Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Nicaragua nationalizes major gas station chain linked to Ortega

Nicaragua's National Assembly on Saturday approved nationalizing a major gas station company two days after the United States imposed sanctions on it for allegedly being used by President Daniel Ortega's family to finance and launder money for the government. The company, Distribuidor Nicaraguense de Petroleo (DNP), controls a third of the country's gas sales. The U.S. Treasury Department says it is owned or controlled by Ortega family members, and was bought with public money before being transferred to the family. Jamaican wins Miss World title, says will work for sustainable change

Jamaica's Toni-Ann Singh was crowned as Miss World 2019 on Saturday and said she wanted to use her title to work for "sustainable change" for women and their children. Asked about the value of beauty contests in today's world of MeToo# and the drive for equality and respect for women, the 23-year-old graduate of Florida State University said beauty for her was the least important aspect of her achievement. Security forces fire tear gas, dozens wounded in Beirut protest

Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Lebanese protesters in central Beirut on Saturday in clashes that went on into the night and wounded dozens of people. Hundreds of people had been marching in the capital as part of a historic wave of protests that has swept Lebanon since Oct. 17, furious at a ruling elite that steered the country toward its worst economic crisis in decades. French union calls for break in transport strikes over Christmas

France's CFDT union is opposed to transport strikes over the Christmas period but will call for new actions in January if the government does not drop a pension reform proposal that would encourage more years of work, its leader said on Sunday. In a major overhaul of its pension scheme, the French government has proposed that people work two years longer to get a full pension, drawing a hostile response from trade unions who said they would step up strike action to force an about-face. Queen Elizabeth to set out UK PM Johnson's agenda on Thursday

Queen Elizabeth will set out on Thursday Prime Minister Boris Johnson's legislative agenda following his election victory, including a pledge to bring the EU Withdrawal Agreement bill back to parliament before Christmas, his office said on Saturday. Johnson led his Conservative Party on Thursday to their biggest national election win since Margaret Thatcher's landslide victory of 1987, trouncing his socialist Labour Party opponent Jeremy Corbyn by winning 365 parliamentary seats and securing an overall majority of 80. Johnson fought the election on the slogan "Get Brexit done". Violent protests rage in India for fourth day over citizenship law

Demonstrators in eastern India set fire to more than a dozen buses and vandalized at least six railway stations on Saturday, as violent protests against a new citizenship law continued for a fourth straight day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government says the new law will save religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians from persecution in neighboring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by offering them a path to Indian citizenship. But critics say the law, which does not make the same provision for Muslims, weakens the secular foundations of India. Hong Kong leader Lam visits Beijing as pressure mounts at home

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam visited Beijing on Saturday for her first trip to the Chinese capital since her government was handed a crushing defeat in local elections last month, prompting speculation about changes to her leadership team. During a four-day visit, Lam is due to discuss the political and economic situation in China-ruled Hong Kong with Chinese officials. She will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday. North Korea conducts new test at rocket site, aims to 'overpower U.S. nuclear threats'

North Korea said it had successfully conducted another test at a satellite launch site, the latest in a string of developments aimed at "restraining and overpowering the nuclear threat of the U.S.", state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday. The test was conducted on Friday at the Sohae satellite launch site, KCNA said, citing a spokesman for North Korea's Academy of Defence Science, without specifying what sort of testing occurred. Frustrated with climate talks, activists dump manure outside Madrid summit

Green activists dumped horse manure and staged a mock hanging outside the venue of a U.N. climate summit in Madrid on Saturday, airing their frustration at the failure of world leaders to take meaningful action against global warming. Led by grassroots group Extinction Rebellion, the actions were timed to coincide with the closing of the COP25 summit, where negotiators have been unable to agree on how to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Italy's anti-Salvini 'sardines' take protest to Rome

Tens of thousands of people joined a demonstration in central Rome on Saturday organized by a grassroots movement known as "the sardines", launched only a month ago to protest against far-right leader Matteo Salvini. The sardines began in the city of Bologna in November when Mattia Santori, 32, and three friends invited people to protest against Salvini's League, whose popularity is high ahead of an election in the northern Emilia-Romagna region.

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