Reuters World News Summary

Reuters reported in March that Mexico had launched enforcement operations for rounding up immigrants transiting illegally toward the U.S. border, and stepped up its efforts along its border with Guatemala. At a London rooftop bar, drinking and laughter return as lockdown eases On a London rooftop terrace on Monday, hundreds of people savoured the chance to meet and drink together for the first time in months, after the government eased COVID-19 restrictions and allowed pubs and restaurants to serve small groups outdoors.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Mexico doubles migrant detentions with troop surge, White House says

Mexico has doubled its detentions of migrants with a deployment of 10,000 troops to its southern border, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday, as Washington leans on regional governments to help slow arrivals at the U.S. border. Reuters reported in March that Mexico had launched enforcement operations for rounding up immigrants transiting illegally toward the U.S. border, and stepped up its efforts along its border with Guatemala.

At a London rooftop bar, drinking and laughter return as lockdown eases

On a London rooftop terrace on Monday, hundreds of people savoured the chance to meet and drink together for the first time in months, after the government eased COVID-19 restrictions and allowed pubs and restaurants to serve small groups outdoors. The Skylight bar in the east of the capital was abuzz with chatter and laughter, a welcome return to some kind of normality for Britons who had endured one of the world's longest lockdowns.

Turkey, Libya committed to eastern Mediterranean maritime accord

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey and Libya were committed to a 2019 maritime demarcation accord in the eastern Mediterranean, after meeting Libya's Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh in Ankara. "The maritime accord signed between Turkey and Libya secures national interests and future of both countries...We confirmed our determination on this issue today," Erdogan said in a news conference.

Japan says to release contaminated Fukushima water into sea

Japan plans to release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station, the government said on Tuesday, a decision that is likely to anger neighbours such as South Korea. The move, more than a decade after the nuclear disaster, will deal another blow to the fishing industry in Fukushima, which has opposed such a step for years.

Foreign interference in Canada hitting Cold War levels thanks to COVID-19, says spy agency

Foreign spying and interference in Canada last year hit levels not seen since the Cold War, in part because of vulnerabilities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the main Canadian spy agency said on Monday, The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) singled out Russia and China as particular causes for concern and said key national security threats such as violent extremism, foreign interference, espionage and malicious cyber activity grew in 2020 and "in many ways became much more serious for Canadians."

German conservatives openly at odds over who should succeed Merkel

Germany's ruling conservative parties disagreed publicly on Monday over who should be their candidate for chancellor in the Sept. 26 federal election, exposing fears that they may lose power after 16 years in government under Angela Merkel. Merkel, of the Christian Democrats (CDU), is stepping down and pressure is mounting on the conservative bloc to agree a candidate to succeed her as its ratings wallow near a one-year low and some lawmakers worry for their jobs.

Iran blames Israel for Natanz nuclear plant outage, vows revenge

Iran on Monday accused arch-foe Israel of sabotaging its key Natanz nuclear site and vowed revenge for an attack that appeared to be latest episode in a long-running covert war. Iran said the person who caused an electricity outage in one of the production halls at the underground uranium enrichment plant had been identified. "Necessary measures are being taken to arrest this person," Iranian state media reported, without giving further details.

'I'm so excited' - England reopens with pints pulled, shopping sprees and hair cuts

Crowds queued up outside shops, pubs started selling pints at midnight and hairdressers welcomed desperate customers on Monday as England started to reopen its economy after three months of lockdown. After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain's peacetime history, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reopening was a "major step" towards freedom but urged people to behave responsibly as the coronavirus was still a threat.

Turkey's Halkbank urges end of U.S. prosecution alleging Iran sanctions violations

A lawyer for Halkbank told a U.S. appeals court on Monday that the state-owned Turkish lender was immune from U.S. prosecution and that an indictment accusing it of helping Iran evade American sanctions should be thrown out. In arguments before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, Halkbank's lawyer Simon Latcovich said the U.S. government had no basis to assert criminal jurisdiction over the bank, and that the bank was "synonymous" with Turkey for purposes of immunity.

Rebels attacked Chad border post on election day - govt

A group of Libya-based rebels attacked a Chadian border post in the north of the country as polling stations began counting votes from the weekend presidential election, the Chad government said late on Monday. President Idriss Deby, an ally of western powers in the fight against Islamist militants in West and Central Africa, sought to extend his 30-year-rule over the central African country in an election boycotted by several opposition groups.