Reuters World News Summary

Only two hopefuls failed to secure the 20 necessary nominations, leaving a wide field of candidates seeking to win the backing of the party with promises of tax cuts, honesty and serious government - a contrast to Johnson who was forced to announce he would resign after a series of scandals. Sri Lanka's President Rajapaksa flees country before scheduled resignation Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, a government source told Reuters, hours before he was due to resign after widespread protests over his handling of a devastating economic crisis.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Rape report sparks protests at Spain's Pamplona bull-running festival

Using whistles to show their anger, hundreds protested in Pamplona on Tuesday after police said a woman had reported that she was raped during the Spanish bull-running festival and eight other women reported sexual assaults. The alleged attack happened on Saturday in the northern Spanish city, Pamplona mayor Enrique Maya told reporters. Local police said they were investigating and that no arrests had yet been made.

Russian opposition politician investigated under 'fake information' law

Opposition politician Ilya Yashin is being investigated by Russia's federal Investigative Committee on suspicion of spreading "fake information" about the army, a lawyer for several opposition activists said on Tuesday. Yashin, a municipal representative for Moscow's Krasnoselsky district, is an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He had been due to leave a Moscow jail early on Wednesday after being imprisoned for 15 days for disobeying a police officer - a move that he said was linked to his activism.

France sees weeks to save Iran nuclear deal, but U.S. sets no deadline

France's new foreign minister said on Tuesday there were only a few weeks to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, although a senior U.S. official made clear Washington had set no such deadline. Catherine Colonna told lawmakers the situation was no longer tenable. She accused Iran of using delaying tactics and, during talks in Doha two weeks ago, of going back on previously agreed positions while forging ahead with its uranium enrichment programme.

Eight candidates make cut in race to succeed UK PM Johnson

Eight Conservatives will fight it out to succeed Boris Johnson as party leader and British prime minister after winning enough nominations from their colleagues to go through to the first round of voting on Wednesday. Only two hopefuls failed to secure the 20 necessary nominations, leaving a wide field of candidates seeking to win the backing of the party with promises of tax cuts, honesty and serious government - a contrast to Johnson who was forced to announce he would resign after a series of scandals.

Sri Lanka's President Rajapaksa flees country before scheduled resignation

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, a government source told Reuters, hours before he was due to resign after widespread protests over his handling of a devastating economic crisis. The president's departure was first reported by the Associated Press. Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards left aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force plane bound for the city of Male, the capital of the Maldives, the AP report added, citing the official.

Venezuela holding three Americans accused of entering country illegally - sources

Venezuela arrested three U.S. citizens earlier this year accused of trying to enter the South American country illegally and is currently holding them, according to the U.S. State Department and people familiar with the matter. President Nicolas Maduro's government has sought to keep the three Americans' arrests quiet while continuing nascent diplomatic contacts with the Biden administration, one of the sources said.

Over 1,000 children in English town were sexually exploited, inquiry finds

More than a thousand children in Telford, England were sexually exploited since 1989 because of the police and local government's failure to investigate the offenders, an independent inquiry concluded on Tuesday. The inquiry was launched after a 2018 Sunday Mirror investigation found sexual exploitation reports dating back to the 1980s. The inquiry has since confirmed these reports and found that the abuse was allowed to continue because the children were blamed, not the perpetrators.

U.S. military: ISIS leader in Syria killed in drone strike

The leader of Islamic State in Syria, one of the top five leaders of the militant group, has been killed in a U.S. air strike, the U.S. military said on Tuesday. In a statement, U.S. Central Command said Maher al-Agal had been killed in a drone strike in northwesten Syria and a close associate of his was seriously injured.

Ukraine prepares for fresh Russian assault, West braces for worsening energy crisis

Ukraine expects a fresh assault by Russian ground forces, following widespread shelling which killed more than 30 people, as Kyiv's Western allies brace for a worsening of the global energy crisis if Russia cuts its supply of oil and gas. Ukraine's general staff said the shelling across the country amounted to preparations for an intensification of hostilities as Russia seeks to seize Donetsk province, and control the whole of Ukraine's Donbas industrial heartland.

Breakaway east Ukraine territory defends death penalty as it opens Moscow embassy

The self-styled Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on Tuesday opened an embassy in Russia, one of only two countries to recognise the breakaway statelet in eastern Ukraine, and defended its right to impose capital punishment. DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said the territory's use of the death penalty - which it has handed down to two Britons and a Moroccan for fighting as "mercenaries" for Ukraine - was irrelevant to its bid for diplomatic recognition.