Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

As forgiveness sweeps Ethiopia, some wonder about justice

Ethiopia has released thousands of prisoners as a new prime minister reverses decades of security abuses. No-one knows how many were tortured. But some of those torture victims are now talking openly - to the media, to their relatives and to their friends - about what happened to them after they were jailed, in many cases for protesting against the government.

Erdogan says Turkey will boycott U.S. electronics, lira steadies

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey will boycott electronic products from the United States, retaliating in a dispute with Washington that has helped drive the lira to record lows. The lira has lost more than 40 percent this year and crashed to an all-time low of 7.24 to the dollar early on Monday, hit by worries over Erdogan's calls for lower interest rates and worsening ties with the United States.

Outcry in Malaysia over two women sentenced to caning for lesbian sex

Human rights activists called on Tuesday on Malaysian authorities to review a religious court decision sentencing two women to six strokes for having sex. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is routinely persecuted in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where they are seen as a threat to conservative values.

U.S. pastor in Turkey appeals for release, lifting of travel ban: lawyer

An American Christian pastor standing trial in Turkey on terrorism charges has appealed again to a Turkish court to release him from house arrest and lift his travel ban, his lawyer told Reuters on Tuesday. Relations between the two NATO allies have spiraled into a full-blown crisis over the trial of Christian pastor Andrew Brunson, who was held for 21 months in a Turkish prison until his transfer to house arrest last month - a move Washington dismissed as insufficient.

Turkey hopes to find solution on Syria's Idlib with Russia

Turkey's foreign minister said on Tuesday he hoped his country and Russia could find a solution over the northern Syrian region of Idlib, a rebel-held enclave which the Syrian government says it aims to recapture. The Idlib region, a refuge for civilians and rebels displaced from other areas of Syria as well as powerful jihadist forces, was hit by a wave of air strikes and shelling last week, in a possible prelude to a full-scale government offensive.

From laboratory in far west, China's surveillance state spreads quietly

Filip Liu, a 31-year-old software developer from Beijing, was traveling in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang when he was pulled to one side by police as he got off a bus. The officers took Liu's iPhone, hooked it up to a handheld device that looked like a laptop and told him they were "checking his phone for illegal information".

China angered at new U.S. defense act, to assess content

China on Tuesday condemned measures targeting it in a new U.S. defense act, saying it exaggerated antagonism and that Beijing would take a close look at aspects that beef up the role of a U.S. panel that reviews foreign investment proposals. China's complaints about the act come as the world's two biggest economies engage in an increasingly bitter fight over trade, levying tariffs on each others' products.

Italy motorway bridge collapses on Genoa buildings in heavy rains, 'dozens' feared dead

A motorway bridge collapsed on Tuesday over the northern Italian port city of Genoa, killing dozens of people according to the local ambulance service, in what the transport minister said was likely to be "an immense tragedy". A section of the bridge crashed down from a height of about 50 meters over a river and some railroad tracks and buildings. It collapsed at about 11:30 a.m. (0930 GMT) during torrential rainfall, the local fire brigade said.

Explosion in Yemen's Aden targets provincial governor's convoy: witnesses

An explosion in Yemen's southern city of Aden targeted the convoy of a Saudi-backed Yemeni official, witnesses said on Tuesday. They said a roadside bomb hit the convoy of the governor of Taiz province, who is a member of the internationally recognized government in exile. The governor survived the blast but others were injured, they said.

Man suspected of terrorism attack on UK parliament after driving into pedestrians

British police said they believe a man deliberately drove a car into pedestrians and cyclists on Tuesday before ramming it into barriers outside London's parliament in what appeared to be the second terrorism attack on the building in just under 18 months. Three people were injured after the vehicle was driven through a group of cyclists and pedestrians during the early morning rush hour before smashing into a protective barrier on a lane used for accessing parliament.

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