Clashes in Guangzhou as China tries to quell COVID protests

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

by Linda Noakes

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Here's what you need to know.

The U.S. Senate passes a same-sex marriage protection bill, NATO seeks to shore up Russia's neighbors, and former Chinese President Jiang Zemin dies aged 96

The Reuters NEXT global forum kicks off today, with speakers including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NYSE President Lynn Martin and Meta Vice-President Nicola Mendelsohn. You can watch live here.

Today's biggest stories

Demonstrators protesting over COVID restrictions throw glass bottles towards riot police in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China in this screen grab taken from a social media video released November 30, 2022

WORLD

People in the Chinese city of Guangzhou clashed with riot police in hazmat suits as authorities investigated more of those who have taken part in a string of protests against the world's toughest COVID-19 restrictions. Young people who spoke to Reuters from four cities across China described a mix of elation, fear and defiance.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led the country for a decade of rapid economic growth after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, has died at the age of 96. Plucked from obscurity to head China's ruling Communist Party, Jiang was expected to be just another transitional figurehead but went on to chalk up a list of achievements.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces were trying to advance in the northeast and east and "planning something" in the south, while NATO sought to reassure other countries who fear destabilization from Moscow. Ukraine's SBU security service conducted a fresh search of a monastery in the west of the country in what it said was an operation to counter suspected "subversive activities by Russian special services."

More than 1,000 members of a Hindu group close to India's ruling party vowed to go ahead with a protest march in support of construction of a port by the Adani Group which Christian protesters want to block for environmental reasons.

A Tokyo court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage but said a lack of legal protection for same-sex families violated their human rights, a comment welcomed by plaintiffs as a step towards aligning Japan with other G7 nations.

The humble baguette, France's staple bread, has made it onto the United Nation's cultural heritage list. Paris-based U.N. heritage body UNESCO voted to include the "artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread" on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Senator Susan Collins hugs Senator Rob Portman as Senator Kyrsten Sinema hugs Senator Tammy Baldwin following a news conference on the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act at the U.S. Capitol, November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger

U.S.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill that would protect federal recognition of same-sex marriage, a measure taken up in response to worries the Supreme Court could overturn a 2015 decision that legalized it nationwide.

Democrats in the House of Representatives were poised to pass their leadership baton to a younger generation, marking the end of the Nancy Pelosi era and the widely anticipated opening of Hakeem Jeffries' party rule.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, and another leader of the right-wing group, were found guilty of seditious conspiracy for the attack on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, an important win for the Justice Department.

The House of Representatives was set to vote to block a rail strike that could potentially happen as early as December 9, after President Joe Biden warned of dire economic consequences and massive job losses.

Biden's public approval rating rose to 40% this week, boosted by increased support within the Democratic Party, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

BUSINESS

World equity markets rallied and the focus turned to Jerome Powell, who speaks later in the day in what will be the U.S. Federal Reserve chief's last opportunity to steer sentiment ahead of the Fed's December meeting.

Brent oil prices will hold above the $100 level for the rest of 2022 as an impending EU ban on Russian oil sparks uncertainty over supply, but will tick lower next year as economic concerns prevail, a Reuters poll showed.

Euro zone inflation eased far more than expected in November, raising hopes that sky-high price growth is now past its peak and bolstering the case for a slowdown in European Central Bank rate hikes next month.

Swedish fashion giant H&M became the first big European retailer to start layoffs by announcing 1,500 job cuts owing to softening demand as consumers cope with soaring inflation. But British fashion retailer Primark said it planned to invest 100 million euros to open new stores and refurbish existing ones in Spain, its second largest market after Britain.

BlockFi, the first direct casualty of crypto exchange FTX's collapse, told a U.S. bankruptcy judge that the U.S. cryptocurrency lender was "the antithesis of FTX" and that it would seek to return customer funds as quickly as possible.

Crisis-hit Scandinavian airline SAS reported a much deeper loss in its August-October quarter than last year and said it will take longer than expected to complete its bankruptcy protection process.