Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
German police kill suspect in exchange of fire near Israeli consulate in Munich
German police shot dead a man in an exchange of fire near the Israeli consulate and a Nazi history museum in Munich on Thursday, state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said. "Due to the intervention of the police, the perpetrator was stopped," Herrmann told reporters. A police spokesperson in the Bavarian state capital said the man had a "long-barrelled gun" that proved to be an old rifle.
Conservative challenge to Brazil's ban on Musk's X may escalate feud
A conservative party in Brazil is seeking to reverse a judge's ban on Elon Musk's X platform, potentially escalating the months-long feud over censorship and hate speech in South America's largest country. Partido Novo's challenge of the decision by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes barring the popular social media site will be taken up by another top court judge, complicating the high-stakes row with the billionaire's business empire.
Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei dies, days after boyfriend set her on fire
Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei died on Thursday, four days after she was doused in petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend in Kenya, in the latest attack on a female athlete in the country. Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the Paris Olympics, suffered burns to more than 75% of her body in Sunday's attack, Kenyan and Ugandan media reported.
China's Xi boosts Africa financing by $51 billion, promises a million jobs
President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday to step up China's support across debt-laden Africa with funding of nearly $51 billion over three years, backing for more infrastructure projects, and the creation of at least 1 million jobs. China was ready to step up cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, Xi told delegates from more than 50 African nations gathered in Beijing for the three-yearly Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit.
France's Macron names former Brexit negotiator Barnier as new prime minister
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, the European Union's former Brexit negotiator, as his new prime minister on Thursday, in a bid to put an end to political paralysis following an inconclusive snap election. A key question will now be whether Barnier's government will manage to get reforms adopted by a deeply divided parliament.
Putin says Ukraine's Kursk incursion has failed to slow Russia's eastern advance
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukraine's incursion into the Russian region of Kursk had failed to slow Russia's own advance in eastern Ukraine and had weakened Kyiv's defenses along the frontline in a boost to Moscow. Putin, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, said that Russian forces were now gradually pushing Ukrainian soldiers out of Kursk, where on Aug. 6 Ukraine launched the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two.
Palestinian children in south Gaza receive polio vaccinations amid continued war
Crowds of Palestinians gathered at medical centers in the south of the embattled Gaza Strip on Thursday for their children to be vaccinated against polio in the second stage of a campaign that has so far seen 187,000 youngsters inoculated. The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said the campaign, taking place after Hamas and Israel agreed on limited pauses in their fighting, was so far successful but complex.
'Like Jesus' presence': Over 80,000 attend Pope's mass in Indonesia
Only rockstars and presidents can usually fill Indonesia's national stadium, but on Thursday it was octogenarian Pope Francis who drew more than 80,000 fans to a Catholic Mass in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation. The event was the high point of the 87-year-old pope's four days in the capital, Jakarta, on the first stop of a 12-day tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania, with visits to East Timor, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.
Georgia high school student, 14, kills 4 and wounds 9 in campus shooting
A 14-year-old boy killed two fellow students and two teachers and wounded nine others in a shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday, jolting the United States with the first mass campus shooting since the start of the school year. The suspect, who had been interviewed by law enforcement last year over online threats about committing a school shooting, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, investigators said.
Guatemala to accept 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua, US says
The United States has secured the release of 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua on humanitarian grounds, the White House said on Thursday, adding that they will go to Guatemala before seeking to lawfully move to the U.S. or other nations. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, in a statement, said those released include 13 members of the Texas-based Mountain Gateway organization, Catholic laypeople, students and others.
