Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that President-elect Biden's administration “must not go back to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran."
Why it matters: The comments — at the annual memorial ceremony for David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister — signal that Netanyahu is planning to repeat the public campaign against an Iran deal that he engaged in during the Obama administration.
England will impose a strengthened version of an earlier three-tiered system of local restrictions to curb COVID-19 when the national lockdown ends Dec. 2, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office has announced.
Why it matters: Johnson, who's expected to outline this "COVID winter plan" Monday, is being urged by scientists not to relax rules over Christmas and pressed by his Conservative Party members of parliament to discontinue strict measures that impact local economies, The Guardian notes.
Guatemalan riot police moved in to quell unrest after hundreds of demonstrators stormed the country's Congress and set fire to part of the building Saturday, per the BBC.
The big picture: Some 7,000 protesters rallied in Guatemala City to demand President Alejandro Giammattei resign over the 2021 budget passed earlier in the week, which cut funds to COVID-19 programs but "approved $65,000" to cover politicians' meals, per AP. Opposition lawmakers said firms with government connections got priority for "big infrastructure projects," the BBC notes.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with news of the riot police moving in.
Why it matters: Portugal recorded 6,472 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, per the health ministry. The country of 10 million ranks seventh in Europe for the number of total cases per 100,000 people and 14th for new deaths from the virus, Reuters reported, citing the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control figures.
A collection of resorts across the U.S. are beginning to reopen their mountains to skiers by implementing fresh rules to prevent the coronavirus from spreading this winter season.
Why it matters: The ski industry, as many other service and recreation-based businesses, suffered from shutdowns at the start of the pandemic. Winter sports, such as skiing and snowboarding, involve "an element of risky behavior when it comes to viral infection, such as the closeness of riding lifts and trams," the Wall Street Journal writes.
Multiple rockets struck Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, early on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than two dozen, according to the New York Times.
Why it matters: The rocket attack occurred just hours before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet with Afghan and Taliban negotiators in Qatar in an attempt to end roughly two decades of fighting.
Iran on Saturday imposed tougher restrictions to slow the accelerated spread of COVID-19 in the country, closing businesses and limiting travel between its major cities, but stopping short of a complete shutdown.
By the numbers: The nation, which has topped 840,000 confirmed cases, also recorded a daily death toll above 430 for the past five consecutive days, hitting 479 deaths on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
President Trump will take part in the virtual G20 summit this weekend, the White House confirmedlate Friday, to discuss the rise in coronavirus cases worldwide and the global economy.
Why it matters: The president's appearance comes as COVID-19 cases surge and world leaders struggle to develop a coordinated response to the pandemic. In total over 57 million cases have been reported, and more than 1.3 million deaths associated with the virus, per Johns Hopkins University data.
