Reuters World News Summary

U.N. in talks with U.S. on Central American refugees applying for asylum from home The United Nations Refugee Agency has held initial talks with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration about Central American asylum claimants being processed in their own countries, but it is too early to estimate how many people could benefit from the policy, agency head Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. New Zealand Maori leader ejected from parliament for not wearing a necktie

A New Zealand Maori leader who was ejected from parliament this week for refusing to wear a necktie in the chamber said forcing him to a Western dress code was a breach of his rights and an attempt to suppress indigenous culture. On Tuesday, Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking questions in the debating chamber, insisting that MPs could only ask a question if they were wearing a tie. UK police arrest eight in probe into U.S. celebrities SIM-swapping attacks

British police said on Tuesday they had arrested eight people as part of an investigation into the SIM-swapping hijacking of U.S. celebrities' phones. Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said sports stars, musicians and their families had been targeted by the scam in which criminals gain access to their victim's phones or accounts. Italy's parties enthuse over Draghi, 5-Star postpones online vote

Italy's political parties on the left and right enthused at the prospect of backing a Mario Draghi government after meeting the prime minister-designate on Tuesday as he wrapped up his second round of consultations. Draghi, 73, a former head of the European Central Bank, was expected to report back to Italy's head of state and propose his list of cabinet ministers by Thursday. U.N. in talks with U.S. on Central American refugees applying for asylum from home

The United Nations Refugee Agency has held initial talks with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration about Central American asylum claimants being processed in their own countries, but it is too early to estimate how many people could benefit from the policy, agency head Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday. The Biden administration has already said it plans to restore a program which allows certain children in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to apply for refugee status in the United States from home. Spain to reform free speech laws after rapper ordered jailed

Spain will ease its restrictions on free speech, the government said on Tuesday, in response to a nationwide furore over a rapper ordered jailed over a song and tweets. A change in the law would not by itself prevent the jailing of Pablo Hasel, who has been ordered to surrender by the end of this week to serve a nine-month prison sentence imposed in 2018 under a security law known in Spain as the "gag law". He has said he will not turn himself in. Myanmar police fire to disperse protest, four hurt, one critical

Police and protesters clashed in Myanmar on Tuesday in the most violent day of demonstrations against a military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi, and a doctor said one woman was unlikely to survive a gunshot wound to the head. Three other people were being treated for wounds from suspected rubber bullets after police fired guns, mostly into the air, and used water cannon to try to clear protesters in the capital Naypyitaw. Biden administration plans to continue to seek extradition of WikiLeaks' Assange: official

President Joe Biden's administration plans to continue to seek to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to the United States to face hacking conspiracy charges, the U.S. Justice Department said. Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi on Tuesday said the U.S. government will continue to challenge a British judge's ruling last month that Assange should not be extradited to the United States because of the risk he would commit suicide. 'Merciless' Russia may face new sanctions, EU says

The European Union's top diplomat warned Moscow on Tuesday it could face new sanctions over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, describing the government of President Vladimir Putin as "merciless", authoritarian and afraid of democracy. Josep Borrell said his visit last Friday to Moscow had cemented his view that Russia wanted to break away from Europe and divide the West, in a speech marking the EU's harshest criticism of Moscow since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. North Korea's Kim lays out paths to take with South Korea, external affairs

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the paths for his ruling Workers' Party to take with South Korea and external affairs, state media KCNA said on Wednesday. Kim called last month for more advanced nuclear weapons and said the United States was "our biggest enemy," presenting a stark challenge to U.S. President Joe Biden just days before he took office. China poses serious strategic threat to Canada, says Canadian spy agency head

China poses a serious strategic threat to Canada, both through attempts to steal secrets and a campaign to intimidate the Chinese community, the head of Canada's spy agency said on Tuesday in a rare public appearance. The remarks by Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) Director David Vigneault mark the second time in a few months that Ottawa - mired in a broad diplomatic and trade dispute with Beijing - has identified China as a problem actor.