World News Roundup: VP Harris to sketch out US vision of post-conflict Gaza at COP; Impact of Amazon's climate-driven drought may last until 2026 and more

The spike in illness in the country where COVID emerged in late 2019 attracted the spotlight when the World Health Organization sought information last week, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children. VP Harris to sketch out US vision of post-conflict Gaza at COP U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday will lay out key American objectives for when the Israel-Hamas conflict ends and stress that the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank should ultimately be reunified under one governing entity.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

No Christmas tree in Bethlehem as holiday pared down over Gaza war

There will be no Christmas tree in Bethlehem this year as the traditional site of Jesus' birth holds pared-down celebrations "without the fanfare and without too many lights" in the shadow of the Gaza war. Bethlehem, which neighbours Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, has been battered by Israeli-Palestinian clashes of years past. But many townspeople have been especially gripped by the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, 50 km (30 miles) away.

Impact of Amazon's climate-driven drought may last until 2026

The Amazon rainforest's record-breaking drought hit home for Raimundo Leite de Souza one October morning, he said, when he woke to find the stream that runs behind his house had dropped nearly a foot overnight, stranding his skiff in a mudflat. As weeks passed, Souza said, rotting fish washed up on the banks of the Jaraqui, a tributary of the Rio Negro. Rodents thrashed in the mud searching for water. Carcasses of caimans and cobras turned up in the forest.

China's respiratory illness rise due to known pathogens -official

China's surge in respiratory illness is caused by known pathogens and there is no sign of new infectious diseases, a health official said on Saturday as the country faces its first full winter since lifting strict COVID-19 restrictions. The spike in illness in the country where COVID emerged in late 2019 attracted the spotlight when the World Health Organization sought information last week, citing a report on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children.

VP Harris to sketch out US vision of post-conflict Gaza at COP

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday will lay out key American objectives for when the Israel-Hamas conflict ends and stress that the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank should ultimately be reunified under one governing entity. Harris will make a series of appearances at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, after being anointed by U.S. President Joe Biden to take his seat at the table as he focuses on the Israel-Hamas war.

Judge rejects Trump immunity claim in federal 2020 election case

Donald Trump does not have immunity from criminal charges for actions he took as president, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday, rejecting his bid to toss out the case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith accusing him of unlawfully trying to overturn his 2020 election loss. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found no legal basis for concluding that presidents cannot face criminal charges once they are no longer in office. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 U.S. election, served from 2017 to 2021.

Southern Gaza under bombardment after Israel-Hamas truce collapses

Israeli air strikes and artillery bombardments hit Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday as Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas militants with renewed force after the collapse of a truce in the nearly two-month-old war. Palestinian residents said houses and open areas had been hit and three mosques destroyed in Khan Younis in the past hours. Columns of smoke were rising into the sky.

First aid trucks enter Rafah crossing to Gaza since truce collapses

The first aid trucks since the collapse of the Gaza truce have entered through the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Saturday, on their way to Awja crossing for inspection before continuing the journey to the Gaza Strip, Egyptian security, and Red Crescent sources told Reuters. Two fuel trucks and 50 aid trucks went through the Egyptian side heading to Awja for inspection, the sources added.

Exclusive-Israel informs Arab states it wants buffer zone in post-war Gaza - sources

Israel has informed several Arab states that it wants to carve out a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of Gaza's border to prevent future attacks as part of proposals for the enclave after the war ends, Egyptian and regional sources said. According to three regional sources, Israel related its plans to its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020.

North Korea says interference in its satellites would be declaration of war

North Korea said on Saturday it would consider any interference with its satellite operations a declaration of war and would mobilize its war deterrence if any attack against its strategic assets were imminent. Pyongyang would respond to any U.S. interference in space by eliminating the viability of U.S. spy satellites, state media KCNA reported, citing a statement from North Korea's defence ministry spokesperson.

Intense Gaza fighting brings fear of constant death, Red Cross says

The resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip has been intense, the director general of the Red Cross said on Saturday, as Israel air strikes and artillery bombarded the enclave a day after a week-long pause in hostilities there with Hamas collapsed. Israel's military has said it struck 400 militant targets and killed an unspecified number of Hamas fighters in the past 24 hours. Gazan health officials said hundreds of Palestinians had been killed since the end of the truce.

(With inputs from agencies.)