Reuters World News Summary

The North's parliament rarely meets and usually serves to approve decisions on issues such as governing structures and budgets that have been created by the state's ruling Workers' Party, members of which form the vast majority of the assembly. Khamenei calls for overhaul of Iran's cultural system Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday called for "revolutionary reconstruction of the country's cultural system", state media reported, as nationwide protests kept up pressure on the authorities.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Honduras enters partial state of emergency amid gang crackdown

The Honduran government mobilized thousands of police officers on Tuesday to areas controlled by criminal groups, marking the beginning of a partial state of emergency across parts of two of the country's largest cities. The decision is part of leftist President Xiomara Castro's crackdown on gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18. Some cities have been struggling in recent months with a so-called "war tax," in which gangs extort individuals or businesses.

Beijing drops COVID testing burden as wider easing beckons

Residents of China's capital were allowed into parks, supermarkets, offices and airports without a negative COVID-19 test on Tuesday, the latest in a mix of easing steps nationwide after unprecedented protests against a tough zero-COVID policy. "Beijing readies itself for life again," read a headline in the government-owned China Daily newspaper, adding that people were "gradually embracing" newfound freedoms.

Olympics-IOC warns Afghanistan over women's access to sport

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Tuesday that allowing women and young girls safe access to sport was a condition for the country's representation at the 2024 Paris Games. Female sport in Afghanistan has been crushed since the Taliban took over from a Western-backed government in August 2021.

Argentina court hands VP Cristina Kirchner 6-year jail term in graft case

An Argentine court sentenced Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to six years in jail and disqualified her from holding public office in a high-profile corruption case on Tuesday. The powerful vice president, who has temporary immunity due to her current role, will not face immediate prison time and is expected to appeal the sentence, with the case likely to spend years winding through higher courts.

North Korea to convene rubber-stamp parliament in mid-January

The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the isolated country's rubber-stamp parliament, will convene on Jan. 17 to discuss government budget and other issues, state media said on Wednesday, amid mounting economic challenges. The North's parliament rarely meets and usually serves to approve decisions on issues such as governing structures and budgets that have been created by the state's ruling Workers' Party, members of which form the vast majority of the assembly.

Khamenei calls for overhaul of Iran's cultural system

Iran's Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday called for "revolutionary reconstruction of the country's cultural system", state media reported, as nationwide protests kept up pressure on the authorities. "It is necessary to revolutionise the country's cultural structure... the supreme council should observe the weaknesses of culture in different fields of the country," Khamenei said during his meeting with a state cultural council.

U.S. says Iranian military boat came within 150 yards of U.S. warships

The U.S. military said on Tuesday that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boat came within 150 yards of American warships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the situation was de-escalated with the help of audible warnings and non-lethal use of lasers. In a statement, the U.S. military said the incident took place on Dec. 5 during a routine transit in international waters.

Ukraine appears to show ability to strike far inside Russia

A third Russian airfield was set ablaze by a drone strike, a day after Ukraine demonstrated an apparent new ability to penetrate hundreds of kilometres into Russia with attacks on two air bases. Officials in the Russian city of Kursk, around 90 km (60 miles) north of the Ukraine border, released pictures of black smoke above an airfield after the latest strike on Tuesday. The governor said an oil storage tank had gone up in flames, but there were no casualties.

Al Jazeera asks International Court to identify journalist's killers

Al Jazeera on Tuesday said it has made a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during an Israeli raid in the West Bank in May. The submission followed an investigation by the television news network's legal team, Al Jazeera said on Twitter.

In France, minority communities decry a surge in police fines

Mohamed Assam went to buy groceries at a supermarket close to his home near Paris one April afternoon in 2020. By the time he returned, he had incurred more than 900 euros in fines for nine different infractions without once, he said, coming into contact with a police officer. The 27-year-old from the Paris suburb of Epinay-sous-Senart said he learned of the fines about a week later, when he received notifications in the post. His alleged offences, which he is contesting, include violating COVID-19 lockdown rules and lacking correct headlights on his quad bike, according to the notices he received from an interior ministry agency reviewed by Reuters.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)