Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Protests over police abuses spread to Mexico City, stones thrown at U.S. embassy

Masked men and women protesting police abuses vandalized buildings and threw stones at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City on Friday as Mexican state authorities arrested three officers in a bid to quell anger over the death of a man in police custody. Protesters have been demanding that authorities be held accountable over the death of Giovanni Lopez, who died in police custody in the western state of Jalisco last month. The exact circumstances are unclear, but footage on social media shows a young man, identified as Lopez, being detained by police in early May. North Korea criticizes South Korea, threatens to close liaison office

North Korea lashed out at South Korea for the second day in a row on Friday, threatening to close an inter-Korean liaison office and calling the South naive to think the North wants dialogue and negotiations right now. A spokesman for the United Front Department (UFD), which handles inter-Korea affairs, said North Korea would "definitely withdraw" from the liaison office operated with South Korean officials in the North Korean city of Kaesong as the first step in punishing the South for failing to stop defectors from sending leaflets across the border, according to a statement carried by state news agency KCNA. 'Your Pain Is My Pain': global anti-racism protests rage

Protesters around the world took to the streets again on Friday, despite coronavirus warnings, in a wave of outrage at the death of African American George Floyd in the United States and racism against minorities in their own nations. Floyd's death, after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck while detaining him, has convulsed the United States. Bolsonaro asks security forces to act if protests against his government exceed limits

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday called groups protesting in favor of democracy "terrorists" and "delinquents", saying he had asked security forces to act if demonstrations expected on Sunday exceed limits. Speaking during the inauguration of a temporary hospital to treat COVID-19 patients in Goias state, near the capital Brasilia, Bolsonaro said he asked his supporters to avoid demonstrations on Sunday. The former army captain added he expects the pandemic to weaken quickly and the economy to recover. IAEA voices serious concern at Iran's stonewalling on old sites

The U.N. nuclear watchdog expressed serious concern on Friday that Iran has continued for months to deny it access to sites of interest to it, describing previous suspected activities there that could have been part of a nuclear weapons programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report in March admonishing Iran for failing to answer questions about past nuclear activities at three sites and for denying it access to two of them. Colombia arrests 50 for plant and animal trafficking

Colombia has captured 50 people and charged them with illegally trafficking plants and animals as part of efforts by authorities to protect the environment, the government said in a statement on Friday. The Andean country is the world's second most biodiverse country after neighboring Brazil and is home to over 50,000 recorded species of animals and plants, which are threatened by deforestation. U.S says door remains open for diplomacy with Iran

The door remains open for a wider negotiation with Iran about its nuclear program and other issues, but so far talks have been limited to prisoner releases, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Friday. "(President Donald Trump) has had the door open to diplomacy for many years and in the same time frame, he has met (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un three times. So, we would like to see the (Iranian) regime meet our diplomacy with diplomacy," he told reporters a day after Iran freed U.S. citizen Michael White. Brexit trade talks make 'no significant progress' as deadline nears

European Union and British negotiators said on Friday they had made very little progress in their latest round of talks about a Brexit free trade agreement, with just weeks left to extend a year-end deadline to reach a deal. Both sides, however, avoided the vitriol that has sometimes marked years of tortuous Brexit talks. They laid out plans to intensify negotiations and pleaded for a renewed political push when their leaders assess the situation later in June. 'Stand up to Trump!' Canada protesters shout to Trudeau who kneels at anti-racism rally

Canadian protesters chanted "Stand up to Trump!" to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he joined thousands at an anti-racism rally on Friday and took a knee alongside protesters. Trudeau, wearing a black mask and surrounded by bodyguards, made a surprise appearance at the "No justice = No peace" rally in front of Parliament. His appearance came a day after police shot and killed an indigenous woman during a wellness check in eastern Canada. UK seeks to boost post-Brexit ties with ASEAN partnership

Britain has applied to become a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the government said on Friday, as it seeks to boost post-Brexit ties in the region. ASEAN has 10 existing dialogue partners including the European Union, which Britain left at the end of January, as well as Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States.