NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Missile strike: Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they struck a Saudi oil facility in the port city of Jeddah on Monday with a new cruise missile, just hours after the kingdom finished hosting its virtual Group of 20 leaders summit. The kingdom acknowledged the attack after videos appeared on social media that suggested a fire erupted at a Saudi Arabian Oil Co. facility in Jeddah before dawn. Firefighters brought the blaze under control. Brig. Gen. Yehia Sarie, a Houthi military spokesman, tweeted that the rebels fired a new Quds2 cruise missile at the facility. A Saudiled coalition has been battling the Iranianbacked Houthis since 2015, after the rebels seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
2 Arms treaty: China on Monday lashed out at Washington over its withdrawal from the “Open Skies Treaty” with Russia, saying the move undermined military trust and transparency and imperiled future attempts at arms control. The treaty, to which China is not a signatory, had allowed each country overflight rights to inspect military facilities. Critics complain that Beijing has urged other major countries to reach arms control agreements while refusing to take part in any such arrangements. Meanwhile, it has taken advantage of limitations set by Russia and the U. S. to engage in unrestricted development of weapons such as intermediaterange ballistic missiles.
3 Nuclear pact: The German, French and British foreign ministers met Monday in Berlin to discuss the future of the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program amid hopes that the incoming U. S. administration might help breathe new life into the accord, Germany’s Foreign Ministry said. The three European powers have spearheaded efforts to keep alive the agreement, concluded in Vienna in 2015. Russia and China also remain on board. Presidentelect Joe Biden has said he hopes to return the U. S. to the accord, in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. President Trump withdrew the U. S. from the agreement in 2018.
4 Budget clash: Guatemala’s Congress backed down on Monday on a federal budget that drew angry protests, including the burning of part of the Congress building over the weekend. The new budget would have slashed social spending and was approved last week while the country was dealing with Hurricane Iota. Lawmakers had approved $ 65,000 to pay for meals for themselves, but cut funding for coronavirus patients and human rights agencies. Protesters broke into the Congress building and set one office afire on Saturday, and tossed rocks at police. Police used tear gas and nightsticks to push demonstrators back, attacking not only demonstrators in front of Congress but also a much larger protest in front of the country’s National Palace. About a dozen police officers and 15 protesters were injured.
5 Belarus protests: Large crowds of retirees staged a protest in the capital of Minsk on Monday to demand the resignation of the country’s authoritarian leader who won his sixth term in office in a disputed election. More than 2,000 pensioners marched in what has become a regular Monday rally. They also held aloft portraits of opposition supporter Raman Bandarenka, who died earlier this month after reportedly being beaten by security forces. “Grandmothers and grandfathers heal poorly from new wounds,” read a banner carried by demonstrators. Mass protests have gripped Belarus since results from the Aug. 9 election gave President Alexander Lukashenko a landslide victory over his widely popular opponent Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. She and her supporters refuse to recognize the result.