Reuters World News Summary

The announcement follows five months of peace-building talks in Qatar between rebel factions and Chad's interim military government headed by Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power following his father's death last year. Gangs kill former Haitian senator amid spike in violence Gangs killed a former Haitian senator who led a government housing program on Saturday in an affluent area of Port-au-Prince, the prime minister said on Sunday, amid a spike in violence by criminal groups in the Caribbean nation's capital.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

German consul arrested in Brazil over husband's death

A German diplomat in Rio de Janeiro, Uwe Herbert Hahn, was arrested on Saturday night in connection with the death of his Belgian husband, police said. Hahn said that his husband, Walter Biot, had died on Friday when he fell from their apartment in the Ipanema neighborhood after suffering a sudden illness.

North Korea to convene parliament, anti-epidemic meeting amid zero COVID claim

North Korea will convene two key meetings, including one to review the country's anti-epidemic policy, in coming weeks, state media said on Monday, as it claims no new COVID-19 cases since late July. The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the isolated state's rubber-stamp parliament, will meet on Sept. 7 to discuss law on rural development and organizational matters, according to the official KCNA.

Israel and Palestinian militants declare Gaza truce

Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group declared a truce late on Sunday, raising hopes of an end to the most serious flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year.

Israeli forces pounded Palestinian targets through the weekend, triggering rocket attacks against its cities, which largely tapered off by the time the truce came into effect at 23:30 (20:30 GMT).

Cuba gets help from Mexico, Venezuela to fight oil fire

Cuba appeared to make progress on Sunday bringing under control a fire at its main oil storage facility that has killed one firefighter, drawing on help from Mexico and Venezuela to fight the raging flames. A lightning strike on Friday ignited one of eight storage tanks at the Matanzas super tanker port 60 miles east of Havana. A second tank caught fire on Saturday, catching firefighters and others at the scene by surprise. Sixteen people were missing.

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 infuriated China, which regards the self-ruled 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 Washington.

Ukraine power plant shelled again, Zelenskiy rails at Russian 'nuclear terror'

Ukraine said on Sunday that renewed Russian shelling had damaged three radiation sensors and hurt a worker at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, in the second hit in consecutive days on Europe's largest nuclear facility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Saturday night's shelling "Russian nuclear terror" that warranted more international sanctions, this time on Moscow's nuclear sector.

Palestinians sift through rubble at Gaza camp hit in Israeli strike

When Israeli rockets slammed into her neighbourhood in a crowded refugee camp in the Gaza strip on Saturday night, 9-year-old Leen Matar said she was so scared that she began to recite Islam's final prayers. "We were at my grandfather's house when suddenly the rubble started to fall on us," she told Reuters from a hospital bed, her father beside her as she was treated for a broken leg. "We started to cry until the neighbours arrived and rescued us."

Chad and rebels to sign deal after months of talks

Chad's transitional authorities and rebel groups are expected to sign an agreement in Doha on Monday paving the way to a broader national reconciliation dialogue later this month, the Qatari foreign ministry said. The announcement follows five months of peace-building talks in Qatar between rebel factions and Chad's interim military government headed by Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power following his father's death last year.

Gangs kill former Haitian senator amid spike in violence

Gangs killed a former Haitian senator who led a government housing program on Saturday in an affluent area of Port-au-Prince, the prime minister said on Sunday, amid a spike in violence by criminal groups in the Caribbean nation's capital. Yvon Buissereth was shot while police battled with gangs in the neighborhood of Laboule, following an outbreak of violence in recent weeks in Port-au-Prince and a turf war in the town of Cite Soleil that left 148 people lost, wounded or missing.

Chile sinkhole grows large enough to swallow France's Arc de Triomphe

A sinkhole in Chile has doubled in size, growing large enough to engulf France's Arc de Triomphe and prompting officials to order work to stop at a nearby copper mine. The sinkhole, which emerged on July 30, now stretches 50 meters (160 feet) across and goes down 200 meters (656 feet). Seattle's Space Needle would also comfortably fit in the black pit, as would six Christ the Redeemer statues from Brazil stacked head-to-head, giant arms outstretched.

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