Reuters World News Summary

Guterres has invited officials of the two communities in Cyprus as well as the foreign ministers of Turkey, Greece and Britain to attend the Geneva-based talks this week in an effort to resume peace negotiations that collapsed in mid-2017. Rebels attack Myanmar army near border, junta knocks back ASEAN plan Ethnic minority Karen insurgents attacked a Myanmar army outpost near the Thai border on Tuesday in some of the most intense clashes since a military coup nearly three months ago threw the country into crisis.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Explainer-Karen rebels step up attacks as Myanmar army struggles to rule

Myanmar's military launched air strikes on a village and outpost near the Thai border on Tuesday, Thai authorities said, after ethnic minority Karen insurgents attacked a Myanmar army post in some of the worst clashes since a Feb. 1 coup. The Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar's oldest rebel group, said its fighters had taken the army camp on the west bank of the Salween river.

Conservative PP to win snap election in Madrid region, poll shows

Spain's main opposition Popular Party is poised to win May 4's snap election in the key Madrid region, probably returning conservative Isabel Diaz Ayuso to power there in a blow to the leftist central government, an opinion poll showed on Tuesday. Ayuso has clashed with the government on issues from social policies to the COVID-19 pandemic response, notably keeping bars and shops open to support Madrid's services-heavy economy, while other regions have shut non-essential activities.

Shaken U.S. Capitol on high alert for Biden's first address to Congress

President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday will take place in a U.S. Capitol on high alert, with memories fresh of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the building by supporters of his predecessor, Donald Trump.

The crowd inside the Capitol will be a fraction of the hundreds of members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, top government officials and guests who typically attend, to allow for more social distancing in a COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 572,000 Americans.

As U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, lawmakers fear dark future for women

U.S. lawmakers will grill President Joe Biden's envoy for Afghanistan on Tuesday about how the administration plans to ensure women's rights will be protected if the hardline Islamist Taliban take control after U.S. troops withdraw later this year.

Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, will testify to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the panel's first public hearing on the administration's Afghanistan policy since Biden announced plans to withdraw troops by Sept. 11 after two decades of war.

Russian court imposes unspecified restrictions on Navalny network

A Russian court imposed undisclosed restrictions on Tuesday on jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption group, while it considers a request to ban his network as "extremist". The Moscow court held a preliminary hearing on Monday to consider outlawing Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) as well as his separately run network of regional campaign offices.

Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of 'apartheid' crimes against Palestinians

An international rights watchdog accused Israel on Tuesday of pursuing policies of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians - and against its own Arab minority - that amount to crimes against humanity. New York-based Human Rights Watch published a 213-page report which, it said, was not aimed at comparing Israel with apartheid-era South Africa but rather at assessing "whether specific acts and policies" constitute apartheid as defined under international law.

Oil spills outside China's Qingdao port after ship collision

A tanker carrying around one million barrels of bitumen mix was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, Chinese maritime officials and tanker representatives said on Tuesday. The collision involving the anchored Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony and the bulk vessel Sea Justice took place at 0850 local time (0050 GMT), A Symphony's manager Goodwood Ship Management said in an e-mail.

U.N. chief urges "be creative" as Cyprus talks open

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Turkish and Greek Cypriot parties to "be creative" on Tuesday, hours before informal talks were set to begin on the island's future after a four-year hiatus. Guterres has invited officials of the two communities in Cyprus as well as the foreign ministers of Turkey, Greece and Britain to attend the Geneva-based talks this week in an effort to resume peace negotiations that collapsed in mid-2017.

Rebels attack Myanmar army near border, junta knocks back ASEAN plan

Ethnic minority Karen insurgents attacked a Myanmar army outpost near the Thai border on Tuesday in some of the most intense clashes since a military coup nearly three months ago threw the country into crisis. The Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar's oldest rebel force, said it had captured the army camp on the west bank of the Salween river, which forms the border with Thailand.

Medical supplies flow into India as COVID-19 deaths near 200,000

Vital medical supplies poured into India on Tuesday as hospitals starved of life-saving oxygen and beds turned away coronavirus patients, while a surge in infections pushed the death toll towards 200,000. A shipment from Britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, arrived in Delhi, said Reuters partner ANI, while France is sending oxygen generators able to provide 250 patients with a year's worth of the gas, its embassy said.