Friday Briefing: Special Report - The leader who's standing up to China

The Reuters Daily Briefing Friday, December 24, 2021 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. More Tiananmen monuments are removed in Hong Kong, U.S. travelers adjust their holiday plans, and luxury British store chain Selfridges is being sold Today's biggest stories A man tries to peep into the site where the 'Pillar of Shame' statue, which pays tribute to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, used to stand at the University of Hong Kong, December 23, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu WORLD Two more Hong Kong universities removed public monuments to the 1989 Tiananmen protests in Beijing, following on the heels of the dismantling of a sculpture marking victims of the crackdown at another university earlier this week. Reuters photojournalist Tyrone Siu recounts his nightlong vigil on a muddy, rainy hilltop to capture Hong Kong's change. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is wielding a mixture of soft and hard power as she seeks to fend off a more assertive China under President Xi Jinping. Associates tell the story of her journey from academia to the thick of the U.S.-China cold war. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in granted a pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who was in prison after being convicted of corruption, the justice ministry said, amid a tight presidential race. Sleeping on mattresses in a Belarusian warehouse, hundreds of Middle Eastern migrants are still clinging to the hope of a future in western Europe as the year draws to a close. Travelers walk through the Philadelphia International Airport, December 23 2021. REUTERS/Hannah Beier U.S. Millions of Americans carried on warily with travel plans through a second pandemic-clouded holiday season, despite a growing wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant, though many were forced to scale back their ambitions. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said they had each canceled dozens of Christmas Eve flights, as the spreading variant takes a toll on its flight crews and other workers. A Minnesota jury found former police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop when she mistakenly fired her handgun instead of her Taser. Two Georgia election workers who were the target of vote-rigging conspiracy theories have sued the far-right One America News Network, its top executives, and former President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani for allegedly spreading lies about them. Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the release of White House records sought by the House of Representatives committee investigating the deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol. BUSINESS Most Asian share markets edged higher and the safe-haven dollar was on the back foot, on signs the Omicron variant would not significantly derail global economic growth. General Motors, Alphabet's Google and its self-driving auto-technology company Waymo joined the companies no longer attending the Consumer Electronics Show in person early next month due to rising COVID-19 infections. Luxury British store chain Selfridges is being sold to a Thai retailer and an Austrian property company in a deal that a source close to the matter said was worth around $5.4 billion. Crocs said it would buy privately owned footwear label Heydude for $2.5 billion, as the rubber clogs maker looks to cash in on the pandemic-led surge in demand for casual shoes. Quote of the day "It has been an extraordinary year for equity formation globally - dare I say one that is unlikely to be repeated any time soon" James Fleming Global co-head of equity capital markets at Citigroup Record IPO binge in 2021 leaves investors hung over Video of the day From Kabul to Kentucky, refugees start new life in U.S. After long, exhausting journeys via Qatar and U.S. military bases, Afghan refugees settle in the city of Bowling Green, Kentucky. And finally… Elephant Santas pass out face masks and hand gel in Thai school tradition "I think my school is the only place with elephant Santas," said student Beyapha Mhonsuwan. More from Reuters COVID-19 The Great Reboot Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036