Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Christchurch workers, students return after NZ mosque shootings

New Zealand police promised a high-profile presence as schools and businesses in Christchurch reopened on Monday after a gunman killed 50 people at two mosques in the city last week, and the prime minister said she would start work on tightening gun laws. Families of victims were still waiting for bodies of those killed to be released after post mortems, with some of the dead to be taken overseas for burial. At least 157 dead in Zimbabwe, Mozambique as Cyclone Idai leaves trail of destruction

Cyclone Idai killed at least 157 people in Zimbabwe and Mozambique as it tore across Southern Africa, officials and state media said on Monday, and vast areas of land have been flooded, roads destroyed and communications disrupted. The Mozambican port city of Beira has suffered massive damage, the Red Cross said. The storm has also pounded Malawi. One feared dead in Dutch tram shooting in possible terrorist attack: authorities

One person was feared dead and several suffered gunshot wounds on Monday in a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht and a hunt was underway for the gunman in an incident authorities said appeared to be a terrorist attack. Dutch broadcaster NOS said police had surrounded a building where the suspected gunman was believed to be holed up. There was no immediate word on who the gunman was or on the precise number or identity of the victims. Rouhani says Iran will file legal case against U.S. for sanctions

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the government would file a legal case in Iran against U.S. officials who imposed sanctions on the country as a precursor to action in international courts. Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television that U.S. sanctions had created difficulties including a weaker rial currency that has fed into higher inflation. Myanmar military court to probe Rohingya atrocity allegations

Myanmar's army said on Monday it had set up a military court to investigate its conduct during a crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in 2017 that forced more than 730,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The court comprising a major-general and two colonels will investigate events in western Myanmar's Rakhine state in August 2017, the military said in a statement posted on the website of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the army commander-in-chief. Brexit boost for May as rebel Rees-Mogg signals he could back her

One of the most influential Brexit-backing lawmakers in Prime Minister Theresa May's party gave the strongest hint to date on Monday that rebels might back her departure deal, saying that a bad exit accord was better than staying in the European Union. May has warned lawmakers that unless they approve her Brexit divorce deal after two crushing defeats, Britain's exit from the EU could face a long delay which many Brexiteers fear would mean Britain may never leave. U.S.-backed force says it has taken positions in Islamic State Syria camp

U.S.-backed fighters said they had taken positions in Islamic State's last enclave in eastern Syria and air strikes pounded the tiny patch of land beside the Euphrates River early on Monday, a Reuters journalist said. Smoke rose over the tiny enclave as warplanes and artillery bombarded it. Another witness said the jihadists had earlier mounted a counter attack. U.N. rights expert: Israel depriving Palestinians of clean water

Israel is depriving millions of Palestinians of access to a regular supply of clean water while stripping their land of minerals "in an apparent act of pillage", a United Nations human rights investigator said on Monday. Michael Lynk, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said that Israel "continues full-steam with settlement expansion" in the West Bank, which the United Nations and many countries deem illegal. There are some 20-25,000 new settlers a year, he said. Algerian doctors call for protests against Bouteflika

Algeria's doctors have called for mass protests against Abdulaziz Bouteflika during the country's independence day celebrations on Tuesday, ratcheting up pressure on the ailing president who is clinging to power. In a statement released on Monday, the independent Collective of Algerian Medical Residents (CAMRA) urged medical students to take part and denounce the "ruling gangs". Boeing faces growing scrutiny in Ethiopian crash probe

The world's biggest planemaker faced escalating pressure on Monday after Ethiopia pointed to parallels between its crash and one in Indonesia, sharping the focus on the safety of software installed in Boeing 737 MAX planes. The Ethiopian Airlines disaster eight days ago killed 157 people, grounded Boeing's marquee MAX fleet worldwide, and sparked a high-stakes inquiry for the shaken aviation industry.