Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. China replaces head of Hong Kong liaison office amid ongoing protests

China has replaced the head of its Hong Kong liaison office, the most senior mainland political official based in the Chinese-controlled territory, following more than six months of often-violent anti-government protests in the city. China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on its website late on Saturday that Wang Zhimin, who had held the post since 2017, had been replaced by 65-year-old Luo Huining, who until November was the top official of China's ruling Communist Party in the northern province of Shanxi. To skirt police restrictions, some Indian protesters take a page from Hong Kong and beyond

Before midnight on New Year's Eve, a call to action was sent on a private WhatsApp group - within the hour, dozens gathered in the center of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, many holding banners to protest a controversial new citizenship law. Police quickly dispersed the group and briefly detained six people, but for Syed Faheem - who formed the WhatsApp group - it marked another successful flash protest, inspired by tactics used by protesters in Hong Kong. Europe helps secure release of 11 North Korean defectors held in Vietnam: activists

A group of 11 North Koreans who were detained in Vietnam while seeking to defect to South Korea have been released thanks to the help of European institutions, a Seoul-based activist group said on Saturday. The eight women and three men were caught by border guards in northern Vietnam in late November after crossing from China, and had been held in the northeastern border city of Lang Son. Inside the plot by Iran’s Soleimani to attack U.S. forces in Iraq

In mid-October, Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani met with his Iraqi Shi'ite militia allies at a villa on the banks of the Tigris River, looking across at the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad. The Revolutionary Guards commander instructed his top ally in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and other powerful militia leaders to step up attacks on U.S. targets in the country using sophisticated new weapons provided by Iran, two militia commanders and two security sources briefed on the gathering told Reuters. UK's Johnson to meet EU chief von der Leyen in London

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London on Wednesday ahead of the opening rounds of trade talks that will begin once Britain formally leaves the bloc on Jan. 31. The two leaders are likely to discuss whether they can strike a new trade relationship in the transition period that will follow until December 2020. Von der Leyen has said time is extremely short "for the mass of issues that have to be negotiated". U.S. 'self-defense' argument for killing Soleimani meets skepticism

The Trump administration on Friday justified its killing of a top Iranian general as an act of self-defense, trying to deflect accusations that it violated international law and concerns raised by legal experts and a senior U.N. rights investigator. Qassem Soleimani, the 62-year-old commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in the U.S. air strike in Baghdad overnight. The attack, ordered by President Donald Trump, sent tensions between the United States and Iran soaring, with Iranian officials promising revenge. Bushfires rage out of control across southeast Australia

Bushfires burned dangerously out of control on Australia's east coast on Saturday, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds that had firefighters battling to save lives and property, as a change in wind conditions merged several large fire fronts. By late evening, Victoria had 14 fires rated at emergency or evacuate warning levels, and New South Wales had 11 rated emergency, with more than 150 others burning across the states. New fires had started, and others had broken containment lines. Spain's Sanchez pledges to resolve Catalan dispute as he seeks backing as PM

Spain's acting prime minister Pedro Sanchez, seeking parliament's backing to form a government, set out his priorities on Saturday and tried to lower temperatures in the bitter debate over Catalonia by calling for dialogue. Spain has been in political gridlock without a proper government for most of last year after two inconclusive elections. Bolivia's electoral court sets election rerun for May 3

A rerun of Bolivia's election has been set for Sunday May 3, the president of the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal said on Friday. Salvador Romero said both presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on the same day. Tens of thousands march in Baghdad to mourn Soleimani, others killed in U.S. air strike

Tens of thousands of people marched in Baghdad on Saturday to mourn Iran's military chief Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, killed in a U.S. air strike that has raised the specter of wider conflict in the Middle East. By ordering Friday's air strike on the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's foreign legions, President Donald Trump has taken Washington and its allies, mainly Saudi Arabia and Israel, into uncharted territory in its confrontation with Iran and its proxy militias across the region.