BERLIN (Reuters) - German Social Democrat Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he had reached a deal with the Free Democrats and Greens to form a new coalition government that will bring the curtain down on the Angela Merkel era. According to 177-page agreement struck after two months of talks, the three parties want to accelerate public investment in green technology and digitalisation while returning to strict debt limits from 2023 onwards.

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PARIS (Reuters) - France will try to cement deeper ties in the Indo-Pacific region when its foreign minister arrives in Indonesia as it counters the loss of a strategic defense deal with Australia in September. Paris accused its allies of stabbing it in the back when Australia opted for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with U.S. and British technology instead of a multi-billion dollar French submarine program. Canberra pressed ahead with a trilateral alliance (AUKUS) excluding France, which it said was crucial to tackle the perceived Chinese threat in the region.

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MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) - Russia staged military drills in the Black Sea, south of Ukraine, on Wednesday and said it needed to sharpen the combat-readiness of its conventional and nuclear forces because of heightened NATO activity near its borders. Ukraine, which with its ally the United States has alleged Russia may be preparing an invasion, staged exercises of its own near the border with Belarus. The increase of military activity on both sides follows weeks of rising tension that have raised the risk of war between the two neighbors, even though Russia denies aggressive intent and Western intelligence sources have told Reuters they do not see any invasion as imminent.

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NEW YORK (AFP) -The United Nations Libya mediator Jan Kubis is stepping down, a UN spokesman said, less than a year after he took up the role and a month before planned elections in the country. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accepted Kubis’s resignation “with regret,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. When asked when Kubis would leave, Dujarric said: “Mr Kubis has made it clear that he’s not slamming the door today.” “He, more than anyone, does not want to have the mission destabilised in any way, shape or form,” he said.

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ROME (AP) — Twenty towns in northern Italy’s autonomous South Tyrol province went into a partial lockdown Wednesday to try to contain rising coronavirus infections and save the key winter tourism season in one of the least-vaccinated parts of Italy. The restrictions in the towns north of Bolzano include the closure of bars and restaurants after 6 p.m., a nighttime curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. and a requirement to wear an FFP2 face mask on public transportation, according to the ordinance.

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BOGUTA (AFP) - United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he celebrates the advances made to implement Colombia’s 2016 peace deal with the demobilized FARC rebels, but added efforts must be redoubled to sustain economic opportunities for ex-combatants.