| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, December 1, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Omicron may have turned up weeks before it was reported in southern Africa, Ukraine warns of a possible Russian invasion, and a deadly Michigan school shooting baffles police | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Parents walk away with their children from a parking lot following an active shooter situation at Oxford High School in Michigan
U.S.
A 15-year-old boy opened fire in a Michigan high school with a semi-automatic pistol his father had purchased days earlier, killing three fellow students and wounding eight other people before he was arrested. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said investigators were at a loss to explain what might have precipitated "an unspeakable and unforgivable" act of violence at Oxford High School.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether to gut abortion rights in America as it weighs Mississippi's bid to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers are expected to resume questioning of a woman who said the British socialite facilitated her sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein in the 1990s, when she was 14, and took part in some encounters.
CNN suspended its top news anchor, Chris Cuomo, for his role in defending his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations.
Authorities investigating the fatal shooting on the 'Rust' movie last month are investigating whether recycled live ammunition may have made its way into a stash of dummy bullets on the set in New Mexico, according to court documents.
WORLD
Ukraine urged NATO to prepare economic sanctions on Russia to deter a possible invasion by tens of thousands of Russian troops concentrated within reach of its border. Russia accused Ukraine of deploying half its army to confront pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, and said it had launched its own regular winter drills in its southern military district bordering Ukraine.
China told Indonesia to stop drilling for oil and natural gas in maritime territory that both countries regard as their own during a months-long standoff in the South China Sea earlier this year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unprecedented demand elevated tensions over natural resources between the two countries in a volatile area of global strategic and economic importance.
The civil unrest suffered by the Solomon Islands in the past week raised alarm among leaders of other Pacific island nations that rivalry between China, Taiwan and the United States risked aggravating their region's social and economic problems. "I think what is happening in the Solomons is something we all should be paying serious attention to, because it can happen at any time," former Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Meg Taylor told the Reuters Next conference.
Honduras' conservative ruling party candidate conceded defeat in the presidential election, paving the way for his leftist rival Xiomara Castro to become the first female leader of the struggling Central American country.
Barbados' declaration of a republic may fuel fervor in other Commonwealth countries to follow suit, but experts say removing the queen requires overcoming political hurdles that have for decades stymied republican initiatives.
| BUSINESS Stock markets roared higher, reversing much of the previous session's losses, as investors used the dip in prices to bet the latest COVID-19 variant would not derail the economic recovery. History says expect a strong December for U.S. stocks, despite Omicron and Federal Reserve worries.
Uncertainty about the pandemic has not dented prospects for European stocks to hit record highs in 2022, boosted by a recovery in corporate profits, according to a Reuters poll of 23 fund managers, strategists and brokers.
Global airlines are bracing for more volatility due to the variant that could force them to juggle schedules and destinations at short notice and to rely more on domestic markets where possible.
The main risk to an otherwise upbeat global economic outlook is that the current inflation spike proves longer and rises further than currently expected, the OECD said. Global growth is set to hit 5.6% this year before moderating to 4.5% in 2022 and 3.2% in 2023.
The head of the World Trade Organization stressed the importance of reforming the global trade body to prevent further trade wars but warned it would be "very tough" amid high geopolitical tensions. Asked if the WTO was capable of reform, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference: "Absolutely. Whether it will be easy to do is another thing."
| | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Man builds Taj Mahal replica home for his wife The scaled-down replica in Burhanpur, India, has four bedrooms, a library and a special meditation room. | | | | And finally… A 'smart bandage' for remote recovery  Researchers in Singapore have developed a bandage to enable patients to have chronic wounds monitored remotely via an app on a mobile device. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
