Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Israeli police clash with Palestinians as East Jerusalem tensions flare during Ramadan
East Jerusalem was on edge just after midnight on Saturday as Palestinians faced off with Israeli police in nightly Ramadan clashes that sparked rocket fire by militants in the Gaza Strip and protests in Palestinian towns across the occupied West Bank. Tension is higher than usual in the holy city following protests on Thursday by Palestinian youth angered with curbs on gathering during the Muslim holy month and by Israelis enraged by recent Palestinian street attacks on religious Jews.
Southeast Asian leaders to discuss Myanmar with coup leader
Southeast Asian leaders will try to forge a path to end violence and instability in Myanmar at a summit on Saturday expected to include Min Aung Hlaing, the general in charge of the military takeover in February that sparked bloodshed and economic chaos. The gathering of leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta is the first coordinated international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar, an impoverished country that neighbors China, India and Thailand, and was ruled by the military from 1962-2011.
All eyes on Chile´s Pinera as congress approves a fresh pensions drawdown
Chile´s Congress on Friday approved by a large majority a move to allow citizens to withdraw a third tranche of their privately held pensions to assuage economic hardship wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers in the country´s lower house approved the measure with 119 to 17, with 3 abstentions, prompting cheering and applause. Senators greenlighted the move earlier this week.
Canadian PM Trudeau receives first dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday received his first dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy, telling reporters "I'm very excited" as the needle entered his arm. Afterwards he posed for television cameras and photographers with his thumbs up and then watched as his wife Sophie received her first shot. Sophie came down with a mild case of the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic last year.
Biden told Erdogan he plans to call 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide: sources
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that he intends to recognize the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide in Saturday statement, a potential further blow to the already frayed ties between the two NATO allies. The much-anticipated first phone call between the two leaders took place more than three months after Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration, a delay that is widely seen as a cold shoulder to Erdogan, who had enjoyed close ties with former president Donald Trump.
Veteran diplomat Jeffrey Feltman named U.S. special envoy for Horn of Africa
Veteran U.S. diplomat Jeffrey Feltman was named a special envoy for the Horn of Africa on Friday, as Washington looks to step up diplomatic efforts in a region hit by the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray and other crises. Feltman also will lead international efforts to address tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan and around the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Thousands attend funeral of Chad's Deby, Macron pledges French support
Thousands of people attended the funeral of Chad's slain leader Idriss Deby on Friday, with French President Emmanuel Macron leading tributes to the long-ruling strongman whose death in a battle with rebels has thrown the country into crisis. Macron said France would not let anyone threaten the stability of its former colony - a reflection of worries that more turmoil will hamper the fight against Islamist militants across the Sahel region.
U.S. seeing some Russian personnel withdrawing but still early, official says
The United States is seeing some Russian personnel withdrawing after a huge buildup near Ukraine but it is still early and Moscow's announcement of its redeployment alone is "insufficient to give us comfort," a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday. "It's a bit too soon to tell exactly what forces are withdrawing and exactly what equipment appears to be left behind. But I can just tell you, we're looking very, very closely," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
At drug war frontline, pope's envoy says Mexico hushed him
The Vatican's ambassador to Mexico on Friday said officials three years ago had asked him not to talk about the extreme violence that has swept the country during more than a decade of fighting between drug cartels, so as not to scare away tourists. The envoy, Franco Coppola, made the comments while visiting the town of Aguililla in Michoacan, a frontline of the drug war that has seen some of the heaviest fighting in Mexico this year, forcing families in surrounding villages to abandon their homes.
Hospitals overrun as India's COVID-19 infections top global record for second day
People across India scrambled for life-saving oxygen supplies on Friday and patients lay dying outside hospitals as the capital recorded the equivalent of one death from COVID-19 every five minutes. For the second day running, the country's overnight infection total was higher than ever recorded anywhere in the world since the pandemic began last year, at 332,730.
