Reuters World News Summary

Further waves will come as people follow the tradition of returning en masse to their home areas for the Lunar New Year holiday next month, he said. Vatican dismisses Trump-supporting, anti-abortion leader from priesthood Father Frank Pavone, a leader of the U.S. anti-abortion movement and a strong supporter of former president Donald Trump, has been dismissed from the Catholic priesthood for "blasphemous" social media posts and disobedience to bishops.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

North Korea confirms 'important' spy satellite test for April launch

North Korea's state media KCNA said on Monday the country conducted an "important, final phase" test on Sunday for the development of a spy satellite, which it seeks to complete by April 2023. The report was released a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries reported the isolated North's launch of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards its east coast.

Malaysia police questions campsite operator after landslide kills 24

Malaysian police have called in staff members from an unlicensed campsite to assist in an investigation into a landslide that flattened the camp grounds and killed at least 24 people, as the search for missing people continued for a third day on Sunday. The victims, including seven children, died after a landslide tore through the campsite early on Friday while they slept in tents at Batang Kali, a popular hilly area about 50km (30 miles) north of capital Kuala Lumpur.

Heating restored in freezing Kyiv - Mayor Klitschko

Heating has been fully restored to Kyiv after the latest Russian bombardment that targeted water and power infrastructure, the capital's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Sunday. "The city is restoring all services after the latest shelling," Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

Streets deserted in China's cities as new COVID surge looms

Streets in major Chinese cities were eerily quiet on Sunday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in COVID-19 cases that has hit urban centres from north to south. China is in the first of an expected three waves of COVID cases this winter, according to the country's chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou. Further waves will come as people follow the tradition of returning en masse to their home areas for the Lunar New Year holiday next month, he said.

Vatican dismisses Trump-supporting, anti-abortion leader from priesthood

Father Frank Pavone, a leader of the U.S. anti-abortion movement and a strong supporter of former president Donald Trump, has been dismissed from the Catholic priesthood for "blasphemous" social media posts and disobedience to bishops. The Vatican defrocked Pavone in November, according to a letter sent to U.S. bishops from its ambassador to Washington. The letter, seen by Reuters, says Pavone will not be allowed to appeal.

Hopes of sailing free of war and poverty dashed for Gazans as bodies return in coffins

Months ago, Talal Al-Shaer bid his two sons safe travels as they set off from the Gaza Strip on a tortuous route that they prayed would bring them new lives in Europe, free of poverty and war. But the boat taking them across the Mediterranean Sea from Libya sank soon after leaving. One son drowned, his body recovered. The other was lost.

Peru's 'forgotten people' rage against political elite after Castillo arrest

Leopoldo Huamani, 60, a farmer from Chalhuanca in southern Peru, traveled for three days to reach the capital Lima and march in support of ousted and jailed leader Pedro Castillo, whose fall has sparked deadly protests around the country. Huamani is one of Peru's "forgotten" people, marginalized, rural groups Castillo tried to represent - often falling short - whose anger has been fired up by his arrest, threatening to derail a fragile new government and a reviled Congress.

Britain is 'resolute' on nurses' pay, senior minister says

The British government is "resolute" it will not budge on nurses' pay, senior minister Oliver Dowden said on Sunday, ahead of a planned second nationwide walkout by the profession over an average pay offer of 4% while inflation runs at more than 10%. An estimated 10,000 nurses in the state-funded National Health Service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland plan to walk out again on Tuesday after staging strikes on Thursday in protest over the pay increase they have been offered.

Analysis-Dismal election turnout puts Tunisia president's legitimacy under spotlight

The ultra-low turnout of 8.8% in Tunisia's parliamentary election on Saturday may prove a defining moment in the struggle between President Kais Saied and a fragmented but increasingly confident opposition that accuses him of a coup. Opposition politicians said Tunisia's lowest ever turnout stripped away any facade of democratic legitimacy for Saied's political project and called directly for his ouster.

Ministers near global deal at landmark U.N. nature talks

Negotiators at a U.N. summit to protect nature were closing in on a new global deal on Sunday that could see 30% of the world's land and seas protected by 2030, with hundreds of billions of dollars directed toward conserving wild places and species. China, the president of the COP15 conference in Montreal, released a proposed text on Sunday morning that ministers welcomed, with some reservations.