Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Carrefour Brasil shares plunge as Brazilians protest killing of Black man at store
Supermarket chain Carrefour Brasil's share price plummeted 6% in afternoon trading on Monday after the death of a Black man beaten by security guards last week at one of its Brazil stores, igniting protests due to resume later in the day.
Shares in the Brazilian chain, the local unit of France's Carrefour, were the biggest losers on Brazil's Bovespa benchmark stock exchange index, which was up about 1% overall in afternoon trading.
Canada's Atlantic bubble disintegrates as COVID-19 cases rise
The "bubble" pact between Canada's four Atlantic provinces has disintegrated in the face of rising COVID-19 cases across the country, as premiers in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador announced quarantine requirements for all travelers from outside their provinces on Monday. The two provinces joined in a so-called "bubble" with the other Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in early July, agreeing to allow residents from within their borders to travel freely without quarantine. Anyone from other parts of Canada and internationally had to quarantine for 14 days.
China launches robotic spacecraft to retrieve rocks from the moon
China on Tuesday launched a robotic spacecraft to bring back rocks from the moon in the first bid by any country to retrieve samples from the lunar surface since the 1970s, a mission that underscores Chinese ambitions in space. The Long March-5, China's largest carrier rocket, blasted off at 4:30 a.m. Beijing time (2030 GMT on Monday) in a pre-dawn launch from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern Chinese island of Hainan carrying the Chang'e-5 spacecraft.
Ethiopia says Tigray capital encircled after surrender ultimatum
Ethiopian federal forces were encircling the Tigray region's capital from around 50 km (30 miles) on Monday, the government said, after giving the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) a 72-hour surrender ultimatum. "The beginning of the end is within reach," government spokesman Redwan Hussein said of the nearly three-week-old offensive that has destabilised Ethiopia and spilled into some Horn of Africa neighbours.
Pope, for first time, says China's Uighurs are 'persecuted'
In a new book, Pope Francis for the first time calls China's Muslim Uighurs a "persecuted" people, something human rights activists have been urging him to do for years. In the wide-ranging "Let Us Dream: The Path to A Better Future," Francis also says the COVID-19 pandemic should spur governments to consider permanently establishing a universal basic income.
Netanyahu met Saudi crown prince, Pompeo in Saudi Arabia: Israeli minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Saudi Arabia and met its crown prince, an Israeli official said on Monday, in what would be the first publicly confirmed visit there by an Israeli leader as the countries close ranks against Iran. Earlier, Israeli media said Netanyahu had secretly flown on Sunday to Neom, on the Red Sea, for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
New Trump rule may require some African tourists to pay up to $15,000 in bonds
The outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday issued a new temporary rule that could require tourist and business travelers from two dozen countries, most in Africa, to pay a bond of as much as $15,000 to visit the United States. The U.S. State Department said the temporary final rule, which takes effect Dec. 24 and runs through June 24, targets countries whose nationals have higher rates of overstaying B-2 visas for tourists and B-1 visas for business travelers. The Trump administration said the six-month pilot program aims to test the feasibility of collecting such bonds and will serve as a diplomatic deterrence to overstaying the visas.
NATO, EU invite Biden to rebuild transatlantic ties
The head of NATO and a top European Union official on Monday invited U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to rebuild transatlantic ties and meet with Washington's European allies next year. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and European Council President Charles Michel, in phone calls with Biden, congratulated him on his election win and invited him to visit the military alliance's headquarters in Brussels, which is also the hub of the 27-nation EU.
Special Report: Ortega media enrich his family, entrench his hold on Nicaragua
In early 2010, Nicaragua's Canal 8, an independent television network, had a new owner. Details of the deal – the identity of the buyer, the purchase price, an exact date for the transaction – remained secret. The seller died of cancer soon after.
Analysis: Biden's pick for U.N. envoy will find waning American influence
President-elect Joe Biden's pick to be his ambassador to the United Nations in New York will have to tackle Washington's waning leadership at the world body in the face of a more assertive China, diplomats and analysts said on Monday. Biden nominated veteran U.S. diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield and restored the post to a Cabinet role. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Thomas-Greenfield would succeed President Donald Trump's two U.N. envoys - first Nikki Haley, who was in the Cabinet and later Kelly Craft, who was not. Both had little foreign policy experience before taking up the role.
