World News: UK pledges for 100-year partnership with Ukraine

This is the World Now, bringing you the latest stories from around the globe.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Kyiv on January 16th to sign a 100-year partnership agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The agreement aims to strengthen security ties, defense cooperation and economic collaboration, including supporting Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.

During the visit, Starmer said the UK's "commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and security is steadfast and enduring."

This visit is part of a broader initiative by European leaders, to reaffirm their support for Ukraine ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

Leaders from Germany and France have also recently visited Kyiv to show their solidarity with Ukraine.

Iraq is finalizing a deal with U.S. oil firm Halliburton to develop the Nahr Bin O mar oilfield.

It aims to boost the oilfield's production from approximately 50-thousand barrels per day to 300-thousand barrels per day.

The deal also includes plans to produce gas from the same field.

It's part of Iraq's broader strategy to increase its oil and gas production.

Iraq also plans to increase its output from the West Qurna 1 field, operated by PetroChina, to 750,000 barrels per day by the end of the year.

It is also working with the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation, on a 1.7 billion U.S. dollar gas project.

In Slovakia, an 18-year-old high school student has been detained after allegedly stabbed two people to death.

The stabbings happened on Thursday, local time in the small town of Spisska Stara Ves in the north of the country near the Polish border.

A deputy principal and a student were killed.

The suspect fled the scene but was immediately detained by the police.

While stabbings are rare in Slovakia, similar incidents occurred in 2020 and 2022, where the suspects were also young students.

The Slovakian ministers of interior and education visited the town and committed to implementing measures to prevent future attacks and improve safety for students and teachers.

American filmmaker David Lynch has died at the age of 78.

The director died due to complications from emphysema, a chronic lung condition, according to his family.

His celebrated creations include Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, and Mulholland Drive, all of which received best director Oscar nominations, and the TV series Twin Peaks.

Lynch's career began with the 1977 classic Eraserhead, and he received an Honorary Academy Award in 2019 for his contributions to cinema.

While Lynch fought health challenges in recent years, he kept working on creative endeavors until his passing.

Choi Chi-hee, Arirang News.