Reuters World News Summary

The loss of a parliamentary majority won by Hezbollah and its allies in 2018 is a reversal for the heavily armed group, a dominant force in Lebanon for years with unwavering support from Shi'ite-led Iran, and may present Sunni Muslim-led Saudi Arabia with new possibilities for reasserting sway in Beirut. Human Rights Watch documents 'apparent war crimes' by Russia in Ukraine A leading human rights watchdog said on Wednesday it had documented further cases of "apparent war crimes" by Russian troops in two regions in Ukraine.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Turkey's Erdogan links Sweden, Finland NATO bid to return of 'terrorists'

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Sweden should not expect Turkey to approve its NATO bid without returning "terrorists", and Swedish and Finnish delegations should not come to Turkey to convince it to back their membership in the alliance. U.S. President Joe Biden and top officials from his administration repeated that they are confident Ankara's objection will not be a roadblock for the accession process of the Nordic countries, even though they did not spell out how Turkey's position could be changed.

Canada-U.S. asylum-seeker pact has adequate safeguards, Canada argues in court documents

The agreement under which Canada turns back asylum-seekers crossing from the United States has adequate safety valves, and the U.S. asylum system has sufficient safeguards, to make the pact constitutional in Canada, the federal government argued in court documents filed with Canada's Supreme Court on Wednesday. Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, signed in 2002, asylum-seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border at formal crossings are turned back, with few exceptions, and told to apply for refugee status in the first "safe" country they arrived in.

COVID is rising in the Americas, virus 'not going away anytime soon' -PAHO

COVID-19 is on the rise again in the Americas as many countries have abandoned measures like masking and social distancing and many lag in vaccination rates, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday. Cases in the Americas surged 27.2% last week from the prior one, driven primarily by a spike in infections in the United States, according to PAHO.

Brazilian jurists call on U.N. to report on Bolsonaro attacks on judiciary

Brazil's democracy and independence of its judiciary are under threat from the government of president Jair Bolsonaro as it prepares for elections in October, a group of lawyers and legal experts said on Wednesday in a petition to the United Nations. The group of 80 jurists and legal researchers appealed to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Diego Garcia-Sayan, to visit Brazil and report the current attacks on the Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court that oversees elections.

Yellen: Not legal for U.S. to seize Russian official assets

The United States does not have legal authority to seize Russian central bank assets frozen due to its invasion of Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, but talks with U.S. partners over ways to make Russia foot the bill for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction are starting. Yellen also said it is likely that the special license granted to allow Russia to make payments to its U.S. bondholders would not be extended when it expires next week, leaving Russian officials a fast-narrowing window to avoid its first external debt default since the 1917 Russian revolution.

Analysis-For Riyadh, Hezbollah setback is rare good news from Lebanon

For Saudi Arabia, losses for Iran's allies in a Lebanese general election mark a rare piece of good news from a country where Tehran has long been ascendant, and could play to Riyadh's advantage in a regional tussle for influence. The loss of a parliamentary majority won by Hezbollah and its allies in 2018 is a reversal for the heavily armed group, a dominant force in Lebanon for years with unwavering support from Shi'ite-led Iran, and may present Sunni Muslim-led Saudi Arabia with new possibilities for reasserting sway in Beirut.

Human Rights Watch documents 'apparent war crimes' by Russia in Ukraine

A leading human rights watchdog said on Wednesday it had documented further cases of "apparent war crimes" by Russian troops in two regions in Ukraine. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that Russian forces controlling much of the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions from late February through March had subjected civilians to summary executions, torture and other grave abuses.

How Turkey spoiled NATO's historic moment with Finland, Sweden

When Finland and Sweden signalled they were thinking of making the historic decision joining NATO, the alliance expected a tough response from Moscow, not from one of its own. Yet at a gathering of NATO foreign ministers with their Finnish and Swedish counterparts on Saturday to celebrate the biggest shift in European security in decades, Turkey's participant darkened the mood.

U.S. warns of possible North Korean nuclear or missile test during Biden Asia trip

U.S intelligence shows there could be a North Korean nuclear test, or missile test, or both, before, during or after President Joe Biden's trip to South Korea and Japan starting this week, the U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, said on Wednesday. "We are preparing for all contingencies, including the possibility that such a provocation would occur while we are in Korea or in Japan," Sullivan told a White House briefing.

More Ukraine fighters surrendering in Mariupol, Russia says

Moscow said nearly 700 more Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Russian-held Mariupol as it shored up a key gain in the south, while the United States became the latest Western country to reopen its embassy in Kyiv. Ukraine has ordered its garrison in Mariupol to stand down, but the ultimate outcome of Europe's bloodiest battle for decades remains unresolved.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)