Reuters World News Summary

It has been the site's longest period out of action since World War Two. Trump signs bill pressuring China over Uighur Muslim crackdown President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday calling for sanctions over the repression of China's Uighur Muslims, as excerpts from a book by former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton alleged that Trump encouraged China's president to continue with detention camps for the minority group.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. In rebel Syria, some welcome sanctions but fear for economy

In the last bastion of the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, Syrians who fled his rule see new U.S. sanctions as a step in the right direction but say they must be shielded from any fallout as the currency crumbles. The toughest U.S. sanctions yet against Damascus came into effect on Wednesday under the Caesar Act, named after a Syrian military photographer who smuggled thousands of photos out of Syria showing mass killings, torture and other crimes. Brother of George Floyd urges U.N. probe into U.S. racism, violence

The brother of the late George Floyd, a black man whose death under the knee of a white officer roused world protests against racial injustice, urged the United Nations on Wednesday to investigate U.S. police brutality and racial discrimination. "The way you saw my brother tortured and murdered on camera is the way black people are treated by police in America," Philonise Floyd told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva by video. Eiffel Tower to re-open - but you will have to take the stairs

The Eiffel Tower is preparing to welcome back visitors after the COVID-19 lockdown, but they will need to be fit: because of lingering concerns about infection, the elevators will initially be off-limits. Workers at the Parisian landmark, which looms 324 metres (1,062 feet) over the French capital, were on Wednesday making preparations to re-open on June 25, after three months of shutdown. It has been the site's longest period out of action since World War Two. Trump signs bill pressuring China over Uighur Muslim crackdown

President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday calling for sanctions over the repression of China's Uighur Muslims, as excerpts from a book by former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton alleged that Trump encouraged China's president to continue with detention camps for the minority group. The bill, which Congress passed with only one "no" vote, was intended to send China a strong message on human rights by mandating sanctions against those responsible for oppression of members of China's Muslim minority. Mexico, India, Ireland, Norway elected to U.N. Security Council, one seat still open

Mexico, India, Ireland and Norway were elected to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, but the 193 U.N. member states must return on Thursday to continue voting to fill one more vacant seat after there was no clear winner. Canada lost out to Ireland and Norway in a hotly contested election that included Ireland enlisting the help of U2 singer Bono and taking U.N. ambassadors to a U2 concert and Canada taking envoys to a Celine Dion concert. Johnson, Macron to honour French Resistance fighters in London

Four men who played significant roles in the French Resistance during World War Two will be honoured by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony in London on Thursday. Macron, on his first trip outside France since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March, will also meet Johnson at 10 Downing Street to discuss their governments' responses to the pandemic. Brazil coronavirus deaths climb to 46,510, cases near 1 million

Brazil recorded 1,269 additional COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, bringing its official death toll from the novel coronavirus to 46,510, the most in the world outside the United States. The Health Ministry also registered 32,188 new cases of the virus since its Tuesday update, for a total of 955,377 confirmed cases, also second to the United States globally. Iran to send black boxes from downed Ukrainian airliner to Ukraine: minister

Iran will send the black boxes from a downed Ukrainian airliner to Ukraine, Iran’s minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mohammad Eslami, said on Wednesday, according to the Tasnim news agency. The Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down on Jan. 8 by an Iranian ground-to-air missile, killing 176 people in what Tehran termed a “disastrous mistake” at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. Pompeo meets China's top diplomat in Hawaii, State Department says

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Hawaii on Wednesday, the State Department said, amid a deep deterioration of relations between strategic rivals that are the world's two top economies. The two have been at loggerheads over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and China's move to impose new security legislation on Hong Kong. U.S. warns of pirates in southern Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. government on Wednesday issued a warning about the threat posed by pirates to boats and oil installations in the southern Gulf of Mexico, in the latest sign of concern about ongoing security challenges facing Mexico. "Armed criminal groups have been known to target and rob commercial vessels, oil platforms, and offshore supply vessels in the Bay of Campeche area in the southern Gulf of Mexico," the U.S. State Department said in an updated travel advisory.