Reuters World News Summary

Lebanon Tribunal postpones verdict in Hariri case to August 18 The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday said it would postpone its verdict in the trial over the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri to August 18, following the huge explosion in Beirut's port on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Former Guatemalan minister charged in U.S. with laundering $10 million

U.S. prosecutors charged Guatemalan former Economy Minister Asisclo Valladares on Wednesday with helping launder nearly $10 million in cash from drug traffickers and a corrupt politician. Valladares, a prominent official in the administration of former President Jimmy Morales that ended in January, used the proceeds of the laundering scheme to bribe politicians in Guatemala, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, in Miami, said in a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice. Special Report: COVID opens new doors for China's gene giant

As countries scramble to test for the novel coronavirus, a Chinese company has become a go-to name around the world. BGI Group, described in one 2015 study as "Goliath" in the fast-growing field of genomics research, is using an opening created by the pandemic to expand its footprint globally. In the past six months, it says it has sold 35 million rapid COVID-19 testing kits to 180 countries and built 58 labs in 18 countries. Some of the equipment has been donated by BGI's philanthropic arm, promoted by China's embassies in an extension of China's virus diplomacy. Kashmir under strict lockdown on anniversary of lost autonomy

With a heavy deployment of troops and barricades of barbed wire, India put Kashmir under the strictest lockdown in several months on Wednesday, the first anniversary of the Himalayan region's loss of autonomy. Streets in the Kashmir's main city of Srinagar were deserted, with armed paramilitary and police manning roadblocks to enforce a lockdown that was initially imposed on Tuesday to prevent any violent protests. Lebanon Tribunal postpones verdict in Hariri case to August 18

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday said it would postpone its verdict in the trial over the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri to August 18, following the huge explosion in Beirut's port on Tuesday. The United Nations-backed court located outside The Hague, Netherlands, was due to give a verdict in the trial of four men who are accused in the deaths of Hariri and 21 others this Friday. Beirut reels from huge blast as death toll climbs to at least 135

Lebanese rescue teams pulled out bodies and hunted for missing in the wreckage of buildings on Wednesday as investigations blamed negligence for a massive warehouse explosion that sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 135. More than 5,000 other people were injured in Tuesday's explosion at Beirut port, Health Minister Hamad Hassan said, and up to 250,000 were left without homes fit to live in after shockwaves smashed building facades, sucked furniture out into streets and shattered windows miles inland. With no nationwide rule, Amsterdam insists on virus masks

The City of Amsterdam on Wednesday began ordering use of face masks in crowded areas such as its "Red Light" prostitution district, in a drive against the coronavirus that stands in contrast with national policy. Last week the national Dutch government decided not to advise the public to wear masks, saying their effectiveness against the disease has not been proven and they may weaken adherence to social distancing rules. Mexican president stops for photo-op with narco-ballad singer in Sinaloa

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stopped to take a photo with a singer known for his celebratory "narcocorridos" during the president's visit to Sinaloa on Wednesday. Alfredo Rios, better known as "El Komander," is famous on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border for popular ballads that recount Mexico's brutal drug wars, often seen as glorifying violence and members of the cartels. At least 30 injured in grenade attack in Pakistan at Kashmir rally

At least 30 people were injured in a grenade attack on a rally in Karachi on Wednesday, as Pakistan marked the first anniversary of India's revocation of Kashmir's semi-autonomy. The wounded were rushed to different hospitals, where one was in a critical condition, an official from the provincial health department said. Mexican cartel operated with 'license' from previous government, current official says

A violent Mexican cartel that stole vast amounts of fuel from state energy company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) could operate for years because top government officials at the time looked the other way, a senior official from the current administration said. Authorities over the weekend captured gang leader Jose Antonio Yepez on his home turf in the central state of Guanajuato, the biggest arrest of an organized crime boss since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador came to power in December 2018. Biden says Trump's China trade deal is 'failing' badly

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Wednesday ratcheted up rhetoric on President Donald Trump's handling of the United States' increasingly tense trade relationship with China. "Trump's 'phase one' trade deal with China is failing - badly," Biden said in a statement sent to Reuters after Commerce Department data showed the U.S.-China trade deficit widened 5% to $28.4 billion in June from the month prior and confirming Beijing is falling well short of its commitments to buy U.S. goods.