Reuters World News Summary

Biden speaks with France's Macron, seeks to strengthen ties U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron, expressing his desire to strengthen bilateral ties, the White House said, as Biden made the traditional ally one of the first countries contacted during his initial days in office.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. 'Get out Bolsonaro!' say ex-supporters in Brazil as COVID-19, vaccines weigh

Meggy Fernandes voted for Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's 2018 presidential election, attracted by the far-right former army captain's promise to shake up a hidebound political establishment mired in endless graft scandals. But after watching him jettison his anti-corruption pledges, strike pacts with the politicians he vowed to shun, and, most importantly, botch Brazil's coronavirus response, Fernandes, 66, now says she was wrong to place her faith in Bolsonaro. Portugal President Rebelo de Sousa wins new term in socially distanced ballot

Portugal's centre-right President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa won a second term on Sunday, exit polls showed, in an election marked by strict health and safety rules as the country battles a crippling third wave of coronavirus contagion. Polls by leading TV stations TVI, RTP and SIC gave 72-year-old Rebelo de Sousa, a former TV commentator known for his warm persona and habit of taking selfies with supporters, 56-62% of the vote, above his 52% win in 2016. Taiwan reports second day of incursions by Chinese air force

A total of 15 Chinese aircraft including 12 fighter jets entered the southwestern corner of Taiwan's air defence identification zone on Sunday, the island's defence ministry said, the second day of incursions by China. A map provided by the ministry showed the Chinese aircraft again flew in between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. Kremlin accuses U.S. of meddling in affairs, but says ready to talk

President Vladimir Putin would respond in kind if the new U.S. administration showed willingness to talk, a Kremlin spokesman said on Sunday, while also accusing Washington of meddling in mass protests in support of detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The Kremlin also downplayed the scale of Saturday's demonstrations, which saw police detain more than 3,000 people and use force to break up rallies across Russia. Biden speaks with France's Macron, seeks to strengthen ties

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron, expressing his desire to strengthen bilateral ties, the White House said, as Biden made the traditional ally one of the first countries contacted during his initial days in office. The White House statement also said Biden emphasized his commitment to bolstering transatlantic relations, through NATO and the U.S. partnership with the European Union. Mexico's death toll from COVID-19 set to pass grim milestone of 150,000

Crying outside a Mexico City cemetery, a family embraced the box that contained the ashes of their beloved grandmother. The grandmother had fallen ill a few days after they met to celebrate New Year's, and died shortly after, family members said. She was not even 60 years old. Italy to take legal action on COVID vaccine delays to get doses

Italy will take legal action and step up pressure in Brussels against Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca over delays in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines with a view to securing agreed supplies, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Sunday. The aim was to get the companies to meet the vaccine volumes they had promised and not to seek compensation, Di Maio said on RAI state television. Colombia's FARC party changes name to Comunes

Colombia's FARC political party - which was formed following the demobilization of the guerrilla group with the same acronym - will change its name to Comunes, it said on Sunday. The decision to change the name was taken at the party's second national assembly, which ran for three days through Sunday. Exclusive: Biden to impose South Africa travel ban to combat new COVID-19 variant - CDC

President Joe Biden will impose a ban on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa starting Saturday in a bid to contain the spread of a new variant of COVID-19, a senior U.S. public health official told Reuters. Biden on Monday is also reimposing an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders. ICC has arrested Central African Republic war crimes suspect Said: statement

The International Criminal Court on Sunday said it had taken into custody a former Central African Republic commander of the "Seleka" faction suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a statement the court said Mahamat Said Abdel Kain had surrendered to the court on Sunday and had been arrested under a warrant issued under seal on Jan. 7 2019, relating to alleged crimes from 2013. A date for his initial appearance in The Hague has not yet been set.