World News Summary: Trudeau government delayed sharing oil spill reports with indigenous community

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Trudeau government delayed sharing oil spill reports with indigenous community, court hears

The Canadian government delayed sharing critical documents about spill risks related to expanding its oil pipeline, in some cases waiting until after the conclusion of consultations with indigenous communities, a court heard on Tuesday. The Squamish Nation received government reports on the impact of marine spills from an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline only after the government's consultations with its officials had concluded in June, Michelle Bradley, a lawyer for Squamish said in the Federal Court of Appeal in Vancouver. Chinese 'rumors' and 'cyber armies' - Taiwan fights election 'fake news'

Taiwan is ramping up efforts ahead of a Jan. 11 election to combat fake news and disinformation that the government says China is bombarding the island with to undermine its democracy. But Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which favors close ties with China, is crying foul, accusing the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of running its own disinformation campaign, saying the threat is closer to home. Chinese leader Xi visits gambling hub Macau as nearby Hong Kong seethes

China's President Xi Jinping begins a three-day visit to the gambling hub of Macau on Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of its handover to China, with security tight as protests rock nearby Hong Kong. Xi's visit to the former Portuguese colony, where he is expected to announce a slew of supportive policies, is widely seen as a reward for Macau's stability and loyalty, unlike the former British colony of Hong Kong, which has been rocked by anti-government protests for six months. China postpones U.N. Security Council discussion on Kashmir: diplomats

China has postponed a discussion by the U.N. Security Council planned for Tuesday about the situation in the disputed Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir because the U.N. peacekeeping mission there was not ready to provide a brief, diplomats said. The Himalayan region has long been a flashpoint in ties between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, with both claiming Kashmir in full but ruling it in part. U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed since 1949 to observe a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. U.S. Congress pressures Trump to renew Russia arms control pact

U.S. lawmakers of both parties are pressuring the White House to extend the last remaining restraints on U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons deployments by demanding intelligence assessments on the costs of allowing the New START treaty to lapse. The demands, contained in three bills that may be harmonized this week, reflect doubts about whether the Trump administration has done sufficient analytical work on how China and Russia may respond to the 2010 treaty's expiration in February 2021. U.S. envoy for North Korea Biegun to visit China this week: State Department

The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, will visit Beijing on Thursday and Friday, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, after China and Russia proposed lifting some U.N. sanctions on North Korea. Biegun will travel to China after holding talks with officials in South Korea and Japan this week. French unions make pre-Christmas push to block pension reforms

French trade unions on Tuesday used transport strikes and mass protests to try to force President Emmanuel Macron to ditch a planned pension reform before the Christmas holidays. A nationwide movement of rolling strikes and protests over the pension reform is entering its second week, but on Tuesday unions were redoubling their efforts, with more transport disruption and bigger protests expected. Police and protesters clash in Indian capital over citizenship law

Police fired shots in the air and volleys of tear gas to push back thousands of demonstrators in the Indian capital New Delhi on Tuesday as protests raged against a new citizenship law that has angered the country's Muslims. The situation spiraled out of control after demonstrators threw stones at policemen who were holding them at a barricade, police officer Rajendra Prasad Meena said. Britain threatens Brexit cliff-edge to force EU trade deal by December 2020

Britain set a hard deadline of December 2020 on Tuesday to reach a new trade deal with the European Union, betting that the prospect of another Brexit cliff-edge would force Brussels to move more quickly than usual to seal an accord. Johnson will use his control of parliament to outlaw any extension of the Brexit transition period beyond 2020 - his boldest move since winning a large majority in last Thursday's election, and one that spooked financial markets. Pope abolishes 'pontifical secrecy' for sex abuse investigations

Pope Francis on Tuesday announced sweeping changes to the way the Roman Catholic Church deals with cases of sexual abuse of minors, abolishing the rule of "pontifical secrecy" that previously covered them. Advocates for the victims of a sex abuse scandal that has rocked the church for nearly two decades applauded the move as being long overdue but said it had to be applied broadly.