Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Ex-Canada minister at center of ethics allegations set to testify

The former Canadian justice minister at the center of allegations of wrongdoing by government officials said on Tuesday she would break her silence as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's team sought to defuse the biggest crisis of his career. The Liberal government has been on the defensive since the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Feb. 7 that officials had pressured former minister Jody Wilson-Raybould last year to help construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc escape with a fine rather than face trial on charges of bribing Libyan officials. SNC has declined to comment. Venezuela shuts border with Caribbean islands ahead of aid efforts

Venezuela on Tuesday shut the maritime border with nearby Dutch Caribbean islands ahead of an opposition effort to bring in humanitarian aid from foreign territories including neighboring Curacao despite the protests of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro has rejected offers of foreign aid, denying there are widespread shortages and insisting that the country's economic problems are the result of sanctions by Washington. U.S. Palestinian mission to merge with Israel embassy in March

The United States Consulate General in Jerusalem, which serves Palestinians, will be absorbed into the new U.S. Embassy to Israel in March, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, giving a date for a merger that has been condemned by Palestinians. The decision to create a single diplomatic mission was announced last October by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who did not say at the time when this would take place. May heads to EU on Wednesday to push for Brexit breakthrough

Prime Minister Theresa May will meet top EU official Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Wednesday, pressing on with efforts to find a way to get their Brexit deal through Britain's parliament. A raft of meetings between EU and British officials in recent days has yet to produce a breakthrough after May's parliament resoundingly defeated the divorce deal she had agreed with the bloc in November. Haiti's serious crime unit to investigate foreigners arrested with guns

The serious crime unit of Haiti's national police is investigating several foreign nationals, including Americans, who were arrested in possession of semi-automatic weapons, Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant said. The group, which included five U.S. citizens, was arrested while driving in two vehicles on Sunday in the capital Port-au-Prince, adding to uncertainty in the impoverished Caribbean country after days of anti-government protests. Chilean nuns find 'relief' in Pope's recognition of Church abuse

Three former Chilean nuns who claim to have been sexually abused over two decades ago by priests in their religious order have hailed comments by Pope Francis earlier this month in which he recognized the abuse of nuns in the Catholic Church. The three nuns, who had been members of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan order in the Chilean city of Molina, 130 miles south of Santiago, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that they were embraced and fondled during the 1990s and 2000s by several priests who had since died. Assad adviser rejects idea of granting Syrian Kurds autonomy

A senior adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday flatly rejected the idea of giving Syrian Kurds a measure of autonomy, saying such a move would open the door to the partition of the country. The Kurdish-led authority that runs much of north and east Syria has presented a road map for a deal with Assad in recent meetings with his key ally Russia. Eighth lawmaker quits Britain's Labour Party

Joan Ryan, a Labour member of parliament, has become the eighth lawmaker to resign from Britain's main opposition party. Ryan, a lawmaker elected from Enfield North, wrote in a tweet late on Tuesday that she was resigning over concerns about anti-Semitism allegations within the party. Trump 'in no rush' on North Korea denuclearization as envoy heads to finalize summit plans

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he wants North Korea to end its nuclear program, but has no pressing time schedule for this, as he dispatched his special envoy to finalize preparations for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said sanctions against North Korea would remain in place in the meantime and noted Pyongyang's freeze in nuclear and missile testing since 2017. Cuba denies military in Venezuela, charges U.S. readies intervention

Cuba denied on Tuesday it has security forces in Venezuela and charged the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign of lies paving the way for military intervention in the South American country. U.S. President Donald Trump and members of the administration have charged that Cuba’s security forces and military control Venezuela’s and that troops are also on the ground there.