Reuters World News Summary

The procedure is linked to accusations against China over its treatment of minority Muslim Uyghurs in the region, including the use of forced labour, the source said. Colombia's Duque looks to get tough on vandalism, critics decry attack on protests Colombia's President Ivan Duque will present a new law before the country's Congress to increase prison sentences for vandalism, road blocks and attacks on police during protests, he said on Thursday, sparking criticism the law will criminalize protests.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

France investigates fashion retailers for concealing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into four fashion retailers suspected of concealing crimes against humanity in China's Xinjiang region, a judicial source said on Thursday. The procedure is linked to accusations against China over its treatment of minority Muslim Uyghurs in the region, including the use of forced labour, the source said.

Colombia's Duque looks to get tough on vandalism, critics decry attack on protests

Colombia's President Ivan Duque will present a new law before the country's Congress to increase prison sentences for vandalism, road blocks and attacks on police during protests, he said on Thursday, sparking criticism the law will criminalize protests. Colombian law already includes jail sentences of around eight years for obstructing public highways, violence against public servants and property, but Duque did not say by how much he was looking to increase prison time.

Forest fire guts small western Canada town after days of record-breaking heat

A forest fire that began after three days of record-breaking temperatures has destroyed most of the small western Canadian town of Lytton and damaged a nearby hydro power station, a local politician said on Thursday. More than 1,000 people in and around Lytton, in central British Columbia, were evacuated late on Wednesday after the fast-moving fire engulfed the community, catching residents by surprise. The cause of the fire was being investigated, B.C Premier John Horgan told reporters.

U.N. Security Council likely to meet next week on Ethiopia dam

The United Nations Security Council will likely meet next week to discuss a dispute between Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt over a giant dam built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile, French U.N. Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said on Thursday. Arab states last month called on the 15-member council to meet to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and Ethiopia's plans fill the dam for a second time this summer without an agreement with Sudan and Egypt.

Australia national cabinet to meet amid COVID-19 vaccine turmoil

Australia's national cabinet is set to meet on Friday amid calls from states to limit the numbers of international arrivals until the country reaches a high vaccination coverage as millions endure COVID-19 lockdowns imposed to contain the Delta variant. Australia is fighting outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant simultaneously in three state capital cities, including Sydney, with nearly half of all Australians currently under strict stay-at-home orders.

Brazil's Bolsonaro says he won't hand over presidency if there is vote fraud

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday he would hand over power to whoever wins next year's presidential election cleanly - but not if there is any fraud. His comments will do little to dispel the concerns of his critics, who fear that the far-right former army captain will not accept any election loss in next year's vote. Bolsonaro is almost certain to face his political nemesis, former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Polls show Lula ahead.

U.S. calls build-up of China's nuclear arsenal 'concerning'

The United States said on Thursday China's rapid build-up of its nuclear forces was concerning and called on Beijing to engage with it "on practical measures to reduce the risks of destabilizing arms races." The build up had become more difficult for China to hide and it appeared it was deviating from decades of nuclear strategy based around minimal deterrence, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a regular news briefing.

U.S. adds Turkey to list of countries implicated in use of child soldiers

The United States on Thursday added Turkey to a list of countries that are implicated in the use of child soldiers over the past year, placing a NATO ally for the first time in such a list, in a move that is likely to further complicate the already fraught ties between Ankara and Washington. The U.S. State Department determined in its 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) that Turkey was providing "tangible support" to the Sultan Murad division in Syria, a faction of Syrian opposition that Ankara has long, supported and a group that Washington said recruited and used child soldiers.

British PM Johnson welcomes Germany's Merkel for swansong UK trip

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet of top ministers during a visit to Britain on Friday, the first time a foreign leader has done so in nearly 25 years. Merkel's visit is seen in London as a chance to shore up diplomatic relations with its second-biggest sovereign trading partner after years of wrangling over Britain's exit from the European Union.

Central American officials blacklisted by U.S. as part of corruption crackdown

Central American presidential aides, top judges and former presidents were put on a U.S. State Department list on Thursday that names individuals the U.S. government accuses of corruption, obstructing justice, or undermining democracy. The so-called Engel List was created under a law sponsored by then-U.S. Representative Eliot Engel and enacted by Congress in December that required the State Department to assemble within 180 days a list of high profile individuals it regarded as corrupt in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.