Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
U.S. resumes fast-track deportation flights of Central American migrant families
The United States on Friday resumed fast-track deportation flights for migrant families that recently arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, amid a sharp increase in the number of migrants at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement the flights would transport Guatemalan, Honduran and Salvadoran migrant families who could not be immediately expelled under a coronavirus-related public health policy and did not have a legal basis to stay in the country.
'This is like a nightmare': Thousands displaced as floods hit Bangladesh Rohingya camps
Heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides and flash floods in refugees camps displacing thousands of Rohingya Muslims in southeastern Bangladesh this week, U.N. and other officials said on Friday, with further heavy rainfall expected. At least six Rohingya, including three children, died in landslides and flooding while 15 Bangladeshis were killed and more than 200,000 stranded by flooding in Cox's Bazar, said Mamunur Rashid, the district administrator.
U.N. compound attacked in western Afghanistan, at least one guard killed
"Anti-government elements" in Afghanistan attacked the main U.N. compound in the capital of the western province of Herat on Friday and at least one security guard was killed, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said. The attack, involving rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, happened hours after Taliban fighters penetrated deep into Herat city, and there were heavy clashes with Afghan security forces near the UNAMA provincial headquarters, officials said.
FBI probe shows amount of chemicals in Beirut blast was a fraction of original shipment
The amount of ammonium nitrate that blew up at Beirut port last year was one fifth of the shipment unloaded there in 2013, the FBI concluded after the blast, adding to suspicions that much of the cargo had gone missing. As the first anniversary approaches on Aug. 4, major questions remain unanswered, including how a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate - which can be used to make fertilizer or bombs - was left unsafely stored in a capital city for years.
Colombia seeks legal, medical attention for citizens detained in Haiti
Colombia called on Haiti on Friday to guarantee the legal and medical rights of 18 Colombians detained on the Caribbean island for alleged participation in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Many questions remain over who was behind the assassination this month and how the killers gained access to the president's home. Haitian officials blamed a squad of mostly Colombian mercenaries, three of whom were killed by police.
Tunisian president says he will not become a dictator after MP arrest
Tunisia's president promised on Friday he would not turn into a dictator and rejected accusations he had staged a coup, as two parliament members were arrested following his decision to lift their immunity when he seized control of government this week. Tunisia has been thrust into a political crisis by President Kais Saied's move on Sunday to dismiss the prime minister and freeze parliament for 30 days, leading major parties to accuse him of a coup.
Shots fired outside Berlin store, four injured, one arrested -media
Shots were fired in a violent clash at a store car park in northern Berlin on Friday, leaving four people injured, the Berliner Zeitung reported. One person was subsequently arrested, the newspaper added later.
U.S. issues new Cuba sanctions, Biden promises more to come
The United States imposed sanctions on the Cuban police force and two of its leaders on Friday in response to the Havana government's crackdown on protesters, and President Joe Biden promised Cuban-American leaders more actions were coming. The U.S. Treasury Department said the sanctions, which appeared to be largely symbolic, were a reaction to "actions to suppress peaceful, pro-democratic protests in Cuba that began on July 11."
Peru's new Marxist PM says 'don't worry' as chances of radical policy shift rise
Peru's newly appointed hard-left prime minister sought to soothe worried markets on Friday after President Pedro Castillo named members of his Marxist Free Peru party to key cabinet posts, sending both bond markets and the country's currency tumbling. Guido Bellido, a hardliner from the Andean city of Cuzco who is little known in Lima circles, was named https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/peru-president-castillo-names-member-far-left-party-prime-minister-2021-07-29 prime minister on Thursday, scuttling investor hopes that Castillo would choose moderate advisers and sending an immediate chill through markets.
U.S. says seizes tanker used to evade North Korea sanctions
The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) on Friday announced the seizure of a 2,734-ton tanker it said was owned and operated by a Singaporean national and used to make shipments of petroleum products to North Korea in violation of international sanctions. A DoJ statement said the M/T Courageous was seized by Cambodian authorities in March 2020 in accordance with a U.S. warrant, having been used to transfer oil products to North Korean vessels and to make direct shipments to the North Korean port of Nampo.
