Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pakistan cable car ordeal ends with all on board, mostly children, rescued

Pakistani rescuers pulled seven children and one man to safety after their cable car became stranded high over a remote ravine on Tuesday, ending an ordeal lasting more than 15 hours. "It was a unique operation that required lots of skill," the military said in a statement.

Greece discovers 18 charred bodies as southern Europe wildfires spread

Eighteen charred bodies were found in a remote village in northeastern Greece on Tuesday where wildfires have been raging for days, authorities said, as a heatwave that has seen red alerts issued across southern Europe turned deadly. Firefighters said they were investigating whether the bodies, found near a shack south of the village of Avantas, were migrants. The surrounding Evros region is a popular route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia crossing from Turkey.

African Union suspends Niger over coup, prepares sanctions

The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger from all its activities following last month's military coup there and told its members to avoid any action that might legitimise the junta.

The coup has caused alarm among Western allies and democratic African states who fear it could allow Islamist groups active in the Sahel region to expand their reach and give Russia a foothold to increase its influence.

BRICS divisions re-emerge ahead of critical expansion debate

BRICS leaders met on Tuesday to plot the future course of the bloc of developing nations but divisions re-emerged ahead of a critical debate over a potential expansion of the group intended to boost its global clout. Heightened tensions in the wake of the Ukraine war and Beijing's growing rivalry with the United States have pushed China and Russia - whose President Vladimir Putin will attend the meeting virtually - to seek to strengthen BRICS.

Guatemala's Arevalo wants more US temporary work programs to stem migration

Bernardo Arevalo, who won Sunday's Guatemalan presidential runoff by a landslide, said he wants to work with the U.S. to expand temporary work programs for migrants there, while also increasing investment in his country's poorest areas to reduce departures. In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, the 64-year-old center-left anti-corruption crusader said the U.S. and Guatemala must sit down to "find ways to influence a phenomenon that we share."

Number of US children killed by guns hit record high in 2021 - study

Child gun deaths in the United States have hit a record high, according to a new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's mortality database, the study published on Monday in the AAP's journal Pediatrics found that 4,752 children died from gun-related injuries in 2021, the latest year for which data was available, up from 4,368 in 2020 and 3,390 in 2019.

Thailand's Thaksin jailed on return from exile as ally Srettha wins PM vote

Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra made a historic homecoming on Tuesday and was escorted to jail after years in exile, on a day when an ally and fellow tycoon was elected prime minister after winning a parliamentary vote. The 74-year-old Thaksin, the billionaire founder of the electoral juggernaut Pheu Thai, finally made good on promises to go back to Thailand after a run of 15 years in self-exile, stealing the limelight from real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin as he prevailed for their party in parliament.

US commerce secretary to visit China next week for talks

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week for meetings with senior Chinese government officials and U.S. business leaders, the department said on Tuesday, marking the latest in a recent series of high-level visits. Last month, Raimondo vowed to go forward with the visit despite the reported Chinese hacking of her department's emails.

Ecuador should hold violent convicts on prison boats, says presidential hopeful Noboa

Ecuador should strengthen controls at its borders and ports to fight drug trafficking and isolate its most violent criminals on prison boats, presidential candidate Daniel Noboa said on Tuesday. Noboa, son of prominent banana businessman and perennial presidential hopeful Alvaro Noboa, was a surprise second-place finisher in the weekend first round of Ecuador's presidential election, winning 23.5% of the vote.

China's Xi tells BRICS summit that Chinese economy is resilient

China's leader Xi Jinping told the BRICS group on Tuesday that China's economy was resilient and that the fundamentals for its long-term growth remained unchanged. Xi, who is in South Africa for a summit of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), made the remarks in a prepared statement read by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao at a business forum.

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