Reuters World News Summary

Judge Tarek Bitar's investigation into the massive blast, which killed more than 215 people and deepened Lebanon's economic crisis, has been suspended repeatedly by lawsuits brought by senior politicians who he has sought to question. UK PM's former adviser says Johnson knew about lockdown party A former senior adviser to Britain's Boris Johnson said on Monday he was willing to "swear under oath" that the prime minister knew a party was being held at his residence during a COVID-19 lockdown, accusing him of lying to parliament.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Significant damage reported on Tonga's main island after volcanic eruption

Significant damage was reported along the western coast of Tonga's main island on Tuesday and the death of a British woman was confirmed following the weekend's massive volcanic eruption and tsunami. The New Zealand High Commission reported the damage along the western coast of the main island of Tongatapu, where there are many vacation resorts, and the waterfront of the capital, Nuku'alofa.

Australia PM's ratings take a hit months away from election, poll shows

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval ratings slid after his handling of the Omicron-driven coronavirus outbreak fuelled a backlash, a widely watched poll showed on Tuesday, putting opposition Labor into a leading position months away from a federal election. Australian voters are losing confidence in Morrison and his Liberal-National Party coalition government on the economy, jobs, health and the response to a fast-moving Omicron wave, according to a poll done by research company Resolve Strategic for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

Palestinian threatens to burn Sheikh Jarrah home rather than be evicted

A Palestinian facing eviction by Israeli police from the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah threatened on Monday to blow up gas canisters at his home rather than let his family be forced out. Scores of police in riot gear surrounded the property from early morning during an hours-long stand-off. Roads were sealed off around the area, about 1 kilometer (one-half mile) north of Jerusalem's Old City walls, where clashes often erupted last year between Palestinians and Jewish settlers.

Health fears for Australian blogger held three years in China on spying charges

The Australian government and human rights groups said they are concerned about the deteriorating health of Australian blogger Yang Hengjun, three years after he was detained in China, and with a Beijing court yet to deliver a verdict in an espionage trial heard in secrecy eight months ago. An Australian citizen born in China, Yang wrote about Chinese democracy and U.S. politics online as a high-profile blogger and also penned a series of spy novels.

Faltering Beirut port blast probe faces risk of new obstruction

An investigation into the devastating 2020 explosion at Beirut port, which has struggled to make progress amid resistance from top politicians, may face a further obstruction to its work that could leave the probe in limbo by preventing any indictments. Judge Tarek Bitar's investigation into the massive blast, which killed more than 215 people and deepened Lebanon's economic crisis, has been suspended repeatedly by lawsuits brought by senior politicians who he has sought to question.

UK PM's former adviser says Johnson knew about lockdown party

A former senior adviser to Britain's Boris Johnson said on Monday he was willing to "swear under oath" that the prime minister knew a party was being held at his residence during a COVID-19 lockdown, accusing him of lying to parliament. British media have reported that at least 11 gatherings took place at 10 Downing Street - the prime minister's official residence and office - or in other government departments between May 2020 and April 2021, when COVID-19 rules limited how many people could meet socially. An internal inquiry is being carried out to establish the facts.

Britain says it is supplying anti-tank weapons to Ukraine

Britain said on Monday it had begun supplying Ukraine with anti-tank weapons to help it defend itself from a potential invasion, during a stand-off with Russia which has massed troops near the Ukrainian border. Western countries say they fear Russia is preparing a pretext for a new assault on Ukraine, which it invaded in 2014.

U.S. condemns deadly Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi; UAE reserves right to respond

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates in what it said was an operation using missiles and drones, setting off explosions in fuel trucks that killed three people and causing a fire near the airport of Abu Dhabi, capital of the region's commercial and tourism hub. The strike on a leading Gulf Arab ally of the United States takes the war between the Houthi group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level, and may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions as Washington and Tehran work to rescue a nuclear deal.

N.Korea tested tactical guided missiles on Monday -KCNA

North Korea fired tactical guided missiles on Monday, state media KCNA said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of recent tests that highlighted its evolving missile programmes amid stalled denuclearisation talks. The missile test was the North's fourth in 2022, with two previous launches involving "hypersonic missiles" capable of high speed and manoeuvring after lift-off, and another test on Friday using a pair of SRBMs fired from train cars.

Mass killer Breivik's parole hearing to begin on Tuesday in Norway

A Norwegian court will this week hear mass killer Anders Behring Breivik explain why he believes he should be released from prison after spending more than a decade behind bars. Breivik, a far-right extremist, killed 77 people in Norway's worst peacetime atrocity in July 2011. He killed eight with a car bomb in Oslo and then gunned down 69, most of them teenagers, at a Labour Party youth camp.