He said there was still time, but urged opposition lawmakers not to obstruct the legislation

International News via Reuters:

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu put pressure on lawmakers on Monday to pass the 2026 budget by the end of the year after the deeply divided lower house of parliament rejected the tax side of the legislation.

He said there was still time, but urged opposition lawmakers not to obstruct the legislation, which is due to head to the Senate on Monday after the lower house rejected parts of it on Saturday.

Lecornu’s appeal was the latest chapter in efforts by President Emmanuel Macron’s minority government to pass a budget in a fragmented parliament – where the far right and hard left keenly await any missteps they could use to trigger a vote of no confidence and topple the prime minister.

‘YES WE CAN DO IT’, LECORNU SAYS

“This is an alert for the future… but yes we can do it,” Lecornu said in a televised statement, adding there was still a majority of support in the lower house to pass a budget bill.

Since both chambers must agree for the budget to pass, once the Senate completes its review, a joint committee will attempt to broker a compromise between the two houses before a final vote in the lower house.

Lecornu said he would hold talks with political parties in the coming days and insisted that next year’s budget deficit should be kept to less than 5% of gross domestic product, a looser target than the 4.7% in the draft bill.

The government’s draft budget aimed to rein in the deficit with a fiscal squeeze worth over 30 billion euros, mostly through savings measures but also tax hikes, although Lecornu said from the start that it was clear legislation would be heavily rewritten in parliament because he did not have a majority.

He urged lawmakers to nail down budget savings, which the lower house did not even debate because time ran out before they got to the spending side of the legislation.

The government’s original budget bill is due to go to the Senate on Monday, which means that amendments already passed by the lower house, which include a range of tax hikes, would have to be re-introduced or they will be dropped.

Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Leigh ThomasEditing by Inti Landauro and Frances Kerry

Floodwater waist-high in some areas has impacted 10 provinces in southern Thailand and eight states in  Malaysia

International News via Reuters:

Flooding from days of intense rain has killed at least eight people in southern Thailand and forced thousands into evacuation centres in neighbouring Malaysia, officials said on Monday, as authorities ramped up efforts to provide shelter and aid.      

Floodwater waist-high in some areas has impacted 10 provinces in southern Thailand and eight states in  Malaysia, regions spanning hundreds of kilometres that were last year also hard hit by flooding from a seasonal monsoon that killed at least 12 people.

Thailand’s southern trading hub Hat Yai on Friday suffered its heaviest single-day rainfall in more than 300 years, according to the irrigation department, with weekend television footage showing people wading through brown water in the teeming rain in commercial areas where shops and parked motorcycles were engulfed by water.

Some residents were seen pulling children along in plastic boxes turned into makeshift boats, while in the city’s outskirts, parked trucks and buses formed long lines along the few dry roads available as other vehicles inched slowly through water. 

HUNDREDS OF VEHICLES AND BOATS DEPLOYED 

The eight deaths in Thailand were caused mainly by electrocution and other flood-related accidents, according to authorities. 

Thailand has mobilised hundreds of boats and high-clearance vehicles to deliver aid, the disaster agency said, with at least 700,000 households impacted since last week.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered more water pumping machines to be deployed and said assistance must be adequate, comprehensive, and timely, according to a government statement.    

In neighbouring Malaysia, more than 15,000 people were in shelters, according to Social Welfare Department data, among 90 evacuation centres set up. No deaths have been reported so far in Malaysia.

Its Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said civil defence teams were on standby and more than 90 land and water assets mobilised, including lorries, four-wheeled-drive vehicles and water-rescue equipment.   

“I pray and hope that this incident will not cause extensive damage and that all victims remain strong and patient,” he said in an X post. 

CENTRAL VIETNAM FLOODS EASE AFTER KILLING 91

Water levels have started to recede in central Vietnam after weeklong flooding and landslides that killed 91 people and caused infrastructure damage that left 1.1 million households and businesses without power, the government said on Monday.

Initial property damage was estimated at 13 trillion dong ($493 million), it said, adding that it has disbursed cash aid and 4,000 tons of rice to flood victims.  

