Reuters World News Summary

Senate backs bill to punish China over Hong Kong The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday that would impose mandatory sanctions on people or companies that back efforts by China to restrict Hong Kong's autonomy, pushing back against Beijing's new security law for the city.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. No final decision at White House talks on Israeli annexation moves, U.S. officials say

Three days of White House meetings between aides to U.S. President Donald Trump on whether to give Israel a green light to annex parts of the occupied West Bank have ended without any final decision, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday. The high-level discussions centered on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to extend Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in the territory, which has drawn condemnation from the Palestinians, U.S. Arab allies and other foreign governments. Senate backs bill to punish China over Hong Kong

The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday that would impose mandatory sanctions on people or companies that back efforts by China to restrict Hong Kong's autonomy, pushing back against Beijing's new security law for the city. The measure also includes secondary sanctions on banks that do business with anyone found to be backing any crackdown on the territory's autonomy, potentially cutting them off from American counterparts and limiting access to U.S. dollar transactions. Brazil's Bolsonaro says he may have had coronavirus despite negative test

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that he might have contracted the novel coronavirus previously and he may do another test for the disease, having already tested negative for the virus multiple times weeks earlier. Bolsonaro had said he tested negative twice but fought a court battle to stop the release of the hospital test results, raising questions over whether he may have been infected or not. Venezuela lawyer indicted for 'attack' after being pinned to street by military officer

A Venezuelan lawyer who was filmed having her face pressed into a road surface by a National Guard officer was indicted on Thursday for "attacking" a member of the military, fueling outrage over the use of force by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Eva Leal was getting a ride home from work in her nephew's vehicle on Tuesday when an officer stopped them and ordered them to pay a fine for violating a quarantine in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Satellites reveal major new gas industry methane leaks

Last fall, European Space Agency satellites detected huge plumes of the invisible planet-warming gas methane leaking from the Yamal pipeline that carries natural gas from Siberia to Europe. Energy consultancy Kayrros estimated one leak was spewing out 93 tonnes of methane every hour, meaning the daily emissions from the leakage were equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide pumped out in a year by 15,000 cars in the United States. Coronavirus pandemic makes more people vulnerable to trafficking, says annual U.S. report

The novel coronavirus pandemic had made more people vulnerable to human trafficking, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday as an annual U.S. report added Afghanistan and Nicaragua to a list of worst offenders while Saudi Arabia was upgraded. "Instability and lack of access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers is rapidly growing," Pompeo said in the annual U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons report. Russia quits U.N. system aimed at protecting hospitals, aid in Syria

Russia said on Thursday it has quit a voluntary United Nations arrangement that aimed to protect hospitals and humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria from being hit by the warring parties. Russia made the decision following an internal U.N. inquiry in April found it was "highly probable" the Syrian government or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year. Iraqi security forces raid Iran-backed militia headquarters: government sources

Iraqi security forces raided a headquarters belonging to a powerful Iran-backed militia south of Baghdad late on Thursday, seized rockets and detained three commanders of the group at the site, two Iraqi government officials said. The officials said the militia group targeted was the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, which U.S. officials have accused of firing rockets at bases hosting U.S. troops and other facilities in Iraq. Exclusive: Support dips for Hong Kong democracy protests as national security law looms - poll

Support for year-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong has slipped, now getting the backing of a slim majority, as the city braces for the imposition of Beijing-drafted national security legislation, a survey conducted for Reuters showed. Protests escalated last June over a since-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions of defendants to mainland China. They later morphed into a push for greater democracy, often involving violent clashes with the police. Irish parties vote on coalition deal, all eyes on Greens

Ireland's Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Green Party will decide on Friday whether to go into government together, with all eyes on the smaller Greens whose higher bar for ratification could yet scupper the coalition agreement struck last week. Lawmakers from Ireland's two dominant centre-right parties agreed to govern together for the first time in a deal that will put the Greens at the centre of policymaking and end a political stalemate triggered by an inconclusive election in February.