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 The United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Britain on Friday condemned Russian court decisions to shut the country's oldest human rights group Memorial and its sister organisation, the Memorial Human Rights Center.

"For more than three decades, Memorial has fulfilled a unique role in documenting historical crimes and recovering for posterity the memory of the tens of millions of victims of political repression in the country," the countries said in a joint statement issued late on Friday.

The decision to silence Memorial followed many months of deepening and systematic repression in Russia against human rights defenders, independent media and journalists, political opposition members and critical voices, the countries noted.

"The claim by Russian authorities that Memorial Human Rights Center’s principled and peaceful work 'justifies extremism and terrorism' cannot be accepted," the statement said. "Memorial’s work has never been more needed."

Russia's Memorial Human Rights Centre was ordered to shut by a Moscow court on Wednesday, a day after its sister organisation - Russia's oldest human rights group - was forced to close.

The Human Rights Centre keeps a running list of individuals it classifies as political prisoners, including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The list includes Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims convicted of terrorism that Memorial says were victims of "unproven charges based on fabricated evidence because of their religious affiliation."

The Centre operates a network of offices across the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region, where it has documented rights abuses in places such as Chechnya and provided legal and practical help to victims.

The U.S., the EU, Australia, Canada and Britain called on Russia to uphold its international human rights obligations and commitments.

"The people of Russia, like people everywhere, have the right to freedom of expression and association, including in defense of their human rights and fundamental freedoms," the statement said. (reuters)

 Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday he would refocus his efforts on foreign policy and pledged to make 2022 the year of diplomacy, in a New Year statement posted on his website.

"The deft handling of diplomatic and security issues and the establishment of a stable administration is crucial, as the international situation surrounding us becomes increasingly difficult and complex," Kishida said.

He added that a strong emphasis on universal ideals, as well as efforts to resolve global issues and protect the lives of the people would be the three guiding principles of what he called "a diplomacy of realism for the new era."

A former foreign minister who took office in October and prides himself in his diplomatic skills, Kishida had spoken of his hopes to hold a summit with United States President Joe Biden as early as possible.

However, the U.S. administration's efforts to pass a large-scale social bill meant the meeting did not take place in 2021 as Kishida initially hoped.

In the New Year's statement, Kishida also promised to prioritise tackling the COVID-19 pandemic as Japan sees a spread of the Omicron variant, and pursue his efforts to close the wealth gap and create a sustainable economy by creating a "new type of capitalism" for the country. (reuters)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un capped off his 10th year in power with a speech that made more mention of tractor factories and school uniforms than nuclear weapons or the United States, according to summaries by state media on Saturday.

North Korea's main goals for 2022 will be jump starting economic development and improving people's lives as it faces a "great life-and-death struggle," Kim said in a speech on Friday at the end of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which began on Monday.

The meetings coincided with the 10-year anniversary of Kim effectively assuming leadership of the country after the death of his father in 2011. read more

Kim has used previous speeches around the New Year to make major policy announcements, including launching significant diplomatic engagements with South Korea and the United States.

But summaries of his speech published in North Korean state media made no specific mention of the United States, with only a passing reference to unspecified discussions of inter-Korean relations and "external affairs."

The domestic focus of the speech underscored the economic problems Kim faces at home, where self-imposed anti-pandemic border lockdowns have left North Korea more isolated than ever before, with international aid organisations warning of possible food shortages and a humanitarian crisis.

"The main task facing our Party and people next year is to provide a sure guarantee for the implementation of the five-year plan and bring about a remarkable change in the state development and the people's standard of living," Kim was quoted as saying.

Kim spent the majority of his speech detailing domestic issues from an ambitious plan for rural development to people's diets, school uniforms and the need to crack down on "non-socialist practices."

The big focus on rural development is likely a populist strategy, said Chad O'Carroll, founder of NK News, a Seoul-based website that tracks North Korea.

"Overall, Kim might be aware that revealing sophisticated military development plans while people are suffering food shortages and harsh conditions outside of Pyongyang might not be such a good idea this year," he wrote on Twitter.

Saturday's state media report cited the development of "one ultra-modern weapon system after another" as a major achievement of the past year and said Kim called for bolstering the national defence to face an unstable international situation.

A tractor factory he discussed in the speech was likely used to build launch vehicles for missiles, foreign analysts have said, and North Korea is believed to have expanded its arsenal despite the lockdowns.

The reports of Kim's speech did not mention the United States' call for denuclearisation talks, or South Korea's push for a declaration to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War as a way to restart those negotiations.

North Korea has previously said it is open to diplomacy, but that the American overtures appear hollow while "hostile acts" such as military drills and sanctions continue. (Reuters)

President Joe Biden said on Friday he told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a move on Ukraine will draw sanctions and an increased U.S. presence in Europe, where tensions are high after Russia's military buildup at the border.

The U.S. and Russian leaders exchanged warnings over Ukraine in a 50-minute call on Thursday to address Russian military actions. read more

"I made clear to President Putin that if he makes any more moves, if he goes into Ukraine, we will have severe sanctions. We will increase our presence in Europe, with our NATO allies, and there will be a heavy price to pay for it," Biden told reporters as he left a Wilmington, Delaware, restaurant.

Biden says Putin agreed on "three major conferences" next month with senior staff to help find a resolution and said he expected progress from those negotiations. However, he added, "I made it clear that it only could work if he de-escalated."

Asked if Moscow faces sanctions if it kept troops on the border, Biden said, "I'm not going to negotiate here in public but we made it clear that he cannot - emphasize cannot - move on Ukraine."

Biden will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday, a White house official said earlier on Friday.

He will reaffirm support for Ukraine, discuss Russia’s military buildup and review preparations for diplomatic efforts to calm the situation in the region, the official said.

The Biden-Putin exchange set the stage for lower-level engagement between the countries that includes the U.S.-Russia security meeting on Jan. 9-10, followed by a Russia-NATO session on Jan. 12, and a broader conference including Moscow, Washington and other European countries on Jan. 13.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to lay the groundwork for those talks on Friday in calls with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and others, the State Department said.

In conversations with the foreign ministers of Canada and Italy, Blinken discussed a united response to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine. (Reuters)