Reuters World News Summary

The Japanese government said North Korea had launched a "possible ballistic missile," while South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the launch of an unidentified projectile, without elaborating. Argentine truckers stranded at Chilean border by slow COVID testing Thousands of truck drivers from Argentina were stuck at the Chilean border on Saturday due to slow COVID-19 testing, as Chile faced its second transport delay crisis.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Britain considering major NATO deployment amid Ukraine crisis

Britain is considering making a major NATO deployment as part of a plan to strengthen Europe's borders in response to Russia massing troops on the border with Ukraine, the government said on Saturday. Britain has said that any Russian incursion into Ukraine would be met with swift sanctions and would be devastating for both sides.

More than 300 migrants rescued off Spain's Canary islands

Spain's sea rescue service on Wednesday picked up more than 300 migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands in rickety boats, with nine of them clinging to a semi-sunken dinghy. The rescue service said it was unaware of any drownings as reported by a rights group.

Dozens sentenced to death over murders of U.N. experts in Congo

About 50 people were sentenced to death, many in absentia, in Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday in connection with the murders of U.N. experts Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp in 2017, a defence lawyer in the case said. A local immigration official was among those given death sentences while an army colonel was given 10 years in prison, said Tresor Kabangu, who represented several defendants in the trial. Congo has observed a moratorium on the death penalty since 2003 so those convicted will serve life sentences.

'Bloody Sunday' still scars Northern Ireland 50 years on

Five decades after British soldiers killed 13 unarmed Catholic civil rights marchers on one of the defining days of the Northern Ireland conflict, relatives are still searching for the justice they believe is needed for a scarred society to heal. Family and friends of the 13 Catholics who died in Londonderry on "Bloody Sunday", Jan. 30, 1972 - and of a 14th who died later of his wounds - gathered this week for a series of commemorations to mark the event that helped fuel three decades of bitter sectarian and political violence.

Thousands stage peaceful protest in Ottawa against Canada's vaccine mandates

Thousands held a loud but peaceful protest in Canada's capital Ottawa on Saturday against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's COVID-19 vaccine mandates, on the streets and snow-covered lawn in front of parliament. The so-called "Freedom Convoy" started out as a rally of truckers against a vaccine requirement for cross-border https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/canada-resists-pressure-drop-vaccine-mandate-cross-border-truckers-2022-01-09 drivers, but turned into a demonstration against government overreach during the pandemic with a strong anti-vaccination streak.

N.Korea conducts seventh suspected missile launch in busiest month for tests

North Korea launched at least one suspected ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Sunday, governments in the region reported, in what would be the nuclear-armed country's seventh test this month. The Japanese government said North Korea had launched a "possible ballistic missile," while South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the launch of an unidentified projectile, without elaborating.

Argentine truckers stranded at Chilean border by slow COVID testing

Thousands of truck drivers from Argentina were stuck at the Chilean border on Saturday due to slow COVID-19 testing, as Chile faced its second transport delay crisis. Since Jan. 21, more than 3,000 trucks have been stranded at the customs checkpoint of Cristo Redentor in Mendoza, according to the Argentinean Federation of Business Entities for Cargo Transport (FADEEAC).

Ukrainian reservists gear up in case of conflict with Russia

From Monday to Friday, Mykhaylo is a lawyer, Alexander is an IT programmer and Konstantin freelances in online advertising. On Saturday, the three came together in an abandoned construction site on the outskirts of Kyiv to train as Ukrainian army reservists, ready to be called up in the event of any war breaking out with neighbouring Russia.

Hong Kong university covers up Tiananmen crackdown memorial slogan

A leading Hong Kong university on Saturday covered a painted slogan commemorating China's Tiananmen Square crackdown, the latest instance of a public June 4 memorial being removed in China-ruled Hong Kong. A Reuters journalist saw about a dozen construction workers wearing yellow hard hats erect grey metal construction hoardings around a "martyrs slogan" painted across the length of the University of Hong Kong's (HKU) Swire bridge.

Italy re-elects President Mattarella, government unity bruised

Italian head of state Sergio Mattarella was re-elected for a second term on Saturday, with party chiefs asking him to carry on after a week of fruitless, often fraught voting in parliament to choose a successor. Relieved party chiefs thanked 80-year-old Mattarella for agreeing to remain, but the failed attempts to replace him during seven rounds of balloting have left deep scars, with potentially dangerous repercussions for political stability.