More than 200,000 houses, 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) of crops, and 1,157 hectares of fish farms were inundated in Vietnam.

The floods submerged several coffee farms in the central highlands – an area highly prone to storms and flooding – hampering the harvest in the region.  

($1 = 26,369.0000 dong)

Reporting by Danial Azhar in Kuala Lumpur, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Khanh Vu in Hanoi; Editing by David Stanway, Martin Petty

From December 10, Australia will become the world’s first country to bar people aged 16 years and under from using social media

International News via Reuters:

Australia’s internet watchdog on Friday said it would include Amazon.com-owned live streaming service Twitch in its upcoming teen social media ban, but will not add image-sharing platform Pinterest to the list.

From December 10, Australia will become the world’s first country to bar people aged 16 years and under from using social media, with penalties up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for companies that fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply.* The eSafety Commissioner said Twitch qualifies as a socialmedia service because it is primarily used for livestreaming andposting interactive content that allows users – includingchildren – to communicate with others. * Twitch plans to deactivate all user accounts for peopleaged 16 and under from January 9, and will bar new under-ageusers from creating accounts once the ban comes into force nextmonth. * Pinterest, however, will not be added to the list. TheeSafety Commissioner said that while it allows some onlinesocial interaction, that is not its main purpose, noting that itis used for collecting images and curating ideas. * Earlier this month, the commissioner expanded the ban toadd Reddit and video live streaming platform Kick. Major firmsalready covered include Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram,Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and Alphabet-owned YouTube. * No further assessments will be conducted before the rulestake effect on December 10, the commissioner said.

($1 = 1.5494 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus

Paul Biya, at 92 the world’s oldest head of state, was named winner of last month’s election in Cameroon with 53.66% of the vote against 35.19% for Tchiroma

International News via Reuters:

Gambia said it was temporarily hosting Cameroonian opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary on humanitarian grounds following a contested presidential election in Cameroon last month that led to deadly protests.

Paul Biya, at 92 the world’s oldest head of state, was named winner of last month’s election in Cameroon with 53.66% of the vote against 35.19% for Tchiroma.

Tchiroma had declared himself the winner before the official results were announced, and protests erupted in various locations as early results showed Biya, in power since 1982, would secure an eighth term.

Cameroon’s security forces killed 48 civilians as they responded to the protests, U.N. sources told Reuters this month. Tchiroma’s whereabouts had not been known for weeks.

In a statement issued late on Sunday, Gambia’s information ministry said the country was sheltering Tchiroma “purely on humanitarian grounds, in the spirit of African solidarity” to ensure his safety amid efforts to resolve “post-electoral tensions”.

Banjul is consulting with regional partners, including Nigeria, to support a negotiated outcome to the crisis in Cameroon, the statement said.

The statement also reaffirmed Gambia’s commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all African Union member states and said its territory would not be used as a base for subversive activities against any country.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party accused the government of a lack of transparency over Tchiroma’s “quiet arrival” but added it was in full solidarity with Tchiroma and welcomed the humanitarian gesture. 

Reporting by Pap Saine and Diadie Ba; Writing by Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Gareth Jones

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral discussion on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa

International News via Reuters:

Canada and India have agreed to restart stalled talks for a new trade deal, the Indian government said on Sunday, after discussions between the two countries paused following a diplomatic spat two years ago. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney met with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral discussion on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“The leaders agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aimed at doubling bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030,” the statement from India’s Prime Minister’s Office said.

“Prime Minister @narendramodi and I met at the G20 Summit today, and launched negotiations for a trade deal that could more than double our trade to more than (C) $70 billion,” Carney said in a post on X. “India is the world’s fifth largest economy, and that means big new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses.”

Both sides reaffirmed their longstanding civil nuclear cooperation and noted the ongoing discussions on expanding collaboration, including through long-term uranium supply arrangements, it added.

The restart of talks highlights thawing relations between the two countries as Carney pushes to expand trade ties beyond the U.S., its biggest trading partner. 

