World News Roundup: Four cargo ships sail from Ukraine Black Sea ports; Ukraine says worker wounded in new Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and more

Fighters believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed residents and burned down houses in Kandoyi and Bandiboli villages in Ituri province late on Friday and early on Saturday, said Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator of the local group Convention for the Respect of Human Rights (CRDH). Amnesty regrets 'distress' caused by report rebuking Ukraine Amnesty International apologised on Sunday for "distress and anger" caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians which infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation of its Kyiv office head.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Four cargo ships sail from Ukraine Black Sea ports

Four ships carrying Ukrainian foodstuffs sailed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Sunday as part of a deal to unblock the country's sea exports, Ukrainian and Turkish officials said.

The four bulk carriers were loaded with almost 170,000 tonnes of corn and other foodstuffs, Ukraine's seaports authority said on Facebook.

Ukraine says worker wounded in new Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom said on Sunday a worker was wounded and radiation monitoring sensors were damaged when Russian forces renewed their shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, on Saturday night. The plant was also shelled on Friday, and Russia again blamed Ukraine for the fresh incident.

Suspected Islamists kill 20 in east Congo village attacks

Suspected Islamist militants killed around 20 people in attacks on two villages in eastern Congo over the weekend, the army and a local human rights group said on Sunday. Fighters believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed residents and burned down houses in Kandoyi and Bandiboli villages in Ituri province late on Friday and early on Saturday, said Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator of the local group Convention for the Respect of Human Rights (CRDH).

Amnesty regrets 'distress' caused by report rebuking Ukraine

Amnesty International apologized on Sunday for the "distress and anger" caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians which infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation of its Kyiv office head. The rights group published the report on Thursday saying the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened risks to civilians during Russia's invasion.

Egyptian mediators propose Gaza truce as of 1900 GMT, source says

Egyptian mediators have proposed a Gaza truce that would take effect at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Sunday, an Egyptian security source said, adding that Israel had agreed while Cairo was still seeking a Palestinian response. There was no immediate confirmation from Israel or Palestinian Islamist Jihad militants. The sides have been exchanging fire across the Gaza border since Friday.

Palestinian rockets reach west of Jerusalem on the third day of Gaza fighting

Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Jerusalem on Sunday, causing no casualties but signaling new reach and resolve as Israel pressed air strikes in the Gaza Strip and admitted Jewish visitors to a contested mosque compound. The Islamic Jihad faction said it targeted Jerusalem in retaliation for Israel's killing overnight of Khaled Mansour, its commander in southern Gaza. "The blood of the martyrs will not be wasted," it said.

Chinese and Taiwanese warships shadow each other as drills due to end

Chinese and Taiwanese warships played high seas "cat and mouse" on Sunday ahead of the scheduled end of four days of unprecedented Chinese military exercises launched in reaction to a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi's visit last week to the self-ruled island infuriated China, which regards the island as its territory and which responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over the island's capital for the first time and the cutting of some areas of dialogue with the United States.

Leftist Petro takes office in Colombia amid economic, social challenges

Gustavo Petro will on Sunday become Colombia's first leftist president, elected by voters who hope he can carry out ambitious social and economic reforms meant to reduce violence and deep inequality in the polarized Andean country. Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrillas, is set to be inaugurated in Bogota's Bolivar Plaza on Sunday afternoon.

Sri Lanka asks China to defer arrival of ship after India objects

Sri Lanka has asked China to defer the planned visit of a Chinese survey ship to the island country after an objection from India, a government source told Reuters on Sunday. The Chinese research and survey vessel, Yuan Wang 5, was still on its way to Sri Lanka's Hambantota port. It is scheduled to arrive there on Aug. 11, according to shipping data from Refinitiv.

COVID lockdown turns Chinese tourist hotspot Sanya into a nightmare for stranded tourists

When Chinese businesswoman Yang Jing was planning this year's summer holiday in 2021, she chose the tropical southern island of Hainan because of its nigh-perfect COVID track record.

The island in the South China Sea recorded just two positive symptomatic COVID-19 cases in the whole of last year. Fast forward to this month, however, and the number of cases has suddenly soared, prompting a lockdown in the city of Sanya and leaving tens of thousands of tourists like Yang stuck on the island.