Reuters World News Summary

Uneasy calm in Ethiopia after protests, official death toll doubles More than 166 people were killed during anti-government protests in Ethiopia last week, the government said on Sunday, as the capital and other hotspots remained closely guarded by security forces and a blanket Internet shutdown entered its sixth day.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Constitutional changes are the 'right thing' for Russia: Putin

President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday constitutional amendments approved in a nationwide vote created the conditions for Russia's "progressive development" for decades to come. One of the changes approved in the week-long vote that ended on July 1 makes it possible for Putin to seek two more terms as president and, if re-elected, to stay in power until 2036. Argentina to unveil new debt offer to creditors, push deadline to late August

Argentina is set to unveil a new debt restructuring offer that will be kept open until the end of August, President Alberto Fernandez told local radio on Sunday, as the government seeks to strike a deal despite rising tensions with creditors. "The offer will be known today and will be open until the end of August," the center-left Peronist leader said in an interview with Radio Milenium, suggesting a current July 24 deadline for a deal would be further extended. Lebanon's top Christian clerics blast politicians as hunger, hardship bite

Lebanon's Christian authorities slammed politicians on Sunday for failing to remedy an economic meltdown that has left many poor, piling pressure on the country's leaders as it spirals deeper into crisis. In a sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, accused politicians of thinking only of their own vested interests and urged the president to take action. Fire at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility caused significant damage: spokesman

A fire at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility has caused significant damage that could slow the development of advanced centrifuges used to enrich uranium, an Iranian nuclear official said on Sunday. Iran's top security body said on Friday that the cause of the fire that broke out on Thursday had been determined but would be announced later. Some Iranian officials have said it may have been cyber sabotage and one warned that Tehran would retaliate against any country carrying out such attacks. Tunisia's Ennahdha party to review stance on government

The moderate Islamist party Ennahda will review its stance on Tunisia's coalition government over an alleged conflict of interests involving Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh, the party said on Sunday. Ennahda gave no details of what action it would consider taking, but sources close to the party said the withdrawal of its seven ministers from the government was among the possible options. Uneasy calm in Ethiopia after protests, official death toll doubles

More than 166 people were killed during anti-government protests in Ethiopia last week, the government said on Sunday, as the capital and other hotspots remained closely guarded by security forces and a blanket Internet shutdown entered its sixth day. Large protests broke out in Addis Ababa and spread to the surrounding Oromia region on Monday night after popular Oromo musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead by unknown gunmen in a killing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said was "an evil act". Croatia's ruling HDZ wins parliamentary vote, majority within reach

Croatia's ruling centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) convincingly won a parliamentary election on Sunday, held at a time of rising coronavirus infections and a sharp economic downturn due to the pandemic. The official results after around 60% of votes were counted gave the HDZ 68 seats in the 151-seat parliament, while its top opponent, the Social Democrats (SDP) and its small allies, secured 43 seats. Iran says it has built underground missile cities along Gulf coastline

Tehran has built underground "missile cities" along the Gulf coastline, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy chief said on Sunday, warning of a "nightmare for Iran's enemies". "Iran has established underground onshore and offshore missile cities all along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that would be a nightmare for Iran's enemies," Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri told the Sobh-e Sadeq weekly. Indian soldiers unarmed and caught by surprise in China clash, families say

Indian soldiers who died in close combat with Chinese troops last month were unarmed and surrounded by a larger force on a steep ridge, Indian government sources, two soldiers deployed in the area and families of the fallen men said. One of the Indian soldiers had his throat slit with metal nails in the darkness, his father told Reuters, saying he had been told by a fellow soldier who was there. Bolivia's health minister tests positive for COVID-19

Bolivia's Health Minister María Eidy Roca has tested positive for COVID-19 though is in stable condition, the ministry said on Sunday, as a sharp rise in cases of the novel coronavirus strain hospitals and cemeteries in the South American country. The landlocked Andean nation of over 11.5 million people has registered some 38,000 confirmed cases of the disease and 1,378 deaths. Its daily burden of cases make Bolivia currently one of the worst affected countries per capita in the world.