Mining company Axis International said Monday it was seeking World Bank arbitration against Guinea for withdrawing its right to operate a major bauxite mine in the west African country.

Guinea, which has been run by a junta since a coup in 2021, has cancelled dozens of licences for international and domestic companies mining bauxite, gold, iron ore or diamonds over recent months.

Axis International, which is headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, had operated Guinea's second-biggest bauxite mine with estimated reserves of more than 800 million tonnes since 2010.

BAGHDAD, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Iraq's newly elected parliament convened on Monday for its first session since the November national election, opening the way for lawmakers to begin the process of forming a new government.

Parliament is due to elect a speaker and two deputies during its first meeting. Lawmakers must then choose a new president by within 30 days of the first session.

The president will subsequently ask the largest bloc in parliament to form a government, a process that in Iraq typically drags on for months.

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the part of Donbas that it still controls if it wanted peace, and that if Kyiv did not strike a deal then it would lose yet more territory.

Putin and Trump spoke on Sunday ahead of Trump's meeting in Miami with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said another call was planned very soon.

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, freed from prison in Egypt and now in Britain, apologised on Monday for his "shocking and hurtful" social media posts made more than a decade ago, which have led to calls for his deportation from opposition British politicians.

Abd el-Fattah, 44, became Egypt's most prominent political prisoner after spending much of his adult life in and out of detention due to his activism and was a rare symbol of opposition during a far-reaching crackdown under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday ordered an urgent review into what she said were "serious information failures" in the case of a British-Egyptian activist who was awarded citizenship despite "abhorrent" past social media posts.

Alaa Abdel Fattah earlier Monday apologised over the resurfaced posts in which he called for violence against Zionists and police, as opposition lawmakers urged the UK government to revoke his citizenship.

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - China opposes any attempt to split territories in Somalia, the foreign ministry said on Monday, affirming Chinese support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the East African country.

"No country should encourage or support other countries' internal separatist forces for its own selfish interests," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a regular press conference, urging authorities in Somaliland to stop "separatist activities and collusion with external forces".

By Umit Bektas

YALOVA, Turkey, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Seven Turkish police officers were wounded in a clash with suspected Islamic State militants in northwest Turkey on Monday and a police operation against them was ongoing, a Reuters witness and state media reported.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard at the scene of the clash in Yalova province, south of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara coast, where police teams launched an overnight operation at a house believed to contain militants, the witness said.

Dec 29 - Syria’s government has ordered soldiers to guard a mass grave created to conceal atrocities under Bashar al-Assad and has opened a criminal investigation, following a Reuters report that revealed a yearslong conspiracy by the fallen dictatorship to hide thousands of bodies on the remote desert site.

US President Donald Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes and said Hamas would have "hell to pay" if it fails to disarm in Gaza, as he presented a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu in Florida, Trump threatened to "eradicate" any attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program or ballistic missile arsenal following US and Israeli strikes earlier this year.

SYDNEY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday an independent review into law enforcement agencies set up after the Bondi mass shooting will assess whether authorities could have taken additional steps to prevent the terror attack.

Albanese said the review will examine whether existing laws or information gaps stopped police and security agencies from acting against the alleged attackers, a father and son, who police say were inspired by the militant group Islamic State.