Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Belarusian leader reshuffles security chiefs in face of mass protests
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko promoted hardline loyalists to top posts in his security apparatus on Thursday in an effort to strengthen his grip on the former Soviet republic after weeks of mass protests and strikes. Lukashenko, facing the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule, accompanied the reshuffle with instructions to act tough in the face of what he has repeatedly alleged is foreign aggression. "Belarus finds itself confronting an external aggressor one-to-one," he told the new security chiefs.
Kremlin tells West not to rush to judge it on Navalny as sanctions talk starts
Russia said on Thursday the West should not rush to judge it over the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and said there were no grounds to accuse it of the crime, as talk in the West of punishing Moscow intensified. Moscow was speaking a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Navalny had been poisoned with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to murder him and that she would consult NATO allies about how to respond.
Turkey´s power projection risks military clash in Mediterranean, former PM says
Turkey risks military confrontation in the eastern Mediterranean because it prizes power over diplomacy, a former prime minister who championed a less confrontational policy in the first decade of President Tayyip Erdogan's rule told Reuters. Ahmet Davutoglu, whose "zero problems with neighbors" mantra was a hallmark of Erdogan's early dealings with Europe and the Middle East, broke with the president's ruling AK Party last year to set up the rival Gelecek (Future) Party.
Macron to meet Ivory Coast President on Friday in Paris: Elysee
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Friday at the Elysee Palace in Paris, his office said on Thursday. Ouattara said in early August he would seek re-election in October, formally accepting the ruling party's nomination to be its candidate and defying opponents who say the constitution forbids a third term.
Calls mount for Germany to rethink Nord Stream 2 pipeline after Navalny poisoning
German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced growing pressure on Thursday to reconsider the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will take gas from Russia to Germany, after she said Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent. Merkel said on Wednesday that Navalny, who is being treated in a Berlin hospital, was the victim of a murder attempt using the nerve agent Novichok, and demanded an explanation by Russia.
Coronavirus angst as Canadian schools start to open
Canadian children are trickling back into classrooms, but the return is off to a rocky start with dozens of students in one province already in isolation amid COVID-19 scares and teacher unions filing labor challenges. Coronavirus cases have been reported in numerous schools in Quebec since classes resumed last week after the summer holiday, fanning fears across the country as most schools reopen for the first time since March.
Live from Pyongyang: North Korea state media tests new formats on air and online
As two typhoons hammered North Korea within a week of each other, state media broadcasts looked unusually reminiscent of international TV coverage, with correspondents standing knee-deep in floodwaters to provide rare, nearly real-time reports. Thursday's broadcasts were the latest example of a national propaganda machine that is slowly evolving in the face of more competition from international media that seep into the isolated country, analysts said.
Hong Kong court says media tycoon Jimmy Lai not guilty of criminal intimidation in 2017 case
A Hong Kong court declared media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai not guilty of criminal intimidation on Thursday, ending one several cases against him after his high-profile arrest last month under a new national security law. Thursday's verdict was for a case that dates back to 2017 and was unrelated to his arrest. Lai, who is a key critic of Beijing, had used foul language when confronting a reporter from Oriental Daily News, a major competitor to Lai´s tabloid Apple Daily. Police however only charged him in February this year.
Backroom deals, old-school politics help rise of Japan's likely new premier
Japan's ruling party has yet to vote on a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe but his loyal lieutenant looks set to win the post, the result of backroom maneuvering and bargaining that began months before Abe said he'd quit over ill health. Yoshihide Suga, Abe's chief cabinet secretary, emerged this week as the frontrunner in the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Sept. 14 leadership race when five of the party's seven factions backed him, before he even announced his candidacy on Wednesday.
Barnier's comments are misleading on Britain's trade talks position, says PM's spokesman
Comments made by the EU's chief negotiator on Britain's position on talks on a future relationship offer a misleading representation of the government's proposals, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday. On Wednesday, Michel Barnier said Britain was not showing enough flexibility in engaging with the EU's demands on guarantees of fair competition, on fisheries and solving disputes, putting a deal on their future relationship at risk.
