Reuters World News Summary

Biden extends Europe, Brazil travel restrictions, adds South Africa U.S. President Joe Biden signed an order on Monday barring most non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in South Africa from entering the United States, effective Saturday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. China says U.S. military in South China Sea not good for peace

The United States often sends ships and aircraft into the South China Sea to "flex its muscles" and this is not good for peace, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after a U.S. aircraft carrier group sailed into the disputed waterway. The strategic South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade flows each year, has long been a focus of contention between Beijing and Washington, with China particularly angered by U.S. military activity there. Anger and grief as United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll nears 100,000

As the United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll approaches 100,000, grief-stricken relatives of the dead expressed anger at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of the worst public health crisis in a century. When the novel coronavirus, which first emerged in China in 2019, slid silently across the United Kingdom in March, Johnson initially said he was confident it could be sent packing in weeks. Farmers mass in Indian capital ahead of Republic Day protests

Tens of thousands of farmers gathered on the outskirts of India's capital New Delhi on Tuesday, ahead of a tractor procession aimed at protesting a controversial set of agricultural laws. Growers, angry at what they see as laws that help large, private buyers at the expense of producers, have been camped outside Delhi for almost two months. Merkel, Biden agree in phone call to strengthen transatlantic cooperation

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in a phone call on Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic and other global challenges can only be tackled through closer cooperation, a government spokesman in Berlin said on Monday. Transatlantic relations cooled sharply under former President Donald Trump, who attacked Germany repeatedly for its export strength and its relatively low defence spending within the NATO alliance. Moderna says it believes vaccine will work against new variants

Moderna Inc said on Monday it believes its COVID-19 vaccine protects against new variants found in Britain and South Africa, although it will test a new booster shot aimed at the South African variant after concluding the antibody response could be diminished. The company said in a news release it found no reduction in the antibody response against the variant found in Britain. Against the South African variant, it found a reduced response but still believed its two-dose regimen would provide protection. Putin calls pro-Navalny marches illegal, new protest set for Sunday

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned weekend protests demanding the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as dangerous and illegal, as the opposition politician's allies said they planned a similar protest for Sunday. Police detained more than 3,700 people and used force to break up rallies across Russia on Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters ignored extreme cold and police warnings to demand Navalny be freed from jail where he is serving a 30-day stint for alleged parole violations that he denies. Biden extends Europe, Brazil travel restrictions, adds South Africa

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an order on Monday barring most non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in South Africa from entering the United States, effective Saturday. Biden's order also reimposes an entry ban, set to expire on Tuesday, on nearly all non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders. Last week, then-U.S. President Donald Trump revoked those restrictions which were imposed last year effective Tuesday. Israeli cabinet minister heads delegation to Sudan

An Israeli cabinet minister on Monday for the first time led an official delegation to Sudan to discuss moving forward on a U.S.-brokered deal in October to normalise relations. "I am confident this visit lays the foundations for many important collaborations that will assist both Israel and Sudan as well as security stability in the region," Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement after returning home. Italy PM Conte to resign on Tuesday, seek fresh mandate

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will hand in his resignation to the head of state on Tuesday after a morning cabinet meeting to inform his ministers, Conte's office said. The prime minister, who has been in office since June 2018, hopes President Sergio Mattarella will give him a mandate to form a new government with broader backing in parliament, senior government sources said. Yemen's Houthis protest against Trump's terrorist label

Tens of thousands of Yemenis marched in Sanaa on Monday, heeding a call by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement to condemn the United States for labelling it a terrorist group and backing the Saudi-led military coalition that is battling it. The protesters filled a wide avenue in the Houthi-held capital, many holding banners that read: "America is the mother of terrorism".