Reuters World News Summary

On Sunday, Jafar said he made peace for a second time after he heard about the government's decision to release 400 Taliban prisoners accused of conducting some of bloodiest attacks on civilians, including the deaths of his brothers.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Donors pledge 253 million euros in emergency aid for Lebanon after blast

An emergency donor conference on Sunday for blast-stricken Lebanon raised pledges worth nearly 253 million euros ($298 million) for immediate humanitarian relief, the French presidency said. Those commitments would not be conditional on political or institutional reform, President Emmanuel Macron's office said. There were also pledges made for longer-term support that would depend on changes brought in by the authorities, the Elysee Palace said. Australia's second-most populous state reports 322 new COVID-19 cases

Australia's second-most populous state has recorded 322 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the state's health department said on Monday. Victoria state said there were 19 fatalities from the virus in the last day. Beirut residents mourn destruction amid transformed cityscape

Curtains flutter through broken windows, piles of debris block the streets and top-floor apartments with their roofs blown off are exposed to the sky. As the residents of Beirut try to pick up their lives after an explosion that shook the country to its core, they are doing so with their surroundings utterly transformed. Beirut police fire tear gas as protesters regroup and two ministers quit

Lebanese police fired tear gas to try to disperse rock-throwing protesters blocking a road near parliament in Beirut on Sunday in a second day of anti-government demonstrations triggered by last week's devastating explosion. Fire broke out at an entrance to Parliament Square as demonstrators tried to break into a cordoned-off area, TV footage showed. Protesters also broke into the housing and transport ministry offices. Afghan war victims say hope for peace comes at a price: forgiveness

At the age of 17, Mohammed Jafar married three women, widows of his three brothers killed in a suicide bombing in 2016 in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, as he decided to make peace with the diktats of local Pasthun tribal elders. On Sunday, Jafar said he made peace for a second time after he heard about the government's decision to release 400 Taliban prisoners accused of conducting some of bloodiest attacks on civilians, including the deaths of his brothers. U.S. health chief arrives in Taiwan on trip condemned by China

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday as the highest-level U.S. official to visit in four decades, a trip condemned by China which claims the island as its own, further irritating Sino-U.S. relations. Washington broke off official ties with Taipei in 1979 in favour of Beijing. The Trump administration has made strengthening its support for the democratic island a priority, and boosted arms sales. Brazil registers 3,035,422 confirmed cases of coronavirus, total deaths rise to 101,049

Brazil reported 23,010 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 572 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday. Brazil has registered 3,035,422 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, and the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 101,049, according to ministry data. Brazil's coronavirus outbreak is the world's worst after the United States. 'Holy warrior' selfies: Pakistan teen feted for killing U.S. blasphemy suspect

Faisal Khan, a 15-year-old Pakistani, beams for selfies with lawyers and police. Thousands hail him in the streets as a "holy warrior." His claim to adulation? Allegedly gunning down in open court an American accused of blasphemy, a capital crime in this Islamic republic. Gunmen kill six French aid workers, their driver and guide in Niger, minister says

Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, officials said. The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve just 65 km (40 miles) from the West African country's capital Niamey, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. "They were intercepted and killed," he said. Afghanistan to release 400 'hard-core' Taliban prisoners in bid for peace

The Afghan government agreed on Sunday to release 400 "hard-core" Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war. The insurgent group welcomed the move and said it was ready to begin talks within 10 days of the release.