Reuters World News Summary

U.S. to have permanent troop presence in Poland as defence pact agreed The United States will establish a permanent military presence in Poland as it deploys around 1,000 additional U.S. troops there, Poland's Defence Ministry said on Friday. The United States quickly condemned the move, saying it was the latest example of Beijing undermining democracy in the Chinese-ruled territory.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. U.S. to have permanent troop presence in Poland as defence pact agreed

The United States will establish a permanent military presence in Poland as it deploys around 1,000 additional U.S. troops there, Poland's Defence Ministry said on Friday. Poland is setting growing store by its bilateral defence relationship with its NATO partner, fearful of an increasingly assertive posture from Russia to the east since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Hong Kong delays election citing pandemic, but democracy camp sceptical

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday postponed a Sept. 6 election to the Chinese-ruled city's legislature by a year because of a rise in coronavirus cases, dealing a blow to the pro-democracy opposition which had hoped to make huge gains. The United States quickly condemned the move, saying it was the latest example of Beijing undermining democracy in the Chinese-ruled territory. U.S. sets September execution dates for two federal inmates

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday announced September execution dates for two inmates, in what could be the sixth and seventh federal executions this summer after a 17-year hiatus. William LeCroy, convicted of killing 30-year-old nurse Joann Tiesler in Georgia in 2001, would be executed on Sept. 22, the department said in a statement. U.S. imposes sanctions on Chinese company over abuse of Uighurs

The United States intensified its economic pressure on China's Xinjiang province on Friday, imposing sanctions on a powerful Chinese company and two officials for what it said were human rights abuses against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities. The move, the latest blow to U.S.-China relations, came a week after U.S. President Donald Trump closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, prompting Beijing to shutter the U.S. consulate in Chengdu. French soldier dies in Chad accident

A French soldier died during a maintenance operation in Chad after a piece of equipment exploded, the defense ministry said in a statement on Friday. The ministry said armed forces were investigating the causes of the accident at the base in N'Djamena, which killed Andy Fila, a brigadier-chef of the infantry regiment and an electro-mechanic specialist. WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases, up over 292,000

The World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases on Friday, with the total rising by 292,527. The biggest increases were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report. Deaths rose by 6,812. The four countries have dominated global headlines with large outbreaks. Exclusive: U.S. proposes house arrest for 'most dreaded' Taliban prisoners, to end stalemate

The United States has proposed that hundreds of Taliban prisoners be transferred to house arrest in a supervised facility when they are freed from Afghan jails, three senior official sources said, a proposed solution for a deadlock that is holding up peace talks. The proposal for Taliban fighters accused of conducting some of the bloodiest attacks in Afghanistan to be placed in a location where they would be under both Taliban and Afghan government surveillance was presented this week to the warring Afghan sides by top U.S. diplomats, the sources said. South Korea court approves arrest of sect leader linked to COVID-19 outbreak: Yonhap

A South Korean court approved on Saturday the arrest of the founder of a controversial church at the centre of the country's largest batch of COVID-19 infections, Yonhap news agency reported. The Suwon District Court approved an arrest warrant for Lee Man-hee, founder and head of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive sect linked to more than 5,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea, or 36% of total cases, according to the country's Central Disease Control headquarters as of Friday. Don't sweat it: Chilean dogs sniff out coronavirus in early stages

Chilean police are training sniffer dogs to detect the coronavirus in people's sweat at an early stage, after a similar trial in the UK showed encouraging results. Four dogs have been selected for the initial training, a mix of labradors and golden retrievers who sport green "biodetector" jackets for their task. They are being trained at the Chilean Carabineros´ specialist training base in the capital Santiago. PM Johnson makes Lords of his brother, cricketer Botham and Brexit allies

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has elevated to the House of Lords his younger brother, a cricket hero and some of his allies in the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union. Under an arcane system whose inner workings are not exposed to public scrutiny, British political leaders are entitled on certain occasions to nominate people to the upper chamber of parliament, where they can sit for life.

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