Reuters World News Summary
A Reuters witness said a large military convoy arrived in downtown Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government, leading hundreds of Palestinians to gather in the area. Brazil top court justice hands Congress more time to pass bill curtailing Indigenous rights A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday asked for more time to study a case pitting the country's Indigenous people against its powerful farm sector, a decision that is likely to give lawmakers more time to pass the measure favoring Big Agriculture.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Italian court convicts Swiss billionaire in asbestos deaths
An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced a Swiss billionaire to 12 years in jail after convicting him on charges of aggravated manslaughter related to the death of hundreds of people from exposure to asbestos. Judges in the city of Novara issued the verdict after more than seven hours of deliberations, according to multiple Italian media reports, which said prosecutors had asked for life imprisonment.
EU, US tell Kosovo to back down in Serb standoff or face 'consequences'
The United States and the European Union told Kosovo on Wednesday to back down in a tense standoff with Serbs in the north of the country or face "consequences" from its longtime Western allies. The warnings came as U.S. and EU envoys concluded visits to Kosovo and Serbia to calm tensions that flared into violence last week, wounding dozens of NATO peace-keeping soldiers and Serb protesters in northern Kosovo.
Massive fire as Sudanese factions battle for control of arms factory
A massive fire broke out on Wednesday near a military complex containing an arms factory in southern Khartoum that Sudan's army has battled to defend in some of the fiercest fighting for weeks in its conflict with a rival faction, witnesses said. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the eighth week of a power struggle with the army, attacked the heavily protected, sprawling Yarmouk complex on Tuesday, witnesses said. The group on Wednesday posted videos in which it claimed to have taken over a warehouse filled with weapons and ammunition as well as several entry points to the site.
Raging Canada wildfires threaten critical infrastructure, force evacuations
Hundreds of uncontrolled forest fires blazed across Canada on Wednesday, threatening critical infrastructure, forcing evacuations and sending a blanket of smoky air wafting over U.S. cities. Wildfires are common in Canada's western provinces, but this year flames have mushroomed rapidly in the country's east, making it the worst-ever start to the season.
Israeli army mounts rare raid into Palestinian city of Ramallah, clashes ensue
Clashes erupted after Israeli forces mounted a rare raid into the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank early on Thursday, in what the military said was an operation to demolish the house of an assailant. A Reuters witness said a large military convoy arrived in downtown Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government, leading hundreds of Palestinians to gather in the area.
Brazil top court justice hands Congress more time to pass bill curtailing Indigenous rights
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday asked for more time to study a case pitting the country's Indigenous people against its powerful farm sector, a decision that is likely to give lawmakers more time to pass the measure favoring Big Agriculture. The decision by Justice Andre Mendonca, an Evangelical pastor who was appointed in 2021 by far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, represents a set-back for the rights of Brazil's roughly one million Indigenous people.
US takes aim at China over Latin America trade tactics and fentanyl role
Senior U.S. policy makers took aim at China on Wednesday over its approach to Latin America, accusing Beijing of breaching economic norms and urging it to do more to help combat the illegal fentanyl trade. Testifying before a House of Representatives subcommittee, Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, reiterated the Biden administration's view that China's commercial inroads in the region have been marked by a "lack of transparency" in deals with "strings attached."
Surgery on pope was successful, doctors say he can travel
Pope Francis underwent a three-hour operation in a Rome hospital on Wednesday to repair a hernia, which doctors said was successful enough that he should have no limitations on his travels and other activities after he recovers. "He even joked with me about when we would do the third operation," said chief surgeon Doctor Sergio Alfieri, who carried out a first abdominal operation on Francis in 2021.
Ukrainians face homelessness, disease risk as floods crest from burst dam
Ukrainians abandoned inundated homes on Wednesday as floods crested across the south after the destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with their presidents trading blame for the disaster. Residents slogged through flooded streets carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms and belongings in plastic bags while rescuers used rubber boats to search areas where the waters reached above head height.
Frayed nerves and uprooted lives in Russian city close to Ukraine border
A week after fleeing her home in southern Russia to escape cross-border shelling from Ukraine, Irina Shevtsova is adjusting to life as a refugee inside her own country. Shevtsova is one of thousands of Russians who have abandoned their homes and taken shelter in Belgorod, the nearest big Russian city to the border with Ukraine.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)