Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. See each other by video call this Christmas, Merkel tells Germans

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Saturday to avoid visiting family members over Christmas and to use video calls instead for greetings, the way service members stationed abroad do, as the country battles COVID-19. Germany is struggling with a rise in coronavirus infections and deaths. Praise for Merkel for having tamed the first wave has turned to criticism of her perceived failure to tackle the second. Chaos and jubilation as freed Nigerian schoolboys reunite with family

Parents sobbed, mobbed their children in hugs and even kissed the ground in gratitude on Friday as they reunited with scores of schoolboys who had been kidnapped a week earlier in northwest Nigeria. Hundreds of adults jostled to find their offspring among the 344 dusty and dazed looking children who had arrived by bus in Katsina state on Friday morning. Those who succeeded cheered and grabbed their children, but scores more were still waiting by early evening. To fight new COVID strain, UK PM Johnson reverses Christmas plans for millions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed an effective lockdown on over 16 million people in England and reversed plans to ease curbs over Christmas, saying Britain was dealing with a new coronavirus strain up to 70% more transmissible than the original. Although Johnson and his scientific advisors believe vaccines will still be effective, and the new strain is not more deadly or more serious in terms of the illness caused, he said on Saturday the government had to take urgent action. French President Macron's condition is 'stable', presidency says

French President Emmanuel Macron's condition is stable and the results of a medical examination reassuring, the French presidency said on Saturday in an update on his bout of coronavirus. "The medical condition of the president is stable compared with ... Friday. He presents similar COVID-19 symptoms which do not prevent him from fulfilling his obligations," the presidency said in a statement. Armenians march to mourn war victims as PM faces calls to resign

Thousands of Armenians marched through the capital Yerevan on Saturday to commemorate the soldiers killed in a six-week conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in which Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains. The conflict and the fatalities on the Armenian side have increased pressure on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whom the opposition accuses of mishandling the conflict by accepting a Russian-brokered ceasefire last month, to resign. Invoking Bible and moonwalk, Netanyahu starts Israeli vaccination drive

Israel kicked off a coronavirus vaccination drive on Saturday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoking the Bible and the 1969 lunar landing as he got the country's first injection. Shipments of the Pfizer vaccines began arriving in Israel last week. Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are on order. Israel expects to have enough doses by the year's end for the 20% of its population most prone to COVID-19 complications. China says tailed U.S. warship in Taiwan Strait

China's military tailed a U.S. warship as it passed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Saturday, the Chinese military said, denouncing such missions as sending "flirtatious glances" to supporters of Taiwan independence. China, which claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, has been angered by stepped-up U.S. support for the island, including arms sales and sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait, further souring Beijing-Washington relations. Global COVID-19 cases surpass 75 million

Global coronavirus infections surpassed the 75 million mark on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, as several nations around the world begin vaccinating against the virus. Britain this month became the first Western country to start immunizing with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech, followed by the United States which has now also approved a vaccine from Moderna. Africa crosses 2.5 million COVID-19 cases - Reuters tally

The total number of coronavirus cases in Africa crossed 2.5 million on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally, as a second wave of infections hits the continent. Countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Mauritania, Ghana and Ivory Coast have seen a sharp rise in cases and are reporting near record levels of infection, according to a Reuters tally. Central African Republic says former president plotting a coup

The government of Central African Republic on Saturday accused former president Francois Bozize of plotting a coup as political tension and violence rise ahead of the country's Dec. 27 general election. The government said in a statement that Bozize plotted with members of his family and a number of armed groups to attack two towns near the capital Bangui after the country's top court rejected his candidacy.