Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Prosecutors shelve case over Cairo hotel gang rape allegation for 'insufficent evidence'

Egypt's public prosecutors have shelved a case over a woman's allegation that she was gang raped at a luxury hotel in Cairo in 2014 because of "insufficient evidence" against the defendants, they said in a statement on Tuesday. Anger at inaction following the incident at the Fairmont Hotel helped fuel a campaign against harassment and assault in which hundreds of women have shared testimonies online and grew more vocal about exposing sexual abuse in Egypt.

Bodies float down Ganges as nearly 4,000 more die of COVID in India

Scores of bodies are washing up on the banks of the Ganges as Indians fail to keep pace with the deaths and cremations of around 4,000 people a day from the novel coronavirus. India currently accounts for one in three of the reported deaths from coronavirus around the world, according to a Reuters tally, and its health system is overwhelmed, despite donations of oxygen cylinders and other medical equipment from around the world.

Turkey says dialogue on disputes with Saudi Arabia to continue

Turkey and Saudi Arabia will maintain dialogue to address their disagreements, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, after discussing bilateral ties and Israeli actions in Jerusalem and Gaza with his Saudi counterpart in Mecca. Cavusoglu and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met for talks aimed at overcoming a rift over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul that led to bitter recriminations and a Saudi boycott of Turkish goods.

Woman fights on for damages over Vietnam War use of 'Agent Orange'

An elderly French-Vietnamese woman vowed on Tuesday to pursue her legal fight to obtain compensation for health problems which she says were caused by exposure to the toxic herbicide "Agent Orange" during the Vietnam War. Earlier this week, a French court rejected a lawsuit filed by 79-year old Tran To Nga against 14 chemical companies, but she told reporters she would appeal.

Dozens dead as Israel and Hamas escalate aerial bombardments

Hostilities between Israel and Hamas escalated on Tuesday, raising the death toll in two days to 32 Palestinians and three people in Israel, with Israel carrying out multiple air strikes in Gaza and the militant group firing rockets at Tel Aviv. A 13-story residential building in Gaza collapsed after it was hit by an Israeli air strike, one of hundreds that Israel said it had carried out against Hamas targets.

British Army killed innocent civilians in Belfast in 1971 -inquiry

British soldiers unjustifiably shot or used disproportionate force in the deaths of nine of the 10 innocent people killed in a 1971 incident in Belfast that sparked an upsurge of violence during Northern Ireland's "Troubles," a judge-led inquiry found. A Catholic priest and a mother of eight who served soldiers tea were among the victims in an event Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney described on Tuesday as "one of the most tragic days" of Northern Ireland's three decades of bloodshed.

Iran has enriched uranium to up to 63% purity, IAEA says

"Fluctuations" at Iran's Natanz plant pushed the purity to which it enriched uranium to 63%, higher than the announced 60% that complicated talks to revive its nuclear deal with world powers, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday. Iran made the shift to 60%, a big step towards nuclear weapons-grade from the 20% previously achieved, last month in response to an explosion and power cut at Natanz that Tehran has blamed on Israel and appears to have damaged its enrichment output at a larger, underground facility there.

Nine killed, many wounded in Russian school shooting

Nine people, including seven children, were killed on Tuesday and many more badly wounded after a lone teenage gunman opened fire in a school in the Russian city of Kazan, local authorities said, prompting a Kremlin call for tighter gun controls. Two children could be seen leaping from the third floor of the four-storey School Number 175 to escape as gunshots rang out, in a video filmed by an onlooker that was circulated by Russia's RIA news agency.

U.N. Yemen envoy Griffiths tapped to be U.N. aid chief - sources

United Nations Yemen mediator Martin Griffiths has been tapped to become the world body's new aid chief, several sources told Reuters on Tuesday, as the U.N. tries to avert several famines and help vaccinate the globe against the novel coronavirus. Griffiths will replace Mark Lowcock as the under-secretary-general and emergency relief coordinator. Lowcock, a former senior British aid official, took up the post in 2017.

Myanmar marks 100 days of junta rule with protests, strikes

Protesters rallied in towns and cities around Myanmar on Tuesday to denounce its military rulers, 100 days after the generals' overthrow of an elected government pitched the country into its biggest crisis in decades. Demonstrators took part in marches, motorcycle convoys and flash protests to evade security forces, some making three-finger gestures of defiance as anti-coup groups renewed calls for the toppling of a junta that has been condemned around the world for killing hundreds of civilians.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)