Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. State Department approves $2.37 billion more in potential arms sales to Taiwan: Pentagon

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of 100 Boeing-made Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems to Taiwan in a deal that has a potential value of up to $2.37 billion, the Pentagon said on Monday. The move comes days after the State Department approved the potential sale of three other weapons systems to Taiwan, including sensors, missiles and artillery that could have a total value of $1.8 billion, which prompted a sanctions threat from China.

Protests flare in Italian cities against COVID-19 restrictions

Protests flared across Italy on Monday against a new round of government restrictions aimed at curbing a resurgent coronavirus, with violence reported in at least two major northern cities, Milan and Turin. Witnesses said a number of luxury stores, including a Gucci fashion shop, were ransacked in central Turin as crowds of youths took to the streets after nightfall, letting off huge firecrackers and lighting coloured flares.

Renewed fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh threatens U.S.-backed truce

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Monday of violating a new U.S.-brokered ceasefire in fighting over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, casting doubt over the prospects of the latest international push to end a month of clashes. The third truce in just over two weeks came into force at 8 a.m. local time (0400 GMT). Within minutes, Azerbaijan's defence ministry said in a statement that Armenian forces had shelled villages in the Terter and Lachin regions.

Abortion rights protests block city streets across Poland

Tens of thousands of Poles blocked city streets in cars, on bicycles and on foot on Monday on the fifth day of protests against a Constitutional Court ruling that amounts to a near-total ban on abortion in the predominantly Catholic country. Carrying banners reading "Enough", "I won't be your martyr" and "I want choice, not terror", protesters gathered in several dozen towns and cities in defiance of coronavirus restrictions.

Japan Ink: Growing tribe proudly defies tattoo taboo, hopes for Olympian boost

Shodai Horiren got her first tattoo as a lark on a trip to Australia nearly three decades ago. Now, tattooed head to foot, even on her shaven scalp, she is one of Japan's most renowned traditional tattoo artists. "Your house gets old, your parents die, you break up with a lover, kids grow and go," said Horiren, 52, at her studio just north of Tokyo.

Turkey's Erdogan says it's time for two-state solution in Cyprus

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday it was time for a realistic proposal about a two-state solution on the divided island of Cyprus to be discussed, and added that the parameters of the current talks were not sustainable. Cyprus was split after a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. The European Union admitted the island into the bloc in 2004, represented by the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government in the south.

Wave of new COVID-19 cases crashes across U.S. and Europe as winter looms

The United States, Russia, France and many other countries are setting records for coronavirus infections as a tidal wave of cases washes over parts of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing some countries to impose new curbs. The gloom weighed on global financial markets on Monday as surging infections clouded the economic outlook.

Pakistan's parliament urges government to withdraw envoy from France

Pakistan's parliament on Monday passed a resolution urging the government to recall its envoy from Paris over the publication of images of the Prophet Mohammad in France, accusing President Emmanuel Macron of "hate-mongering" against Muslims. The National Assembly resolution, which is non-binding, came hours after the French ambassador in Islamabad was summoned to the foreign office for Pakistan to register its protest.

U.S. issues fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting state oil sector

The United States on Monday imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's oil sector, including the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Tehran. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it was slapping sanctions on key actors in Iran's oil sector for supporting the Quds Force, the elite foreign paramilitary and espionage arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Turkish leader backs boycott of French goods over cartoon row

Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan asked his compatriots to stop buying French goods on Monday in the latest expression of anger in the Muslim world over images being displayed in France of the Prophet Mohammad, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. In Bangladesh on Monday, protesters held placards with a caricature of French President Emmanuel Macron and the words: "Macron is the enemy of peace", while Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution urging the government to recall its envoy from Paris.