Reuters World News Summary

Proceedings that could close the investigation, requested by the attorney general's office after it found Uribe's conduct did not constitute a crime, began earlier this week but were suspended so Judge Carmen Helena Ortiz could consider adding the victims. Myanmar military sentences 19 to death, says anti-coup protests dwindling Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain, the military owned Myawaddy TV station said on Friday, the first such sentences announced in public since a Feb. 1 coup and crackdown on protesters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S., Iran clash on sanctions; U.S. sees possible 'impasse'

U.S. and Iranian officials clashed on Friday over what sanctions the United States should lift to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, with Washington predicting an impasse if Tehran sticks to a demand that all sanctions since 2017 be removed. The two nations laid out tough stances as indirect talks in Vienna on how to bring both back into full compliance with the agreement wound up for the week, with some delegates citing progress.

U.S. issues guidelines to deepen relations with Taiwan

The U.S. State Department on Friday issued new guidelines that will enable U.S. officials to meet more freely with officials from Taiwan, a move that deepens relations with Taipei amid stepped-up Chinese military activity around the island. "These new guidelines liberalize guidance on contacts with Taiwan, consistent with our unofficial relations," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Volcano erupts in southern Caribbean, sparking evacuation 'frenzy'

La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted on Friday after decades of inactivity, sending dark plumes of ash and smoke billowing into the sky and forcing thousands from surrounding villages to evacuate. Dormant since 1979, the volcano started showing signs of activity in December, spewing steam and smoke and rumbling away. That picked up this week, prompting Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves to order an evacuation of the surrounding area late on Thursday.

Britain's Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's 'strength' for seven decades, dies at 99

Prince Philip, who was Queen Elizabeth's husband for more than seven decades and helped to modernise the British monarchy and steer the royal family through repeated crises, died on Friday. He was 99. The Duke of Edinburgh, as he was officially known, had been by his wife's side throughout her 69-year reign, the longest in British history. During that time he earned a reputation for a tough, no-nonsense attitude and a propensity for occasional gaffes.

World Bank says to commit $2 billion to vaccines in developing countries by end-April

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank Group will have committed $2 billion in financing by the end of April for COVID-19 vaccines in some 40 developing countries, World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg said on Friday. The $2 billion is part of a pool of some $12 billion that the World Bank has made available overall for vaccine development, distribution and production in low-and middle-income countries, van Trotsenburg told a World Bank forum.

U.S. Senate panel's consideration of China bill now set for April 21

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider sweeping legislation to counter China's influence on April 21 instead of the planned date of April 14, committee aides said on Friday. Democratic and Republican leaders of the panel announced the "Strategic Competition Act of 2021" on Thursday. It includes a range of diplomatic and strategic initiatives to counteract Beijing, reflecting hard-line sentiment on dealings with China members of both political parties.

Analysis: Raised fist, dangling handcuffs: a snapshot of Cuban dissent

A striking image is circulating this week on social media in Cuba: a dissident pumping his fist in the air, handcuffs dangling from one wrist, after friends and neighbors helped him evade arrest by police in Havana. The image is a screenshot from a video showing rapper Maykel Castillo celebrating his escape, surrounded by other dissidents and residents of Havana's rundown San Isidro neighborhood on Sunday. Some join him singing an anti-government song and insulting President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Hearing in Colombia ex-president case to resume only after appeals - judge

Hearings on whether to close a witness tampering investigation into former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will remain suspended pending the decision of a tribunal that will consider adding additional victims to the case, a judge said on Friday. Proceedings that could close the investigation, requested by the attorney general's office after it found Uribe's conduct did not constitute a crime, began earlier this week but were suspended so Judge Carmen Helena Ortiz could consider adding the victims.

Myanmar military sentences 19 to death, says anti-coup protests dwindling

Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain, the military owned Myawaddy TV station said on Friday, the first such sentences announced in public since a Feb. 1 coup and crackdown on protesters. The report said the killing took place on March 27 in the North Okkalapa district of Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing courts martial to pronounce sentences.

Northern Irish loyalists demand Brexit changes, call for end to street violence

Pro-British loyalist militants in Northern Ireland said on Friday there had been a "spectacular collective failure" to understand their anger over Brexit and other issues as there was some respite in street clashes following a week of riots. Despite appeals for calm from London, Dublin and Washington, the nightly unrest in pro-British areas spread further into Irish nationalist parts of Belfast on Thursday, where police responded to petrol bomb and stone attacks with water cannon.