Reuters World News Summary

The two sides were fighting on Thursday near Nokou, which is about 20 km (12 miles) from where former president Idriss Deby was fatally wounded earlier in April, plunging the country into crisis. Exclusive-As U.S. prepared exit, Taliban protected foreign bases, but killed Afghans Taliban fighters have protected western military bases in Afghanistan from attacks by rival, or rogue Islamist groups for over a year under a secret annex to a pact for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces by May 1, three Western officials with knowledge of the agreement told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pope removes legal privileges for Vatican cardinals, bishops

Pope Francis ruled on Friday that bishops and cardinals who work in the Vatican will be judged by the same lay tribunal that hears other criminal cases and no longer by an elite panel of prelates. Francis issued a decree abrogating a provision in the Vatican's civil criminal code whereby bishops and cardinals were judged only by the Court of Cassation, a top body made up of cardinals and other high-ranking clergy.

Polish scientists discover ancient Egyptian mummy was pregnant woman

An ancient Egyptian mummy once believed to be the remains of a male priest is actually the embalmed body of a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy, Polish scientists said on Friday. Marzena Ozarek-Szilke, an anthropologist at the Warsaw Mummy Project, was examining a CT scan of a mummy at the National Museum in the Polish capital when she spotted something peculiar.

Chadian army says it repelled rebels in battle near northern town

Chad's ruling military council said on Friday that six of its soldiers had been killed in a battle near the northern town of Nokou that resulted in several hundred killed on the rebel side and 60 captured. The two sides were fighting on Thursday near Nokou, which is about 20 km (12 miles) from where former president Idriss Deby was fatally wounded earlier in April, plunging the country into crisis.

Exclusive-As U.S. prepared exit, Taliban protected foreign bases, but killed Afghans

Taliban fighters have protected western military bases in Afghanistan from attacks by rival, or rogue Islamist groups for over a year under a secret annex to a pact for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces by May 1, three Western officials with knowledge of the agreement told Reuters. The U.S. State Department gave no immediate response to Reuters over the existence of any such document. Nor did it have any immediate comment on what the three officials described as a "Taliban ring of protection".

U.S. marine felt 'unstoppable' until Afghanistan changed everything

Anthony Villarreal remembers waking up with what felt like an anvil pressing down on his chest. "It was hard for me to catch my breath. I thought maybe I had the wind knocked out of me," the 35-year-old war veteran said.

Medics work to identify the 45 killed in Israeli stampede

Medical teams worked on Friday to identify 45 people crushed to death in a stampede at a religious festival on the slopes of Israel's Mount Meron, with children among the dead. Witnesses spoke of seeing a "pyramid" of people who were asphyxiated or trampled in a passageway around 3 metres (10 feet) wide at the crowded event in the Galilee.

Overwhelmed India running short of COVID-19 vaccines

Several states in India have run out of vaccines against COVID-19, exacerbating a dire second wave of infections that has left hospitals and morgues overflowing while families scramble for increasingly scarce medicines and oxygen. "Come back to us. How will we live without you?" wailed Aanchal Sharma and her mother-in-law over the lifeless body of her husband, waiting like so many others for their turn at a crematorium on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Myanmar risks coming to standstill as violence worsens -U.N. envoy

The U.N. special envoy on Myanmar told the Security Council on Friday that in the absence of a collective international response to the country's coup, violence is worsening and the running of the state risks coming to a standstill, according to diplomats who attended the private meeting. Christine Schraner Burgener briefed the 15-member council from Thailand, where she has been meeting with regional leaders. She still hopes to travel to Myanmar - where a Feb. 1 military coup ousted an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi - but the military is yet to approve a visit.

Exclusive: Chilean regulator sees no clouds over Sputnik vaccine despite Brazilian rejection

The director of Chile’s health regulator said he sees no evidence of safety issues with Sputnik V, the COVID-19 vaccine developed in Russia, despite its rejection by the Brazilian health regulator this week over a lack of information about its safety. Heriberto Garcia, the director of Chile's Public Health Institute (ISP), said Chile was seeking clarity from the vaccine's developers about the potential presence of an adenovirus that could reproduce, possibly creating a negative reaction in recipients. This was the basis for Brazil's health regulator, Anvisa, rejecting the vaccine on Monday.

Venezuelans celebrate beatification of 'doctor to the poor'

Venezuelans on Friday celebrated the beatification of Jose Gregorio Hernandez, a medic who became known as the "doctor of the poor" while treating the ill during the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 20th century. Pope Francis in 2020 began the process of his beatification, which precedes sainthood in the Roman Catholic tradition.