treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, through offshore accounts.