Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Nazarbayev ally set to win Kazakh vote as hundreds protest

Police in Kazakhstan detained about 500 people on Sunday after dispersing protests against an uncompetitive presidential election set to confirm Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as the successor to veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev, who had run the oil-rich former Soviet republic for almost three decades before stepping down in March, and retains sweeping powers, hand-picked the 66-year-old diplomat to succeed him, making the outcome of the vote against challengers with little political profile all but certain. Civil disobedience campaign empties streets of Sudan's capital

A campaign of civil disobedience to demand civilian rule left the streets of Sudan's capital Khartoum largely deserted as the working week began on Sunday, while a 20-year-old man was shot dead in Omdurman, witnesses and opposition medics said. Opposition and protest groups had called for workers to stay at home after security forces stormed a protest camp on Monday, killing dozens and dealing a blow to hopes of a peaceful transition after the overthrow of president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April. Syrian rebel town buries goalie who became 'singer of the revolution'

Thousands of people flocked to the funeral on Sunday of a Syrian soccer star turned fighter who became an icon of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Abdelbasset al-Sarout, 27, died on Saturday from wounds he sustained in northwest Syria, where an army offensive has pounded the last major rebel bastion for weeks. Mexico has yet to expand asylum-seeker program agreed to with U.S.

Mexico has yet to expand the number of border crossings where U.S.-bound asylum seekers must be returned to Mexican territory to await processing, despite a deal announced on Friday calling for an immediate expansion, three officials told Reuters. The deal approved by both countries removed the threat of punishing tariffs on all Mexican exports that was issued by President Donald Trump on May 30. Hundreds of thousands march in Hong Kong to protest China extradition bill

Hong Kong was plunged into a fresh political crisis on Sunday night after more than half a million people took to the streets to thwart a proposed extradition law that would allow suspects to be sent to mainland China to face trial. Organizers said the turnout outstripped a demonstration in 2003 when 500,000 hit the streets to challenge government plans for tighter national security laws. UK leadership hopefuls launch campaigns to take control of Brexit

Several of the leading candidates to become Britain's next prime minister and take on the challenge of delivering Brexit will launch their leadership campaigns on Monday, as the crowded contest officially begins. Britain is seeking a new leader after Theresa May announced she would resign, having failed to deliver Brexit on schedule in March and seen her authority over a divided parliament evaporate after three heavy defeats in votes to approve her exit deal. Qatar urges de-escalation in U.S.-Iran row

Qatar and other countries have been talking to both Iran and the United States about de-escalation, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Sunday, urging both sides to meet and find a compromise. “We believe that at one point there should an engagement – it cannot last forever like this," he told reporters in London on Sunday. “Since they are not willing to engage in further escalation, they should come up with ideas that open the doors.” German minister lands in Iran in bid to save nuclear pact

Germany's foreign minister has arrived in Tehran to hold talks with President Hassan Rouhani on Monday, as part of a concerted European effort to preserve Iran's nuclear pact with world powers and defuse rising U.S.-Iranian tensions. A cautious thaw in relations between Tehran and Washington set in in 2015 when Iran struck a deal with six big powers limiting its nuclear activity. But tensions with the United States have mounted again since President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the accord in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Venezuelan man killed in service station line amid fuel shortages

A Venezuelan man was killed on Saturday night in a service station line in the western state of Merida, a municipal mayor said on Sunday, signaling the growing impact of the OPEC nation's fuel shortages. Citizens have been spending hours and in some cases days queued up to buy gas over the last month as plummeting refinery output and stalled imports have added to the chaos of a hyperinflationary economic collapse. Qatar says U.S. needs Palestinians on board for Middle East peace plan

Qatar said on Sunday that there was a disconnect between the Palestinians and the United States over a U.S. blueprint aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, warning that a solution could not be imposed on Palestinians. The U.S. blueprint, driven by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, is seen by Palestinians, and by some Arab officials and politicians, as a plan to finish off the Palestinian cause.