Briefly

INDONESIA

11 killed after volcano erupts, dozen missing

Eleven hikers were found dead on Monday and another 12 were missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, with rescuers racing to carry the injured and burned survivors down the mountain on foot. Rescuers worked through the night to find dozens of hikers stranded on Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra after it spewed an ash tower of 3,000 meters — taller than the volcano itself — into the sky on Sunday. The plume of smoke and ash blocked out the sun after the eruption and coated nearby cars, scooters and ambulances.

IRAN

Teheran, Havana vow to confront sanctions

Iran and Cuba vowed on Monday to strengthen relations and stand together against sanctions imposed on them by the United States. "What can neutralize the sanctions is the exchange of capacities between the two countries," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said during a joint statement with his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel. Cuba has been under a US embargo since 1962 and Iran is also subject to severe sanctions linked in particular to its nuclear program.

KOREAN PENINSULA

'Double standards' slammed over launch

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Monday accused the United States of double standards, slamming it for letting the Republic of Korea launch a spy satellite from US territory after condemning the DPRK's earlier satellite launch. On Friday, Seoul launched its first domestically built spy satellite into space from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base. That came after Pyongyang put its own military spy satellite into orbit for the first time on Nov 21.

MALDIVES

New Delhi agrees to withdraw troops

India has agreed to withdraw its troops from the Maldives, the president of the strategically located archipelago has said, meeting a promise he made ahead of recent elections. "After a series of constructive meetings and dialogues with the Indian government, an agreement has been reached to withdraw Indian military personnel," a statement from President Mohamed Muizzu's office said on Sunday. Indian personnel are deployed to operate three gifted aircraft patrolling the maritime territory.

Agencies - Xinhua