Reuters World News Summary

Speaking to reporters, Pompeo said extending Israeli sovereignty was a decision "for Israelis to make." With Netanyahu's July 1 deadline approaching, aides to U.S. President Donald Trump began discussions on Tuesday on whether to give Netanyahu the green light for annexation, which has drawn condemnation from the Palestinians and U.S. Arab allies.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Turkey says Bolton's book 'misleading' on Erdogan-Trump conversations

Turkey said on Wednesday that a book by former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton had "misleading" and "manipulative presentations" of the conversations between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump. Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency's communications director, said on Twitter that Erdogan and Trump had made great efforts to mend ties between the two countries and that Trump "has done a lot more listening to a key NATO ally than some of the previous administrations." World Bank staff object to Brazilian nominee over racial comments

The association representing staff at the World Bank on Wednesday asked that Brazil's nomination of Abraham Weintraub to be executive director be reviewed over his past racial comments and other concerns, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Weintraub, one of the loudest right-wing ideologues in President Jair Bolsonaro's government, resigned as education minister last week, saying he would join the World Bank. WHO director for Americas says 226,000 have died of COVID-19 in region

Nearly half of all COVID-19 cases globally can be found in the Americas and the numbers continue to climb, the World Health Organization's regional director for the Americas, Carissa Etienne, said on Wednesday. As of June 23, there have been more than 4.5 million COVID-19 cases and 226,000 deaths reported in the Americas, she said in a virtual briefing from Washington. Pompeo says it is up to Israel to decide on West Bank annexation

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that it is up to Israel to make its own decisions on whether to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to do. Speaking to reporters, Pompeo said extending Israeli sovereignty was a decision "for Israelis to make." With Netanyahu's July 1 deadline approaching, aides to U.S. President Donald Trump began discussions on Tuesday on whether to give Netanyahu the green light for annexation, which has drawn condemnation from the Palestinians and U.S. Arab allies. Trump, Poland's Duda discuss sending some U.S. troops to Poland from Germany

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Wednesday became the first foreign leader to visit U.S. President Donald Trump since the coronavirus pandemic led to global lockdowns, and the two leaders said they looked forward to signing a defense cooperation agreement. Duda's visit appeared aimed at boosting his re-election campaign - Poland's nationwide presidential vote is on Sunday. The nationalist Polish leader has emerged as one of Trump's preferred foreign partners. The two have met one-on-one at least five times. Exclusive: U.S. warns Russia, China of U.N. isolation if Iran arms ban extension blocked

Russia and China will be isolated at the United Nations if they continue down the "road to dystopia" by blocking a U.S. bid to extend a weapons ban on Iran, U.S. Iran envoy Brian Hook told Reuters ahead of his formal pitch of the embargo to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. The 13-year-old arms restrictions on Iran are due to expire in October under the terms of Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Russia and China have signaled they oppose extending the embargo. 'Don't look!': Mexican town shudders as quake strikes again

When a major earthquake struck Mexico on Tuesday, panic swept through the coastal city of Juchitan as residents feared that much of what they had struggled to rebuild after a devastating 2017 temblor would return to rubble. Tuesday's 7.4-magnitude quake near the Pacific coast killed at least seven people and injured more than 20, rocking remote mountain villages. It was felt as far away as Mexico City but reverberated with special resonance in humid Juchitan. Trump administration says Huawei, Hikvision backed by Chinese military: document

The Trump administration has determined that top Chinese firms, including telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies and video surveillance company Hikvision, are owned or controlled by the Chinese military, laying the groundwork for new U.S. financial sanctions, according to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. A U.S. defense official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the authenticity of the document and said it had been sent to Congress. Washington placed Huawei on a trade blacklist last year over national security concerns and has led an international campaign to convince allies to exclude it from their 5G networks. Venezuela criticizes U.S. 'provocation' after navy operation

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino on Wednesday called an incident this week in which a U.S. Navy ship navigated near the South American country's coast an "act of provocation." The U.S. military's Southern Command on Tuesday said the missile destroyer Nitze conducted a "freedom of navigation" operation off Venezuela's coast. The Southern Command said the vessel sailed in an area outside Venezuela's territorial waters - which extend some 12 nautical miles from its coasts - but within an area the Venezuelan government "falsely claims to have control over." U.S. puts sanctions on five Iranian ship captains for bringing oil to Venezuela

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who delivered oil to Venezuela, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed Washington's backing for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. Speaking at a news conference, Pompeo said the ships delivered about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related components, and warned mariners against doing business with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose ouster Washington seeks.