Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Ukraine's Zelenskiy visits frontline border area, Russia says it thwarts new incursion
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the capture of another Russian village as he visited a border area from which Ukrainian forces entered Russia over two weeks ago, but Moscow said its troops had taken a village in east Ukraine. Kyiv also said it had mounted a drone strike on an air base in southern Russia, its latest counterattack as Russian forces slowly advance in eastern Ukraine 2-1/2 years after Moscow's full-scale invasion.
Japanese citizen indicted on suspicion of espionage, China confirms
Chinese prosecutors have indicted a Japanese citizen on suspicion of espionage, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding that the rights of the people involved in the case would be protected. The individual was indicted recently in line with the law, Mao Ning, a spokesperson at the ministry, said at a regular press conference when asked about the indictment of a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma Inc.
Kamala Harris' multiracial roots reflect changing US demographics
The daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother, both immigrants, Kamala Harris reflects the United States' changing demographics. When she steps onto the stage Thursday evening in Chicago to accept the Democratic Party's nomination as their presidential candidate, she will represent the country's fastest growing racial category.
UN team in Bangladesh to discuss modalities of human rights probe
A United Nations team will meet Bangladesh's interim government and other stakeholders from Thursday to discuss the process to investigate alleged human rights violations during the recent deadly violence in the South Asian country, officials said. About 300 people, many of them university and college students, were killed during protests that began in July with students agitating against quotas in government jobs before the events spiraled into demonstrations to oust long-serving former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
As Modi visits Poland, PM Tusk eyes stronger defense industry ties with India
Poland wants to deepen its cooperation with India in the defense industry, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, as Warsaw seeks to benefit from New Delhi's drive to modernize its armed forces and diversify away from Russian suppliers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Warsaw en route to Kyiv, where he has said he will "share perspectives" on the peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Israeli tanks push deeper into Gaza, as Biden urges peace
Israeli forces pressed deeper into areas of the central and southern Gaza Strip as they battled Hamas fighters, while Palestinian health officials said on Thursday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 22 people across the enclave. The new escalation comes hours after U.S. President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the urgency of sealing a deal for a truce in Gaza and the release of hostages, the White House said.
Indonesia lawmakers shelve plan to change election law as protests rage
Indonesia's legislature will not ratify changes to election rules during the current government's term, its deputy speaker said on Thursday, as demonstrations flared outside parliament and security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters. Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told Reuters deliberations will continue in the parliament's next sitting period, meaning it would not apply to this year's elections or under the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who leaves office in October.
Aid trucks trickle into Darfur as army pauses delivery ban
A fraction of available aid has passed through the Adre border crossing from Chad into Sudan's hunger-ravaged Darfur region this week following a move by the Sudanese army to temporarily lift a ban on deliveries. The army's rivals in the country's devastating 16-month-old war control most of Darfur and the Adre crossing, the quickest way into the region. The army had ordered aid agencies to stop use of the corridor in February, saying it was used to transport arms, but last week rescinded that order temporarily for three months.
Body of British tech entrepreneur Lynch retrieved from yacht, source says
The body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was retrieved on Thursday from the wreck of his family yacht that sank earlier this week off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, a source close to the rescue operation said. Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, the source said. The bodies of the other four people who vanished when the boat went down were recovered from the yacht on Wednesday.
Russia detains Israeli-Canadian citizen wanted in US for fraud
Police in St Petersburg have detained an Israeli-Canadian racing car driver wanted by the United States for alleged large-scale fraud relating to an illegal online stock trading scheme, the city's court system said on Wednesday evening. The man, Joshua Cartu, is wanted, alongside his brothers David and Jonathan and several others, for allegedly operating a fraudulent binary options trading scheme between 2013 and 2018 that defrauded investors of millions of dollars, according to a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission statement from May 2020.
