Reuters World News Summary

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional authority driven out last year by Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea, returned to the region's capital Mekelle on Monday to cheering crowds. Canada’s Hong Kong diaspora helps new arrivals with jobs, housing, psychotherapy Hong Kongers in Canada are banding together to help the latest wave of immigrants fleeing Beijing's tightening grip on their city.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Myanmar forces kill 25 in raid on town, residents and media say

Myanmar security forces killed at least 25 people on Friday in a confrontation with opponents of the military junta at a town in the centre of the Southeast Asian nation, two residents and Myanmar media said on Sunday. A spokesman for the military did not respond to calls requesting comment on the violence at Depayin in the Sagaing region, about 300 km (200 miles) north of the capital, Naypyidaw.

Ethiopia's Tigray demands troop withdrawals for ceasefire talks

Ethiopia's Tigray region wants a full withdrawal of troops from Eritrea and the neighbouring state of Amhara before it can engage in any talks with the federal government about a ceasefire, it said in a statement on Sunday. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional authority driven out last year by Ethiopian forces and troops from neighbouring Eritrea, returned to the region's capital Mekelle on Monday to cheering crowds.

Canada’s Hong Kong diaspora helps new arrivals with jobs, housing, psychotherapy

Hong Kongers in Canada are banding together to help the latest wave of immigrants fleeing Beijing's tightening grip on their city. Networks across the country, some descended from groups set up after China's crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters in 1989, are offering new arrivals everything from jobs and accommodation to legal and mental health services and even car rides to the grocery store.

Pope doing well after intestinal surgery, Vatican says

Pope Francis is doing well following intestinal surgery, the Vatican said on Sunday after the 84-year-old pontiff was hospitalised for the first time since his election in 2013. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that the pontiff "responded well" to the surgery, which was done under general aesthesia and which the Vatican had said earlier had been scheduled and not prompted by an emergency.

Kremlin says 'provocations' like UK warship episode demand tough response

A British warship's entry into what Moscow considers Russian territorial waters near Crimea last month is the kind of provocation that demands a tough response, the Kremlin said on Sunday. President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia, which fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the warship to chase it out of Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea, could have sunk the warship.

Mapuche woman picked to lead architects of Chile's new constitution

Delegates chose a woman on Sunday from Chile's majority indigenous Mapuche people to lead them in drafting the country's new constitution - a dramatic turnaround for a group that is unacknowledged in the country's present rule book. Elisa Loncon, 58, a political independent, is a Santiago university professor and activist for Mapuche educational and linguistic rights. She was picked by 96 of the 155 men and women, including 17 indigenous people, who make up the constitutional body that will draft a new text to replace Chile's previous magna carta produced during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

UK's Johnson to set out plan for final lockdown easing on Monday

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out plans for the final step of easing lockdown in England on Monday, including guidance on social distancing, face coverings and working from home, the government said. The remaining legal restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are due to be lifted on July 19, with the decision whether to go ahead scheduled for July 12.

Defiant ex-leader Jacob Zuma compares S.African judges to apartheid rulers

South Africa's ex-president Jacob Zuma lashed out on Sunday at the judges who this week gave him a 15-month jail term for absconding from a corruption inquiry, comparing them to the white minority apartheid rulers he once fought. Zuma spoke at his home in Nklandla, in a rural part of Kwazulu Natal province, where hundreds of his supporters, some of them armed, were gathered to prevent his arrest.

Queen Elizabeth honours Britain's health service for pandemic work

Queen Elizabeth has awarded Britain's National Health Service (NHS) the George Cross - the highest civilian gallantry award - in recognition of 73 years of dedicated service, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The honour has only been bestowed collectively twice before, and only once by the queen.

Philippines' military chief says 47 killed in plane crash, 49 injured

All 96 passengers of the Philippine Air Force plane that crashed on Sunday have all been accounted for, military chief Cirilito Sobejana said on Monday. The death toll from the crash was 47, while 49 military personnel were injured, Sobejana told Reuters in a phone message.