- Brazil looking for motive after attempted Supreme Court bombing
- Hotels on Booking.com can offer better rates elsewhere: EU
- EU deforestation ban in chaos as parliament loosens rules
- Springboks make 12 changes to team for England clash
- All Blacks fly-half Barrett returns from concussion against France
- UEFA launches investigation into Premier League referee Coote
- Monaco Formula One GP extended until 2031
- Climate finance: who is being asked to pay what at COP29?
- 'Terrible' AI has given tech an existential headache: activist
- COP29 host tries to calm waters after diplomatic turmoil
- Late drama as Saudis hold Australia in World Cup qualifier
- Israel warfare methods 'consistent with genocide': UN committee
- Iran activist kills himself after demanding release of prisoners
- Russia shuts Moscow's famed gulag museum
- London mayor says Trump attacks due to his ethnicity and religion
- Japan expect tough Indonesia test with World Cup spot in reach
- Uganda TikToker convicted for insulting president
- Burberry launches turnaround plan as posts loss
- Fickou starts for France against New Zealand
- Spain flood epicentre survives fresh rain alert
- Strike hits south Beirut after Israel evacuation warning: AFPTV
- Thousands flee as Typhoon Usagi hits north of Philippines
- King Charles turns 76 after year of little celebration
- Greece's ambitious 'smart city' by the sea takes shape
- For profit or for all? Argentine football clubs red-card Milei reforms
- New Zealand coach hails 'amazing' Chris Wood after fine Forest form
- Corruption overshadows Ukraine's multi-billion reconstruction progam
- Dating apps move to friend zone in search of profits
- As Trump returns, African exporters torn between hope and horror
- Trump's climate impact 'recoverable': researchers
- HRW accuses Israel of 'war crime' with 'forcible transfer' in Gaza
- 'Interior Chinatown' satirizes Asian roles in Hollywood... and beyond screen
- Wembanyama hits another milestone with 50-point game for Spurs
- Live-streamed prayers for stressed S. Korean exam parents
- Scientists say world's largest coral found near Solomon Islands
- Sculptor Gormley hopes art can be bridge to China despite curbs
- UN nuclear chief in Iran to 'reach diplomatic solutions'
- Israel face France in Paris football match under tight security
- Beijing's fears after Trump fills key posts with China hawks
- Man with explosives dies trying to enter Brazil's Supreme Court
- South Korea exam sees record number of re-takes after medical reforms
- Asian markets mixed as traders weigh Fed; bitcoin above $90,000
- Pumas seek historic win over 'hurt' Irish
- Advantage Martin as MotoGP reaches gripping climax in Barcelona
- Man with explosives dies trying to enter Brazil Supreme Court
- Mike Tyson, 58, back in ring to face Youtuber Paul
- Hunger in G20 host Brazil is Lula's unfinished fight
- Biden, Xi arrive in Peru ahead of face-to-face at Asia-Pacific summit
- Mysterious diamond-laden necklace fetches $4.8 mn in Geneva auction
- Lawmakers clash, protesters arrested in wake of Amsterdam violence
US vows 'firm' response to N.Korea deployment in Ukraine conflict
US top diplomat Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that the deployment of North Korean troops alongside Russian forces fighting on the Ukrainian border demanded a "firm response".
The secretary of state was speaking at the start of a day of Brussels talks with NATO and EU officials to urgently address ramping up support for Kyiv before Donald Trump reclaims the White House -- potentially jeopardising future aid.
Addressing reporters alongside NATO chief Mark Rutte, Blinken said they had discussed the fact North Korean forces have been "injected into the battle, and now, quite literally, in combat which demands and will get a firm response."
The US State Department confirmed Tuesday that Pyongyang's troops -- whose entry into the conflict marks a potentially major escalation -- have begun "engaging in combat operations" alongside Russian forces near the border with Ukraine.
A spokesman said that of the more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers sent to eastern Russia, "most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces".
Rutte meanwhile stressed the crucial role played by China in helping Russia's "war effort", as well as Iranian weapons deliveries -- paid for with Russian funds that were in turn helping Tehran to "destabilize the Middle East".
Blinken was taking part in a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO's decision-making body, before talks with European Union top diplomat Josep Borrell, his successor Kaja Kallas and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga.
His emergency trip comes as Trump's election victory, coupled with a political crisis in Germany, heightens fears about the future of assistance for Ukraine at a key point in the fight against Russia's invasion.
Trump has in the past voiced admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and scoffed at the $175 billion the United States committed for Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022.
The 78-year-old tycoon, who will be inaugurated on January 20, spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after winning re-election following a first stint as president between 2017 and 2021.
He has boasted he can end the war in a day, likely by forcing concessions from Ukraine, although his newly named national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said Trump may also pressure Putin.
The Washington Post reported the Republican leader also held a phone call with Putin and discouraged an escalation by Russia. The Kremlin denied the report.
US media reported Trump might pick Republican Senator Marco Rubio to replace Blinken as secretary of state.
Rubio is seen as supportive of Kyiv but has also said Washington should show "pragmatism" rather than sending billions of dollars more in weapons as the war hit a "stalemate".
- 'As long as it takes' -
The Biden administration has made clear it plans in its remaining weeks to push through the more than $9 billion of remaining funding appropriated by Congress for weapons and other security assistance to Ukraine.
Mark Cancian, senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, expected the United States to focus in particular on sending vehicles, medical supplies and small-arms ammunition, which Ukraine needs and the United States can provide.
"Between now and the end of the administration, they're going to try to ship everything they can that's available," Cancian said.
Despite Kyiv's pleas it seems unlikely, however, that Washington will lift its veto on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory.
Trump in his first term aggressively pushed Europe to step up defence spending and questioned the fairness of the NATO transatlantic alliance -- robustly defended by Biden.
"Whatever approach the US leadership takes towards Ukraine, Europe will have to step up, and we will have to take the lead in supporting Ukraine's defence efforts and macro financial stability," said Olena Prokopenko of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
"Unfortunately, Donald Trump's win comes at arguably the worst possible time in terms of Europe's political and economic shape and its ability to promptly coordinate".
L.Carrico--PC