Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. UK needs tighter COVID rules to avert new "catastrophe", epidemiologist warns

LONDON Reuters) - Britain's government needs to bring in tighter coronavirus lockdown rules to avert a fresh wave of deaths from a new variant of the virus, a leading epidemiologist warned on Tuesday. Britain reported 41,385 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest number since testing became widely available in the middle of 2020, and hospitals have more COVID-19 patients than during the first wave of the pandemic in April. UK-EU Brexit bill resolves 'vexed' European question -Johnson

Britain will be able to trade with its European neighbours and keep control of its laws and destiny, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say on Wednesday before lawmakers vote on the Brexit deal he clinched at the eleventh hour. The accord struck on Dec. 24 preserves Britain's zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the European Union's 450 million consumers, preventing the chaotic split business had feared. 'Pray floods don't kill us': A day on Rohingya's remote Bangladesh island

As a Bangladeshi naval ship anchored off a remote Bay of Bengal island, some of the Rohingya Muslim refugees aboard clapped in anticipation of starting a new life on a piece of land that did not even exist two decades ago. Carrying poultry and sacks of belongings, they are part of a second group of about 1,800 Rohingya that Bangladesh moved on Tuesday from cramped refugee camps on the mainland to the low-lying island despite opposition from rights groups. U.S., EU criticise China for jailing citizen-journalist who reported on COVID-19

The European Union and United States on Tuesday criticised the jailing of a citizen-journalist in China who reported on the early outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic from Wuhan. A Chinese court handed down a four-year jail term on Monday to Zhang Zhan, who reported at the peak of the crisis in the city where the coronavirus first emerged. Her lawyer said Zhang was jailed on the grounds of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble". Journey to nowhere: Migrants wait in the cold to be bussed from burnt Bosnia camp

Hundreds of migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East waited in the cold on Tuesday to be bussed out of a burned camp about to be dismantled in Western Bosnia, but there was no agreement where they should go. Fire destroyed the camp in Lipa housing about 1,200 people last week. Police and UN officials have said the blaze was probably started by migrants unhappy at the temporary closure of the camp, scheduled for the same day. Russia opens new criminal case against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

Russian state investigators said on Tuesday they had opened a new criminal case against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, accusing him of fraudulently spending public donations to organisations he controls on his personal needs. The move is likely to be seen as the latest sign that the Kremlin does not want Navalny, who is convalescing in Germany, to return to Russia after what Berlin and other Western nations say was an attempt in August to murder him with a nerve agent. Second earthquake in two days strikes central Croatia, killing seven and damaging buildings

An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck central Croatia on Tuesday, killing seven people, injuring more than 20 and rattling several neighbouring countries, officials and residents said. Rescuers pulled people from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Petrinja and other towns, and army troops were sent to the area to help. North Korea prepares for major party congress amid growing challenges

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chaired a politburo meeting on preparations for a rare Congress that is expected to set new economic and political goals as the country faces growing challenges, state media said on Wednesday. The Eighth Congress comes amid the presidential transition in the United States, which North Korea has yet to comment on. President Donald Trump had engaged in a number of historic meetings with the leader of the reclusive state during his administration and it is not yet clear what Joe Biden's presidency will mean for relations between Washington and Pyongyang. Argentina's Senate poised to vote on legalizing abortion, rare in region

Argentina was on the cusp of legalizing abortion on Tuesday over the objections of its influential Roman Catholic Church, with the Senate preparing to vote on a measure backed by the ruling party that has already passed in the lower house. Passage would make Argentina the first big country in predominantly Catholic Latin America to allow abortion on demand. Senate debate began at about 4 p.m. (1900 GMT), and was expected to stretch into Wednesday morning. The vote was expected to be close. Ethiopian police arrest Reuters cameraman

A Reuters cameraman, Kumerra Gemechu, was arrested in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday and will be kept in custody for at least two weeks, his family said. He has not been charged. No reason was provided to the family for Thursday's arrest, and police did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.