Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Trump rethinking next week's planned immigration raids, report says
President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration is reconsidering plans for immigration raids in Chicago next week after details were leaked, Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan told the Washington Post in an interview on Saturday. The new administration "hasn´t made a decision yet," said Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the report. "We´re looking at this leak and will make decision based on this leak," he added.
Exclusive-German ambassador warns of Trump plan to redefine constitutional order, document shows
Germany's ambassador to the United States has warned that the incoming Trump administration will rob U.S. law enforcement and the media of their independence and hand big tech companies "co-governing power," according to a confidential document seen by Reuters. The briefing document, dated Jan. 14 and signed by Ambassador Andreas Michaelis, describes Donald Trump's agenda for his second White House term as one of "maximum disruption" that will bring about "a redefinition of the constitutional order - maximum concentration of power with the president at the expense of Congress and the federal states."
Fighting halts in Gaza as ceasefire takes effect after brief delay
Fighting in the Gaza Strip halted on Sunday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas took effect after a brief delay, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East. Residents and a medical worker in Gaza said they had heard no new fighting or military strikes since about half an hour before it was finally implemented.
Syrian defense minister rejects Kurdish proposal for its own military bloc
Syria's new defense minister said on Sunday it would not be right for U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters based in the country's northeast to retain their own bloc within the broader integrated Syrian armed forces. Speaking to Reuters at the Defence Ministry in Damascus, Murhaf Abu Qasra said the leadership of the Kurdish fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was procrastinating in its handling of the complex issue.
Protesters storm South Korea court after it extends Yoon's detention
Hundreds of supporters of South Korea's arrested president, Yoon Suk Yeol, stormed a court building early on Sunday after his detention was extended, smashing windows and breaking inside, an attack the country's acting leader called "unimaginable." Yoon on Wednesday became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested as he faces allegations of insurrection related to his stunning, short-lived Dec. 3 declaration of martial law that has plunged the country into political turmoil.
Trump holds victory rally in Washington ahead of inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump will take a victory lap on Sunday with a campaign-style rally in Washington, D.C., a day before he is sworn in for a second term four years after losing the White House to Joe Biden. Trump's "Make America Great Again Victory Rally" - scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) at the Capital One Arena - marks his first major speech in Washington since he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in protest against his defeat.
Who are the Israeli hostages being released by Hamas on Sunday?
Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday it would release three Israeli female hostages as part of the first phase of its ceasefire deal with Israel. Israel has not confirmed the names of the three women and may not do so until they are handed over after 4 p.m. (1400 GMT), but the Hostages and Missing Families Forum did name them.
Gazans cheer as ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes hold
Thousands of Palestinians burst into the streets across Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday, some in celebration, others to visit the graves of relatives, while many rushed back to see what remained of their homes. "I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again," Aya, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who has been sheltering in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip for over a year, told Reuters via a chat app.
TikTok goes dark for US users, company pins hope on Trump
TikTok stopped working in the United States late on Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores ahead of a law that takes effect on Sunday requiring the shutdown of the platform used by 170 million Americans. President-elect Donald Trump has said he would "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office on Monday, a promise TikTok cited in a notice posted to users on the app.
How Trump plans to cement control of government by dismantling the 'deep state'
President-elect Donald Trump is poised to seize greater control of the federal government than any modern president before him when he takes office on Monday, charging ahead with plans to dismantle what he and his allies call the "deep state," according to two sources familiar with transition discussions. The effort could get underway as early as Trump's first day as president, according to one of the sources, with an executive order aimed at stripping job protections from an estimated 50,000 career federal employees, allowing their replacement by handpicked loyalist appointees.
