Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Strikes over pensions to disrupt public transport in France on Tuesday

Labour union strikes in France over the government’s planned pensions overhaul will cause heavy disruption to public transport on Tuesday, the transport minister and several public transport authorities said on Sunday. Unions have called for a nationwide day of strikes and demonstrations and hope to repeat the large turnout seen on the first major protest on Jan. 19, when more than a million people marched against the reform. Strikes that day also halted trains, blocked refineries and curbed power generation.

Odds ‘very high’ of U.S. military conflict with China, top Republican says

A top Republican in the U.S. Congress on Sunday said the odds of conflict with China over Taiwan “are very high,” after a U.S. general caused consternation with a memo that warned that the United States would fight China in the next two years. In a memo dated Feb. 1 but released on Friday, General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members, saying, “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025.”

Israel seals home of Palestinian synagogue shooter as Netanyahu vows crackdown

Israeli police sealed off the Jerusalem family home of a Palestinian gunman on Sunday, two days after he killed seven people outside a synagogue, as fears grew of escalation in the deadliest unrest for years in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns after the synagogue attack, the deadliest against Jews in the Jerusalem area since 2008. It came a day after the deadliest Israeli military raid for years in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Rio Tinto apologises after radioactive capsule lost in Australia

Rio Tinto Ltd’s iron ore division chief Simon Trott apologised on Monday after a contractor hired by the mining giant lost a radioactive capsule in transit in Western Australia which sparked a radiation alert across parts of the state. Authorities said the radioactive capsule used in mining was lost during transport from north of Newman – a small town in the remote Kimberley region – to a storage facility in the northeast suburbs of Perth, a distance of 1,200 km (745 miles) or further than the length of Great Britain.

Blinken begins Middle East trip amid spate of violence

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Egypt on Sunday at the start of a three-day visit to the Middle East as violence flares between Israelis and Palestinians, and with Iran and Ukraine high on the agenda. Blinken heads on Monday to Jerusalem, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new right-wing government has stirred concern at home and abroad over the future of Israel’s secular values, fraying relations with the Arab population and deadlock in peace talks with the Palestinians.

Turkey’s Erdogan signals Finland’s NATO bid may be considered over Sweden

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara may agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm. “We may deliver Finland a different message (on their NATO application) and Sweden would be shocked when they see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did,” Erdogan said in a televised speech aired on Sunday.

UK PM Sunak sacks party chairman Zahawi over tax affairs

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday after an investigation found he committed a serious breach by not being open about a tax probe, the latest scandal to hit one of Sunak’s top ministers. Sunak had initially stood by Zahawi before ordering an independent adviser to investigate questions over his tax affairs after it emerged Zahawi had settled a probe by Britain’s tax authority HMRC last year.

Ukraine says it repels attack around Blahodatne, Wagner claims control

Ukraine’s military said on Sunday its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia’s Wagner private military group said it took control of the village. “Units of Ukraine’s Defence Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of … Blahodatne … in the Donetsk region,” the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its daily morning report, referring to fighting on Saturday.

Tyre Nichols’ death must galvanize efforts to reform police: family attorney

The attorney representing the family of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police officers, called on Sunday for the U.S. Congress to pass police reform legislation, and said Nichols’ mother hoped the tragedy could lead to a “greater good.” “Shame on us if we don’t use his tragic death to finally get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed,” Ben Crump told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

New Zealand’s Auckland expected to receive further rains as flooding remains

Flood ravaged Auckland is expected to receive further heavy rain over the coming days, according to the city’s council, even as people start to count the cost of the flash floods that have hit New Zealand’s largest city since Friday. Four people have now lost their lives in the flash floods that have hit Auckland since over the last three days and millions of dollars of damage has occurred. A state of emergency remains in place in Auckland and further south in regional Waitomo.

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