Carney has vowed to double Canada’s non-U.S. exports over the next decade.

Canada paused negotiations for a broad trade pact in 2023 after relations soured when Ottawa accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh separatist. New Delhi has denied involvement.

Despite the diplomatic row, trade between Canada and India has grown but trade experts say it is quite small relative to the size of India’s economy. 

Two-way goods and services trade touched about C$31 billion ($21.98 billion) in 2024, largely in Canada’s favor due to its C$16 billion in services exports. In contrast, Canada’s total bilateral trade with China was almost four times bigger in 2024.

Relations between Canada and India began to improve following Modi’s meeting with Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit in June. 

Earlier on Sunday, Carney said he considers India a reliable trading partner, although he acknowledged there could be some “source of friction.”

He said Canada and India have a strong commercial relationship and he would be keen to scale that up. 

“What we’re looking to do is to put that (commercial relationship) on a sound footing through a potential trade agreement between the two countries, which gives protections to our businesses, protections to Indian businesses, a clear set of rules, dispute mechanisms, and others, and build on those opportunities.” 

Carney also met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the G20 summit and the leaders agreed to intensify negotiations on a Canada-Mercosur free trade agreement. Mercosur includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

($1 = 1.4101 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Nellie Peyton; editing by Diane Craft

Trump had also rejected South Africa’s agenda of helping developing nations transition to clean energy, cut their crippling debt costs and adapt to climate change-induced weather disasters

International News via Reuters:

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday that the declaration from this weekend’s Group of 20 summit reflected a “renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation”, concluding a meeting that pitted him against his U.S. counterpart.

Ramaphosa, host of the Johannesburg summit, pushed through the declaration addressing challenges like the climate crisis despite objections from the United States, which boycotted the event.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Ramaphosa said the declaration showed world leaders’ “shared goals outweigh our differences”.

U.S. President Donald Trump boycotted the November 22-23 summit on the grounds of allegations, which have been comprehensively falsified, that the host country’s Black majority government persecutes its white minority.

TENSIONS OVER UKRAINE, CLIMATE CRISIS

Trump had also rejected South Africa’s agenda of helping developing nations transition to clean energy, cut their crippling debt costs and adapt to climate change-induced weather disasters.

But Ramaphosa secured consensus from the leaders present, aside from Argentina, which did not object to a declaration being made without it. It was the first G20 summit in Africa and the joint declaration used the kind of language long disliked by the U.S. administration.

The document stressed the seriousness of climate change and the need for adaptation, praised ambitious renewable energy targets and decried hefty debt service charges suffered by poor countries.

The summit came as tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine fracture the transatlantic alliance, and after unavailing climate talks at COP30 in Brazil, in which oil-producing and high-consuming nations prevented mention of fossil fuels driving the crisis going in the final declaration.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday that both the G20 and COP30 summits showed multilateralism was very much alive.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the United States was mentioned only in passing at the G20 summit and that it played only a minor role as new connections are being forged and the world reorganises itself.

“It wasn’t a good decision for the American government to be absent. But that’s something the American government has to decide for itself,” he said.

SOUTH AFRICA’S SPAT WITH WHITE HOUSE

The U.S. takes over the rotating G20 presidency after Johannesburg, but South Africa rejected a U.S. proposal to send an embassy official for the handover in Trump’s place as a breach of protocol.

The White House has accused Ramaphosa of refusing to facilitate a smooth transition of the G20 presidency.

“We have not yet received any formal communication at this stage,” South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told media on Sunday. “But we remain open … It’s up to them.”

He counted it a great success that the declaration acknowledged the need for climate finance for developing countries.

Aside from the surprise agreement on the declaration, world leaders used the G20 to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war and Trump’s plan to end it, on the sidelines, the first of several meetings expected over the coming days.

Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Nellie Peyton, Anathi Madubela;Additional reporting by Julia Payne, Nqobile Dludla, Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Siyanda Mthethwa and Andreas Rinke;Writing by Tim Cocks and Alexander Winning;Editing by David Holmes and Christina Fincher