World

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) awarded victory to the ruling Socialist party in 20 governorships and three to opposition politicians in an initial announcement today following local and regional elections.

SANTIAGO, (Reuters) – Chile is headed for a polarized presidential election runoff next month as hard-right former congressman Jose Antonio Kast finished on top in the first-round vote yesterday, ahead of leftist lawmaker and former protest leader Gabriel Boric.

(Reuters) – At least some people were killed when a sports utility vehicle sped through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, yesterday, bowling over at least 20 people including several youngsters waving pompoms and a group of “Dancing Grannies”.

PORT-AU-PRINCE,  (Reuters) – Two of the 17 American and Canadian Christian missionaries taken hostage in Haiti last month have been released, the group that arranged for their trip to the Caribbean nation said yesterday, without giving further details.

KHARTOUM, (Reuters) – Sudan’s military reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok yesterday and promised to release all political detainees after weeks of deadly unrest triggered by a coup, although large crowds took to the streets to reject any deal involving the army.

POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe,  (Reuters) – The French overseas territory of Guadeloupe was hit by a third night of looting and rioting amid protests against COVID-19 measures, with gunmen shooting at police and firefighters, the authorities said yesterday.

KINSHASA, (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has demanded a ban on issuing and trading mining permits until the country’s mining registry has been audited, a measure aimed at combating fraud within the sector.

DAKAR, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday his country was investing in Africa without imposing unsustainable levels of debt, as he witnessed the signing of contracts worth more than $1 billion in Senegal’s capital Dakar.

(Reuters) – A gun owner fled after his weapon fired by accident at Atlanta’s airport, sending terrified travelers scrambling onto the tarmac yesterday, with no one injured but halting flights during the busy Thanksgiving holiday period.

PARIS, (Reuters) – France is sending special police agents to restore order in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe hit by rioting and looting amid protests against COVID-19 protocols, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said yesterday.

THE HAGUE/MANILA, (Reuters) – The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has suspended a probe at Manila’s request into suspected rights abuses during Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on drugs.

KENOSHA, Wis.,  (Reuters) – A jury acquitted teenager Kyle Rittenhouse yesterday of murder in the fatal shooting of two men during racial justice protests in a decision that re-ignited fierce debate about gun rights and the boundaries of self defense in the United States.

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Oil has been spilling from a well owned by Nigeria’s Aiteo Eastern E&P and state-run NNPC for two weeks in southern Nigeria, local residents and politicians said yesterday, saying it threatened the environment and local economy.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – The Nicaraguan government initiated the process of withdrawing from the Organization of American States (OAS), Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said yesterday, after the OAS denounced Nicaragua’s recent elections as illegitimate.

PARIS,  (Reuters) – Authorities imposed a curfew on the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe yesterday following five days of civil unrest over COVID-19 protocols that have seen barricades burned in the streets and firefighters and doctors walk out on strike.

GHAZIABAD, India, (Reuters) – In a surprise announcement today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would repeal agriculture laws that farmers have been protesting against for more than a year, sparking celebrations for what farmers called a hard-fought victory.

VIENNA/BERLIN,  (Reuters) – Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said today as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest soared 22% in a year to the highest level since 2006, the government’s annual report showed yesterday, undercutting President Jair Bolsonaro’s assurances that the country is curbing illegal logging.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – Dissident Yunior Garcia said yesterday the protest movement he spearheaded in Cuba would carry on without him despite his leaving the communist-run island for self-exile in Spain.

HOUSTON/CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan petrochemicals produced by joint ventures between state-run chemical firm Pequiven and foreign partners have arrived in the United States, despite Washington’s efforts to limit trade with the OPEC oil and gas producer.