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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against creating a new Cold War by dividing the world into blocs and called for every effort to be made to build new partnerships, writing in an opinion piece for Foreign Affairs magazine published online on Monday.

The West must stand up for democratic values and protect open societies, "but we must also avoid the temptation to once again divide the world into blocs," wrote Scholz in the piece.

"This means making every effort to build new partnerships, pragmatically and without ideological blinders," he added.

Scholz singled out China and Russia in particular as two countries that pose a threat to a multipolar world, which requires stronger European and transatlantic unity to overcome.

The transatlantic partnership remains vital to confronting challenges posed by Russia's threat of potential assaults on allied territory, while China's turn toward isolation and its approach towards Taiwan require Europe and North America to form new and stronger partnerships with countries around the world, he wrote.

"Germans are intent on becoming the guarantor of European security that our allies expect us to be, a bridge builder within the European Union and an advocate for multilateral solutions to global problems," wrote Scholz. (Reuters)

Germany sees in India great potential for further cooperation on economic and security issues, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in New Delhi on Monday, underscoring the importance of this as Germany diversifies trade relations.

Asked whether she saw India as a replacement partner for China, Baerbock said no, adding that India had always been a partner for Germany and the European Union.

"With India, we are connected not just through a partnership in the economic sense, ... rather we are connected with India through a values partnership," she told a news conference alongside her Indian counterpart. (Reuters)

 Iranian shops shut their doors in several cities on Monday, following calls for a three-day nationwide general strike from protesters seeking the fall of clerical rulers, with the head of the judiciary blaming "rioters" for threatening shopkeepers.

Iran has been rocked by nationwide unrest following the death of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 in police custody, posing one of the strongest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

Amini was arrested by Iran's morality police for flouting the strict hijab policy, which requires women to dress modestly and wear headscarfs.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday that an amusement park at a Tehran shopping centre was closed by the judiciary because its operators were not wearing the hijab properly.

The reformist-leaning Hammihan newspaper said that morality police had increased their presence in cities outside Tehran, where the force has been less active over recent weeks.

Iran's public prosecutor on Saturday was cited by the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency as saying that the morality police had been disbanded. But there was no confirmation from the Interior Ministry and state media said the public prosecutor was not responsible for overseeing the force.

Last week, Vice President for Women's Affairs Ensieh Khazali said that the hijab was part of the Islamic Republic's general law and that it guaranteed women's social movement and security.

In the shop protests, 1500tasvir, a Twitter account with 380,000 followers focused on the protests, shared videos on Monday of shut stores in key commercial areas, such as Tehran's Bazaar, and other large cities such as Karaj, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Shiraz.

Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.

The head of Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said that "rioters" were threatening shopkeepers to close their businesses and added they would be swiftly dealt with by the judiciary and security bodies. Ejei added that protesters condemned to death would soon be executed.

The Revolutionary Guards issued a statement praising the judiciary and calling on it to swiftly and decisively issue a judgement against "defendants accused of crimes against the security of the nation and Islam".

Security forces would show no mercy towards "rioters, thugs, terrorists", the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the guards as saying.

Witnesses speaking to Reuters said riot police and the Basij militia had been heavily deployed in central Tehran.

The semi-official Fars news agency confirmed that a jewellery shop belonging to former Iranian football legend Ali Daei was sealed by authorities, following its decision to close down for the three days of the general strike.

Similar footage by 1500tasvir and other activist accounts was shared of closed shops in smaller cities like Bojnourd, Kerman, Sabzevar, Ilam, Ardabil and Lahijan.

Kurdish Iranian rights group Hengaw also reported that 19 cities had joined the general strike movement in western Iran, where most of the country's Kurdish population live.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the unrest since the death of Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by the morality police for flouting hijab rules. (reuters)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) president held talks in Qatar on Monday on the first such visit since Saudi Arabia and three allies ended a boycott of Doha nearly two years ago, lauding Doha's hosting of the World Cup as a "success" for all Arabs.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, UAE de facto ruler for years before becoming president in May, met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on the brief visit before returning to Abu Dhabi where he is due to meet Israel's president.

This "is another step towards strengthening Gulf solidarity and joint action," Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt early last year ended a 3-1/2 year embargo of Qatar, but ties between Doha and Abu Dhabi had not warmed at the same pace as those with Riyadh and Cairo, which re-established diplomatic ties with Doha.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince and Egypt's president attended the opening World Cup ceremony in Doha on Nov. 20 while the UAE sent Dubai's ruler, who is also the Gulf state's vice-president.

Sheikh Mohammed said Doha's hosting of the tournament, the first held in the Middle East, was "a success and honour for all" Gulf states and wider Arab world, UAE state media reported.

The political dispute that had seen Riyadh and its allies sever all ties with Qatar - over its support for Islamist groups they deem a threat to Gulf dynastic rule and its ties with rivals Iran and Turkey - had shattered the six-nation Gulf bloc.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have since moved to engage with Shi'ite Muslim Iran in a bid to contain tensions and mend ties with Turkey as they focus on economic development.

The UAE's national security adviser had visited Doha twice as part of Abu Dhabi's push to manage regional differences.

Bahrain and Qatar have yet to hold bilateral talks. Abu Dhabi, like Manama, has not appointed an envoy to Doha, but restored travel and trade links with Qatar.

This allowed the UAE to benefit from an influx of soccer fans under partnerships by Doha for daily shuttle flights with neighbouring cities for the World Cup.

Sheikh Mohammed is due to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog who landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday after visiting Bahrain, which along with the UAE forged ties with Israel in 2020. (Reuters)