Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Bolsonaro joins protesters as Brazil political scandal heats up amid pandemic

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday hailed supporters rallying in the country's capital to back his administration as an unfolding political scandal adds to the public health crisis driven by the coronavirus outbreak. Surrounded by security guards wearing masks, but not wearing one himself, Bolsonaro was shown in a live streaming video on his Facebook page greeting protesters waving Brazilian flags and calling him a "Legend," days after Brazil topped Russia to become the world's No. 2 virus hot spot after the United States. Jacinda Ardern stays cool as earthquake rattles New Zealand capital

An earthquake struck near New Zealand's capital on Monday morning, shaking many residents including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who continued with a live TV interview at the parliament building. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake was 37 kms deep and the epicentre was 30 km northwest of Levin, a city in New Zealand's North Island close to the capital Wellington, according to Geonet. Coronavirus 'cover-up' is China's Chernobyl: White House adviser

A top White House official on Sunday likened China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak to the Soviet Union's cover-up of the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. National security adviser Robert O'Brien said Beijing knew what was happening with the virus, which originated in Wuhan, from November but lied to the World Health Organization and prevented outside experts from accessing information. Australia's most populous state braces for travel chaos as schools, offices reopen

Australia's most populous state on Monday deployed hundreds of crowd control staff to enforce social distancing on public transport amid an expected commuter surge as schools and offices reopened and coronavirus cases fell. Australia has reported just over 7,100 COVID-19 infections, including 102 deaths, well below figures reported by other developed countries. White House limits travel to U.S. from Brazil due to coronavirus

The White House on Sunday said it was prohibiting most non-U.S. citizens from traveling to the United States if they had been in Brazil in the last two weeks, two days after the South American nation became the world No. 2 hot spot for coronavirus cases. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure foreign nationals do not bring additional infections to the United States, but would not apply to the flow of commerce between the two countries. Chile's hospitals under strain as coronavirus cases near 70,000, president says

Chile's healthcare system is under strain and "very close to the limit," President Sebastian Pinera said on Sunday, as the number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections approaches 70,000 after a rapid increase in recent days. The Ministry of Health reported 3,709 new cases in the last day, bringing the total to 69,102. The death toll is at 718. Thousands protest Chinese security law as unrest returns to Hong Kong

Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of people who rallied on Sunday to protest against Beijing's plan to impose national security laws on the city. In a return of the unrest that roiled Hong Kong last year, crowds thronged the Causeway Bay shopping area in defiance of curbs imposed to contain the coronavirus. Chants of "Hong Kong independence, the only way out," echoed through the streets. Defiant Netanyahu goes on trial in Israel charged with corruption

Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday became the first serving Israeli prime minister to go on trial, proclaiming his innocence in the corridor before walking into court to face charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The trial came a week after Israel's longest-serving leader was sworn in to a record fifth term, demonstrating his knack for survival by securing an unexpected power-sharing deal with his main opponent after three inconclusive elections in a year. He says the cases against him are a left-wing plot to unseat him. Haiti voodoo leaders prepare temples for coronavirus sufferers

Haiti's voodoo leaders have trained priests of the Afro Caribbean religion to concoct a secret remedy for the novel coronavirus and to prepare the sacred initiation chambers of their temples to receive patients. In Haiti, where Western healthcare services are scarce and too expensive for many, inhabitants often rely on the herbal remedies and ritual practices of their voodoo "houngan" priest or "mambo" priestess. Johnson risks party wrath to back aide who crossed UK during lockdown

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed his senior adviser Dominic Cummings on Sunday, despite calls from within his own Conservative Party for the aide to resign for driving 250 miles during the coronavirus lockdown. Cummings, architect of the 2016 campaign to leave the EU, came under pressure when newspapers reported he had travelled from London to northern England in March when his wife was ill with COVID-19 symptoms during a nationwide lockdown.

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