Reuters World News Summary

On Thursday, Bolsonaro decreed a pardon for Congressman Daniel Silveira, a former Rio de Janeiro police officer, a day after the court sentenced him to 8 years and 9 months in prison for interference with the free exercise of government and threatening judicial authorities. Blast tears through mosque in northern Afghan city Kunduz, killing 33 A blast tore through a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, killing 33 people and wounding dozens more, officials said.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Missing girl found dead, fueling outrage over gender violence in Mexico

The body of a Mexican teenager who went missing this month in the northern state of Nuevo Leon has been found submerged in a cistern inside the grounds of a motel near where she was last seen alive, according to her father. Debanhi Escobar, a 18-year-old law student, vanished on April 9, amid a spate of disappearances of women in Nuevo Leon's capital Monterrey that has sparked protests and intensified international scrutiny of gender violence in Mexico.

World Bank, IMF, WTO leaders urge quick action on action plan to address food security

The leaders of the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and the World Bank on Friday called for quick work on a new action plan on food security to be prepared by international financial institutions. "It is truly pressing to get it to move so we avoid people dying unnecessarily," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told an event held as part of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

COVID-19 third leading cause of death again in 2021- U.S. study

COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States for the second year in a row in 2021, with death rates rising for most age groups, a government study showed on Friday. COVID-19 was the underlying or contributing cause of 460,513 deaths in the United States last year, a nearly 20% jump compared to 2020, the study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed.

U.S. judge orders ex-Honduras president detained on drugs, weapons charges

A U.S. judge on Friday ordered the detention of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, in Hernandez's first court appearance after being extradited to the United States on drug and weapons charges. U.S. prosecutors said Hernandez, once a Washington ally, received millions of dollars from drug traffickers, including Mexico's Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, while leading Honduras from 2014 to early 2022.

Palestinians clash with Israeli police at Jerusalem holy site, 57 injured

At least 57 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police within the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday, medics said, as violence persisted during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a site also revered by Jews. In what may presage wider conflict, Israel said two rockets were fired from Gaza, one falling short and another striking across the border without damage. It was the third such incident this week, breaking months of relative calm on the Gazan front.

Colombia court says 5,733 people killed, disappeared in campaign against left-wing party

Some 5,733 people were killed or disappeared in Colombia as part of a campaign against the left-wing Patriotic Union (UP) party between 1984 and 2016, acts linked to paramilitaries with military backing, the country's transitional justice tribunal said on Friday. According to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), some 4,616 of the victims were murdered, while 1,117 were forcibly disappeared over the more than three-decade period.

Brazil opposition parties file complaints against Bolsonaro's pardon for ally

Opposition parties on Friday filed constitutional complaints at Brazil's Supreme Court against a pardon granted by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to an ally who the court sentenced to nearly nine years in prison for anti-democratic threats. On Thursday, Bolsonaro decreed a pardon for Congressman Daniel Silveira, a former Rio de Janeiro police officer, a day after the court sentenced him to 8 years and 9 months in prison for interference with the free exercise of government and threatening judicial authorities.

Blast tears through mosque in northern Afghan city Kunduz, killing 33

A blast tore through a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, killing 33 people and wounding dozens more, officials said. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban administration, in a Tweet confirmed the death toll and said 43 people had also been wounded.

Kyiv accuses Moscow of 'imperialism' after Russia flags interest in south Ukraine

Moscow wants to take full control over southern Ukraine, a Russian general said on Friday, a statement Ukraine said gave the lie to Russia's previous assertions that it had no territorial ambitions. Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying full control over southern Ukraine would give it access to Transnistria, a breakaway Russian-occupied part of Moldova in the west.

Ukrainian PM sees war victory soon, despite UK's Johnson saying Russia could win

Ukraine will be victorious in its war against Russia very soon, its prime minister said on Friday, after Britain's Boris Johnson said it remained a realistic possibility Russia could still win. "We are absolutely sure that Ukraine will win in this war and victory will be in (a) very short period," Denys Shmyhal told CNN, when asked about Johnson's comment.

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