Briefly

HONDURAS

Authority declares Asfura's win in polls

Honduras' National Electoral Council said on Wednesday that National Party candidate Nasry Asfura was elected the country's constitutional president in the general elections held on Nov 30. The announcement was made 24 days after election day, following postponements due to malfunctions in the vote-counting system claimed by relevant authorities and allegations of irregularities by several political actors who claimed these could constitute electoral fraud. Before the election day, US President Donald Trump endorsed Asfura and suggested that US aid to Honduras could be withheld if Asfura did not win. On Dec 9,Honduran President Xiomara Castro condemned what she described as external interference in the country's elections, saying the electoral process was marked by "threats, coercion and manipulation".

EUROPE

Nations condemn West Bank plan

A group of 14 countries issued a joint statement on Wednesday, strongly condemning Israel's decision to establish 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning that such moves violate international law. The joint statement was co-signed by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, according to the French foreign ministry. "We recall that such unilateral actions, as part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fueling instability," the statement said. The group emphasized that the expansion of settlements risks undermining the implementation of the Gaza peace plan amid efforts to progress to the second phase and harming prospects for long-term peace and security across the region.

DPRK

Top leader oversees building of submarine

Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, guided the building of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday. Kim stressed the significance of building a strategic nuclear attack submarine, and "clarified the steadfast will and the strategic and tactical policy to steadily push forward with the nuclear weaponization of the navy", said the report. He said that the Republic of Korea's nuclear submarine development plans would worsen instability on the Korean Peninsula. Kim also mentioned a strategic plan to reorganize the naval forces and establish new units, according to the report.

Agencies - Xinhua