Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Britain's bruised royals stay silent as Prince Harry lets 'light in on magic'

Some 150 years ago, the acclaimed constitutional writer Walter Bagehot wrote that the British monarchy needed reverence and mystery. "We must not let in daylight upon magic," he wrote.

With their six-part Netflix documentary series, a succession of high-profile TV interviews and a tell-all memoir, all featuring intimate revelations and accusations of discord, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have shone not just daylight but a blinding floodlight on the private affairs of the royal family.

Pressure mounts on Biden over Bolsonaro's Florida stay after Brasilia riots

The United States has a Jair Bolsonaro problem. The far-right former Brazilian president flew to Florida two days before his term ended on Jan. 1, having challenged the results of the Oct. 30 runoff election that he narrowly lost to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. On Sunday a violent movement of election-denying Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court.

Hurricanes and floods bring $120 billion in insurance losses in 2022

Hurricane Ian in the United States and floods and Australia helped to make 2022 one of the costliest years on record for natural disasters, Munich Re said on Tuesday, warning that climate change was making storms more intense and frequent.

Losses from natural catastrophes covered by insurance totalled around $120 billion last year, similar to 2021, though short of 2017's record damages, Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, said.

Philippines' Marcos picks ex-military chief and COVID tsar as defence minister

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has chosen a former military chief who led the country's fight against the coronavirus as his new defense minister, his office said on Monday. Carlito Galvez, 60, headed the Philippines' COVID-19 task force and as a regional army commander was in 2017 credited with overseeing the defeat of militants loyal to Islamic State, who took over and held a southern town for five months in 2017.

Peru bans Bolivia's Evo Morales as political crisis simmers

Peru barred Bolivia's socialist former president, Evo Morales, from entering its territory on Monday, Peru's government announced in a statement, a decision Morales later derided as an attack meant to distract from rights violations. The move to ban Morales, along with eight other unidentified Bolivians, follows weeks of deadly protests in Peru targeting President Dina Boluarte following last month's swift removal of former President Pedro Castillo, with some demonstrations held near the border with Bolivia.

Iran sentences three more protesters to death amid international criticism

Iran's judiciary has sentenced three more anti-government protesters to death on charges of "waging war on God", its Mizan news agency reported on Monday, defying growing international criticism over its fierce crackdown on demonstrators. Iran hanged two other men on Saturday, one of them a karate champion with several national titles, in its attempts to stamp out demonstrations, which have slowed considerably since it began carrying out executions within weeks of arrests.

Ukraine fights Russian assault on salt mining town along eastern front

Russia has stepped up a powerful assault on Soledar in eastern Ukraine, officials in Kyiv said, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by the Wagner contract militia around the salt mining town and nearby fronts. Soledar, in the industrial Donbas region, lies a few miles from Bakhmut, where troops from both sides have been taking heavy losses in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago.

Bolsonaro in hospital, 1,000 supporters detained after Brasilia riots

Far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to a hospital in Florida on Monday as about 1,000 of his supporters were rounded up in Brasilia after storming the capital over the weekend, drawing international condemnation. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist who took office on Jan. 1 after defeating Bolsonaro in an October vote, promised to bring those responsible for the violence to justice. The mobs rampaged through Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential offices, smashing windows, furniture and artwork.

Rocket reaches orbit in Europe's first satellite launch

Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket blasted into orbit late on Monday after it was released from its carrier aircraft, a key stage in Western Europe's first satellite launch from the coastal town of Newquay in southwest England. The rocket detached from the wing of a modified Boeing 747 over the Atlantic Ocean, at about 35,000 feet (10,670 meters). Nine small satellites will be deployed from the vehicle.

U.N. extends aid to Syria from Turkey, avoids Russia fight

The U.N. Security Council on Monday unanimously approved the delivery of humanitarian aid to some four million people in northwestern Syria for another six months, avoiding a traditional fight with Russia over the issue. Authorization by the 15-member council is needed because Syrian authorities did not agree to the humanitarian operation, which has been delivering aid including food, medicine and shelter to opposition-controlled areas of Syria since 2014.

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