Reuters World News Summary

Israel, UAE to normalize relations in shift in Mideast politics; West Bank annexations on hold Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. 'Massive poisonous shock': Scientists fear lasting impact from Mauritius oil spill

Some corals have lived for centuries at the fringes of Mauritius. Now smothered for days in heavy fuel oil spilled from a wrecked Japanese tanker nearby, parts of those reefs may be in trouble. The full impact of the toxic spill is still unfolding, scientists say. As the Indian Ocean island's residents scramble to mop up the oil slicks and clumps, they are seeing dead eels and fish floating in the water, as fuel-soaked seabirds limp onto shore. Chinese cities find coronavirus in frozen food imports, WHO downplays infection risk

Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, local authorities said on Thursday, although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the virus entering the food chain. A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern city of Xian, have tested positive for the virus, local Chinese authorities said. U.S. envoy: FBI to join Beirut blast probe, Lebanon must end 'empty promises'

A top U.S. diplomat said on Thursday the FBI would join a probe of the massive Beirut explosion that killed at least 172 people, urging change in Lebanon to "make sure something like this never happens again". On a tour of a demolished Beirut neighbourhood, U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs David Hale said Lebanon needed "economic and fiscal reforms, an end to dysfunctional governance and to empty promises". New Zealand to announce decision on coronavirus lockdown extension

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is due to announce on Friday whether a lockdown in the country's biggest city will be eased or extended, as officials scramble to contain a coronavirus outbreak. Ardern put Auckland, home to about 1.7 million people, into lockdown on Wednesday, just hours after a four new COVID-19 cases were discovered in a family living in the city. She also reinstated social distancing measures across the country. Israel, UAE to normalize relations in shift in Mideast politics; West Bank annexations on hold

Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran. Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle East. Ontario to 'unlock' C$500 million for school distancing, ventilation

Ontario will allow its school boards to dip into reserve funds to ensure physical distancing in classrooms and will also provide money for ventilation upgrades ahead of the new term in September, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said on Thursday. School boards in Canada's most populous province will be able to access about C$500 million ($378.3 million) in reserve funding to hire new teachers or lease space. Boards that do not have reserves will be given top up funding. U.N. Security Council starts Iran arms embargo vote, result Friday

The United Nations Security Council started voting on Thursday on a U.S. bid to extend an arms embargo on Iran, which is opposed by veto-powers Russia and China, and the result will be announced at a meeting on Friday, diplomats said. The 15-member council has been operating virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic so states have 24 hours to cast a vote. England resumes lockdown easing but stiffens punishment on rule breaches

Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the reopening of the economy in England to resume, saying a rise in infections that prompted caution two weeks ago had now levelled off, but warning of harsher punishment for those who breach the remaining rules. Last month, amid rising case numbers, Johnson said there was "a warning light on the dashboard" and paused the reopening of casinos, bowling alleys and skating rinks just hours before they opened their doors. 'We don't need war': Belarus leadership says sorry in bid to quell protests

An ally of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko issued a rare public apology on Thursday in a bid to quell nationwide street protests that pose the biggest challenge to the strongman leader's 26-year rule. At least two protesters have died and thousands have been detained this week in a crackdown following Lukashenko's contested re-election that has prompted the West to consider new sanctions on Minsk. NSA, FBI expose Russian intelligence hacking tool: report

The U.S. National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have exposed a sophisticated Russian hacking tool, they said on Thursday in a rare public report offering new insight on Russia's arsenal of digital weapons. The NSA and FBI said that Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate, known as the GRU, was using a hacking tool code named "Drovorub" to break into Linux-based computers. Linux is an operating system commonly used across computer server infrastructure.