Reuters World News Summary

Exclusive: WHO sweetens terms to join struggling global COVAX vaccine facility - documents Wealthier countries that join the World Health Organization's COVID-19 vaccine plan are being offered a new option to pick and choose which shots they get while reserving a right to receive their "full share" of doses, documents seen by Reuters show.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Where state is weak, Mali militants broker talks between rival clans

A few weeks before military officers overthrew Mali's government in a bloodless coup, a series of meetings in the remote centre of the country underscored how much the state's grip on power had loosened. Video of one gathering in the rural commune of Sangha shows leaders from the rival Dogon and Fulani communities, whose militias have slaughtered hundreds of civilians in tit-for-tat attacks this year, sitting down together and making peace. Mexican president forges crucible for corruption fight, eyeing key vote

Gearing up for a key election next year, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has wielded corruption as both a stick with which to beat political adversaries, and a lightning rod to deflect criticism from his record in office. Now, videos of his brother receiving cash from a political ally have cast doubt over Lopez Obrador's upright image, undermining his argument that entrenched corruption has fed chronic gang violence and held back Mexico's misfiring economy. Ailing Abe quits as Japan PM as COVID-19 slams economy, key goals unmet

Japan's Shinzo Abe on Friday said he was resigning because of poor health, ending a tenure as the country's longest-serving prime minister in which he sought to revive an economy stricken by deflation and push for a stronger military. His abrupt departure triggers a leadership battle in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over the next few weeks. The winner will likely stick to Abe's reflationary "Abenomics" policies that had mixed results in resuscitating the world's third-largest economy. Exclusive: WHO sweetens terms to join struggling global COVAX vaccine facility - documents

Wealthier countries that join the World Health Organization's COVID-19 vaccine plan are being offered a new option to pick and choose which shots they get while reserving a right to receive their "full share" of doses, documents seen by Reuters show. The change appears aimed at convincing governments which have negotiated their own bilateral deals securing experimental vaccines to also sign up for the global COVAX facility by Monday's deadline for submitting expressions of interest. Russia releases secret footage of 1961 'Tsar Bomba' hydrogen blast

Russia has released previously classified footage of the world's largest nuclear explosion, caused when the Soviet Union detonated the so-called Tsar Bomba almost 60 years ago. The hydrogen bomb, which carried the force of 50 million tons of conventional explosives, was detonated in a test in October 1961, 4,000 metres over the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago above the Arctic Circle. Deadly firefight in Lebanon prompts warnings of more trouble

A deadly battle between Lebanese Sunnis and Shi'ites overnight prompted warnings of more violence as the country is pushed to breaking point by a financial meltdown and political tensions. Two people - a 13-year-old Lebanese Sunni boy and a Syrian man - were killed in the Khaldeh area south of the capital in the shootout on Thursday night. British street artist Banksy funds refugee rescue boat

British street artist Banksy is funding a boat crewed by volunteer rescue professionals to rescue refugees in the Mediterranean attempting to reach Europe from Africa. The boat, named "Louise Michel" after a French feminist anarchist, has been operational since last week. On Thursday it rescued 89 people, including 14 women and four children, from a rubber boat in distress, the group said on its website. Nobel laureate author emerges as powerful voice backing Belarus protests

Wielding a bunch of flowers and surrounded by clapping supporters, Belarus's most celebrated writer has lent a powerful voice to the opposition against President Alexander Lukashenko, even if she has so far balked at taking a leadership role. Svetlana Alexievich, who won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Literature, has mostly kept a low profile and spent years in exile under Lukashenko's long rule. But she has become more outspoken since turmoil erupted following an Aug. 9 election. Belarus will reciprocate if sanctions imposed, Lukashenko says

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Friday threatened to retaliate with reciprocal measures if any sanctions were imposed against his country over an Aug. 9 presidential election which opponents say was rigged. Speaking during a dairy factory visit in the country's east, Lukashenko threatened to cut off transit routes through the country and boycott Lithuanian ports if sanctions were imposed. Special Report: One Brazilian farmer tried – and failed – to ranch more responsibly in the Amazon

Mauro Lucio Costa wanted to do the right thing for the world's largest rainforest. For decades, the third-generation rancher in northern Brazil watched guiltily as his industry, feeding soaring global appetite for beef, razed ever more jungle. So, gradually he experimented with grasses and grazing techniques that today make his ranch one of the most efficient in Brazil. Costa became a model for those who believe beef can be raised profitably and sustainably – even in the Amazon.