Reuters World News Summary

Tweets from the White House National Security Council said O'Brien would meet leaders in both countries "to reaffirm the strength of our bilateral relationships and to discuss regional security cooperation." Foreign ministers of 'Five Eyes' alliance express concern over Hong Kong Foreign ministers from the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group on Wednesday expressed their 'serious concern' over China's imposition of new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong in what they said appeared to be part of a concerted campaign to silence critical voices.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. U.S. imposes sweeping sanctions on Iran, targets Khamenei-linked foundation

The United States on Wednesday imposed broad sanctions targeting Iran, blacklisting a foundation controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and taking aim at what Washington called Iran's human rights abuses a year after a deadly crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. The sanctions announced by the U.S. Treasury Department, which also targeted Iran's intelligence minister, are the latest action to reinforce the "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran pursued by President Donald Trump's administration. They come little more than two months before Trump is due to hand over power to Joe Biden after losing a Nov. 3 election. Trump has made no plans to host G7 summit: diplomatic sources

Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has made no plans to host a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies after cancelling a June gathering because of the COVID-19 pandemic, three diplomatic sources said on Wednesday. The Republican president, who has refused to accept the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election, has not made a final decision, but time is running out to plan a major summit before he hands over power on Jan. 20, said one of the diplomatic sources and a fourth source familiar with the matter. U.S. senators seek to stop $23 billion Trump arms sales to UAE

Two Democratic and one Republican U.S. senators announced on Wednesday that they would introduce four separate pieces of legislation seeking to reject the Trump administration's effort to sell more than $23 billion of drones and other weapons systems to the United Arab Emirates. Canada's opposition parties urge Trudeau government to ban Huawei 5G, say China is threat

Canada's opposition on Wednesday called on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to get tougher on China, including by officially banning Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's 5G technology from being used in the country. Opposition parties passed a non-binding motion put forward by the Conservatives calling China a threat to Canadian interests and values, and urging the government to draft a plan to "combat China's growing foreign operations" in Canada. Ethiopia pushes for Tigray capital, denies 'ethnic bias'

Ethiopian forces pushed towards the capital of the rebel Tigray region on Wednesday, ignoring international appeals for talks to end the conflict and denying it was targeting any ethnic group. Federal troops are locked in a two-week conflict against Tigray's forces, which has killed hundreds on both sides, rocked the Horn of Africa, stirred ethnic frictions elsewhere in Ethiopia and sent 30,000 refugees fleeing into Sudan. U.S., Canada, Mexico to extend border travel restrictions until Dec. 21: officials

U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico are expected to remain closed to non-essential travel until Dec. 21 at the earliest amid a rising number of U.S. coronavirus cases, officials in Washington and Ottawa told Reuters. The current restrictions expire on Saturday and the three countries are expected to approve another 30-day extension, the official said on Wednesday. The United States leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths. U.S. security adviser O'Brien en route to Vietnam, Philippines

White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien is on his way to Vietnam and the Philippines, countries that share U.S. concern over China's increasingly assertive behavior and extensive maritime claims in Asia, the White House said on Wednesday. Tweets from the White House National Security Council said O'Brien would meet leaders in both countries "to reaffirm the strength of our bilateral relationships and to discuss regional security cooperation." Foreign ministers of 'Five Eyes' alliance express concern over Hong Kong

Foreign ministers from the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group on Wednesday expressed their 'serious concern' over China's imposition of new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong in what they said appeared to be part of a concerted campaign to silence critical voices. "We urge the Chinese central authorities to re-consider their actions against Hong Kong’s elected legislature and immediately reinstate the Legislative Council members," the countries said in a joint statement. The Five Eyes groups Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Storm Iota breaks up over El Salvador but leaves major flood risk

Storm Iota unleashed flash floods in areas already waterlogged with rain, forcing tens of thousands of people across Central America to flee their homes with a death toll feared to be over 20 by Wednesday morning. The strongest storm on record ever to hit Nicaragua, Iota struck the coast late on Monday, bringing winds of nearly 155 miles per hour (249 kph) and inundating villages still reeling from the impact two weeks ago of Eta, another major hurricane. Like Biden, U.S. Republican report urges international cooperation on China

Two months before President Donald Trump is due to leave office, the Republican leader of a U.S. Senate committee issued a report on Wednesday urging Washington to work closely with allies in Europe to counter the threat posed by China. The outgoing Republican president, who failed in his re-election bid against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, took a tough line on China, but often acted unilaterally and offended allies in Europe and Asia by accusing them of freeloading on defense and browbeating them to follow U.S. policy.