Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Egypt's rights record seen as worse than under Mubarak: Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday human rights in Egypt were perceived as worse now than under former strongman Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by protests in 2011. His comments marked a hardening after he said in 2017 he would not "lecture" President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over civil liberties, which activists say are being eroded. Saudi Arabia frees Ethiopian-born tycoon amid flurry of releases

Saudi Arabia has freed Saudi-Ethiopian businessman Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi more than 14 months after he was detained in a crackdown on corruption, the latest in a flurry of releases as the kingdom faces intense scrutiny over its human rights record. Amoudi, whom Forbes once called the richest man in Ethiopia and the second-richest Saudi, was among scores of members of the Saudi business and political elite rounded up Riyadh's Ritz-Carlton Hotel in November 2017 on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Risk of new Brazil dam burst forces 24,000 to evacuate homes

Firefighters called for the evacuation to higher ground of some 24,000 people from the Brazilian town hit by deadly mud flow from an earlier mining dam rupture, as a second dam threatened to collapse. Sirens began before dawn on Sunday, triggered by dangerous water levels at a tailings dam still standing in the Vale SA facility near Brumadinho in Minas Gerais state. U.S peace envoy visits Kabul to consult president on talks with Taliban

U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Sunday to try to secure cooperation from Afghanistan's president after breakthroughs in peace negotiations with Taliban leaders in Qatar. With Khalilzad and his boss U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well Taliban officials, hailing progress toward ending America's longest war, he must now win over President Ashraf Ghani -- whose government the Taliban have so far kept out of the process. Philippines vows to crush 'terrorists' after church bombs kill 20

The Philippines vowed to destroy those behind twin bombings that killed 20 people during a Sunday church service in the country's restive south, six days after a referendum on autonomy for the mainly Muslim region returned an overwhelming "yes" vote. The attack wounded more than 100 people and was one of the deadliest in recent years in a region long plagued by instability. It came amid hope and excitement about the ratification of a devolution plan that aims to bring development, jobs and peace to one of Asia's poorest and most volatile places. May to seek binding changes to Irish backstop: Boris Johsnon in The Telegraph

British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek legally binding changes to the Irish backstop from the European Union in an attempt to break the deadlock over Brexit, lawmaker Boris Johnson wrote in The Telegraph on Sunday, citing senior government sources. The PM is looking to change the text of the agreement to insert either a sunset clause or a mechanism for the UK to escape without reference to the EU, Boris Johnson said in The Telegraph. As nations turn on Maduro, Venezuela leader parades with military

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro oversaw a display of the army's Russian hardware on Sunday, with anti-aircraft flak and tank rounds pounding a hillside to show military force and loyalty in the face of an international ultimatum for new elections. Maduro, 56, is confronting an unprecedented challenge to his authority after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president citing a fraudulent election. Guaido has won wide international support and offers amnesty to soldiers who join him. Brazil prosecutor says Vale dam burst may scramble Samarco talks

The Brazilian prosecutor running talks to settle a lawsuit over a 2015 tailings dam rupture at the Samarco mine told Reuters on Saturday that a deadly dam burst on Friday at a mine run by Vale SA could scramble those sensitive negotiations. Federal prosecutor Jose Adercio Sampaio said that depending on Vale's culpability in the new disaster, it may change how his task force handles a 155 billion reais ($41 billion) case against Samarco Mineracao SA, a Vale joint venture with BHP Group. That case is currently suspended amid negotiations for a potential settlement. Far right protest during Auschwitz camp liberation commemoration

Dozens of Polish far right nationalists gathered at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland on Sunday to protest at the same time as officials and survivors marked the 74th anniversary of the camp's liberation in an annual ceremony. The two parties gathered in different parts of the camp, now an open-air museum, and did not encounter each other. It was the first time the far right has held a protest at Auschwitz at the annual event, which is also International Holocaust Victims Remembrance Day. 'Red scarves' march in Paris in riposte to 'yellow vests'

Thousands of protesters marched through Paris on Sunday to condemn violence in the "yellow vest" movement that has rocked France for weeks with angry protests over President Emmanuel Macron's rule. Some 10,000 people turned out for Sunday's counter-demonstration, a day after an 11th consecutive Saturday of "yellow vest" demonstrations across France that brought sporadic clashes with police.