Briefly

KOREAN PENINSULA

Moon renews invitation for DPRK leader to visit

President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea on Tuesday said he hopes to see Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, fulfill a promise to visit the ROK this year and called for the two neighbors to end a prolonged freeze in bilateral relations. In his New Year's speech, Moon also reaffirmed his government's commitment to resume inter-Korean economic activities that have been held back by US-led sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and missiles program. Now that there are fears that the deadlocked talks between Pyongyang and Washington could set back inter-Korean relations, the need to seek "realistic measures" for the broader inter-Korean cooperation is more pressing than ever, together with continued efforts for the success of the DPRK-US dialogue, Moon said. Pyongyang and Washington had working-level denuclearization negotiations in Sweden in October, but they ended without progress.

LIBYA

East-based forces claim 'liberation' of Sirte

The Libyan National Army, or LNA, based in the east of the country, said on Monday they had captured the coastal city of Sirte, nearly 450 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli, from the forces of the rival United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord. Ahmad al-Mismari, an LNA spokesman, announced the "liberation" of Sirte at a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi. Mismari also said the whole operation to control Sirte took no more than three hours, stressing that the operation was secret. The announcement came as the LNA was launching the "final" battle to take Tripoli, which is controlled by the government in Tripoli. Last month, Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the LNA, declared the launch of the final military campaign in and around the capital.

NIGERIA

30 killed in bomb blast on crowded bridge

At least 30 people were killed in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno after an improvised explosive device detonated on a bridge, sources said on Monday. The bomb detonated at roughly 5 pm local time on a crowded bridge in the market town of Gamboru that leads into neighboring Cameroon. Witnesses said more than 35 injured people were taken to a hospital following the attack. "It is an unfortunate day for us to witness this frustrating and devastating incident in our community," eyewitness Modu Ali Said told Reuters. No group immediately took responsibility. Both Boko Haram and the regional offshoot of the Islamic State terror group, known as ISWAP, are active in the area.

UNITED STATES

NASA planet hunter finds Earth-sized world

NASA said on Monday that its planet hunter satellite TESS had discovered an Earth-sized world within the habitable range of its star, which could allow the presence of liquid water. The planet, named "TOI 700 d", is relatively close to Earth－only 100 light years away, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced during the annual American Astronomical Society meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. The discovery was later confirmed by the Spitzer Space Telescope. A few similar planets have been discovered before, notably by the former Kepler Space Telescope, but this is the first discovered by TESS, which was launched in 2018.

Xinhua - Agencies