Reuters World News Summary

Regional analysts and diplomats are closely watching China's response after a U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon - which Beijing says was an errant weather-monitoring craft - in the Atlantic off South Carolina on Saturday. Iran's supreme leader issues pardon for 'tens of thousands' of prisoners - IRNA Iran's supreme leader has pardoned "tens of thousands" of prisoners including some arrested in recent anti-government protests, state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, after a deadly state crackdown helped quell the nationwide unrest.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine to replace defence minister in wartime reshuffle -top lawmaker

Ukraine is set to replace Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov with the chief of its military spy agency, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, in a reshuffle at the forefront of Ukraine's war campaign. Reznikov would be transferred to another ministerial job and replaced by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR military intelligence agency, said David Arakhamia, a senior lawmaker and chief of Servant of the People parliamentary bloc.

Republicans criticize Biden for waiting to shoot down Chinese balloon

Republican U.S. lawmakers on Sunday criticized President Joe Biden for waiting days to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floated over the United States, accusing him of showing weakness toward China and initially trying to keep the breach of U.S. airspace undisclosed. A U.S. Air Force fighter jet on Saturday shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace near Alaska, triggering a dramatic spying saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations.

Cyprus presidential election goes to runoff

Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides took the lead in Cyprus's presidential election on Sunday and will face off against leftist-backed candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis in a runoff on Feb. 12. Christodoulides, running as an independent, took 32% of the vote, with career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, backed by the left-wing AKEL party and generally considered an outsider by opinion polls, presenting the surprise at 29.6%.

Four dead, at least 39 rescued after migrant boat sinks off Greece

Four migrants, including three children, died after their boat sank off the island of Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea on Sunday, the Greek coast guard said. The coast guard recovered the body of a woman and rescued at least 39 migrants who, according to their accounts, had sailed from Turkey, a coast guard official said.

Actor Viola Davis achieves elite EGOT status with Grammy win

Actor Viola Davis on Sunday won a Grammy for her audio recording of her memoir "Finding Me," granting her entry into the elite ranks of EGOT winners with an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Davis is the third Black woman to earn this title, and the 18th person in history, and was thrilled to celebrate the moment on stage.

Ukraine crews working to restore power to Odesa after fire

Repair crews were working round the clock to restore power systems in the Black Sea port of Odesa following a fire that left hundreds of thousands of residents without electricity, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. The mass blackout — though attributable to a fire — was one of many that have hit Ukraine's grid since Russia focused in October on attacking energy infrastructure as part of its invasion of Ukraine.

China has reasons to keep cool after U.S. downs suspected spy balloon

China may respond to the U.S. shooting down its suspected spy balloon after warning of "serious repercussions", but analysts say any move will likely be finely calibrated to keep from worsening ties that both sides have been seeking to repair. Regional analysts and diplomats are closely watching China's response after a U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon - which Beijing says was an errant weather-monitoring craft - in the Atlantic off South Carolina on Saturday.

Iran's supreme leader issues pardon for 'tens of thousands' of prisoners - IRNA

Iran's supreme leader has pardoned "tens of thousands" of prisoners including some arrested in recent anti-government protests, state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, after a deadly state crackdown helped quell the nationwide unrest. However, the pardon approved by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came with conditions, according to details announced in state media reports, which said the measure would not apply to any of the numerous dual nationals held in Iran.

Pakistan's former President Musharraf, key U.S. ally against al Qaeda, is dead

Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the campaign against al Qaeda following the militant group's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, died in Dubai on Sunday after a prolonged illness. He was 79. Musharraf, a former four-star general who seized power after a 1999 military coup, died in hospital in Dubai, where he was living in self-imposed exile since 2016. His body will be flown to Pakistan for burial on Monday, Geo News reported.

Landmark Hong Kong national security trial starts 2 years after arrests

Sixteen Hong Kong pro-democracy figures face trial on Monday, more than two years after their arrest, in what some observers say is a landmark case for the city's judicial independence under a national security law imposed by Beijing. The defendants are those who pleaded not guilty out of 47 arrested in a dawn raid in January 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion for participating in an unofficial primary election in 2020.

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