Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Exclusive: U.S. threatens to derail meeting of Latam lender if China bars Venezuela

The United States on Thursday threatened to pull out of the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in China next week if Beijing refuses to allow a representative of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to attend. The Washington-based IADB, the biggest lender to Latin America, voted last week to replace Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's board representative with Harvard economist Ricardo Hausmann, who is backed by Guaido. Venezuela detains top aide to Guaido in move U.S. calls 'big mistake'

Venezuelan authorities detained opposition leader Juan Guaido's chief of staff on Thursday in a pre-dawn raid, an escalating crackdown by President Nicolas Maduro against his opponents that the White House said would "not go unanswered." Maduro's government accused Roberto Marrero of planning attacks against top political figures, which the opposition said was false and an act of intimidation. Brazil's ex-President Temer jailed, accused of heading 'criminal organization'

Brazil's former President Michel Temer was arrested on Thursday in "Operation Radioactivity," a probe of alleged graft in the construction of a nuclear power plant, threatening to delay debate over the government's ambitious fiscal reforms. Temer was president from 2016 to 2018, taking office after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, who he served under as vice president for six years. His lawyer confirmed he was arrested in Sao Paulo, and his legal team has lodged an appeal for Temer to be freed. Ferry capsize kills nearly 80 in Iraq's Mosul: medics

At least 79 people died when an overloaded ferry carrying families on an outing sank in the Tigris river in Mosul in northern Iraq, medical sources told Reuters on Thursday. Most of the casualties on the ferry were women and children who could not swim, said the head of Mosul's Civil Defence Authority Husam Khalil. German minister urges sanctions on EU members flouting principles

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday the European Union should cut funding and impose sanctions on members which pass laws that contravene core EU principles such having an independent judiciary and freedom of the press. Maas told German broadcaster ZDF that countries like Romania, Hungary and Poland received more EU funding than they provided, so curtailing that could provide important leverage. In major shift, Trump says time for U.S. to recognize Israeli sovereignty over Golan

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday it was time to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights that Israel seized from Syria in 1967, marking a dramatic shift in U.S. policy and giving a boost to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the middle of his re-election campaign. The disputed area was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. Netanyahu has pressed the United States to recognize its claim and raised that possibility in his first White House meeting with Trump in February 2017. U.S. announces first new North Korea sanctions since failed summit

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on two Chinese shipping companies it says helped North Korea evade U.S. and international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, the first such steps since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's summit collapsed last month. The U.S. Treasury Department also issued an updated advisory that listed 67 vessels that it said had engaged in illicit transfers of refined petroleum with North Korean tankers or were believed to have exported North Korean coal. China urges U.S. to block Taiwan leader's Hawaii stopover

China urged the United States on Thursday not to allow Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to stop over in Hawaii next week when she makes a tour of the island's diplomatic allies in the Pacific, adding another irritant to Beijing-Washington ties. China regards Taiwan as its sacred territory and regularly calls it the most sensitive and important issue in ties with the United States. It always complains about transit stops by Taiwan leaders in the United States. New Zealand marks one week since mosque attack with prayers, scarves

New Zealanders prepared for nationwide prayers on Friday to mark one week since a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch killed 50 worshippers. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will lead thousands of mourners expected to gather at a park in front of the Al Noor mosque, where most of the victims died, for a prayer followed by two minutes of silence. EU readies short Brexit delay - if May wins parliament over

European Union leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday to give Prime Minister Theresa May an offer to delay Brexit beyond March 29, on condition that she can finally win over her many opponents in parliament next week. Nearly three years after Britons narrowly voted in a referendum to leave the EU, May has been unable to unite her divided cabinet, parliament or nation behind her exit plan.