Reuters World News Summary

U.S. and French officials visiting the city after the Aug. 4 blast that killed 178 people said they had made clear they would not extend a financial lifeline to the country if its leaders did not tackle corruption and mismanagement.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. 'I'm not a saint': Lukashenko offers to hand over power after referendum

Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, said on Monday he would be ready to hold new elections and hand over power after a constitutional referendum, an attempt to pacify mass protests and strikes that pose the biggest challenge yet to his rule. He made the offer, which he insisted would not be delivered on while he was under pressure from protesters, after exiled opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was willing to lead the country. Former CIA officer arrested and charged with spying for China

A former Central Intelligence Agency officer was arrested and charged with spying for China in a scheme that involved a relative who had also worked for the CIA, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. It said in a statement that Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 67, was arrested on Friday on a charge that he conspired with a relative, also a former CIA officer, to communicate classified information to Chinese intelligence officials. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Monday. Brazil indigenous tribe ordered to end protest blocking key grains export route

A Brazilian federal judge on Monday ordered protesters to clear the BR-163 highway, a main route for exporting grains from Mato Grosso state to northern ports, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Reuters. Members of the Kayapó indigenous tribe had blocked the route in center-west Brazil on Monday, protesting against a lack of government protection from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed several of their elders. Man stabs Israeli cop, is shot dead in Jerusalem's Old City: police

A knife-wielding man wounded an Israeli policeman in the Old City of Jerusalem and was shot dead by an officer on Monday, a police spokesman said. The slain man's identity was not immediately clear, the spokesman said. On eve of Hariri verdict, Lebanese grapple with new ordeal

More than 15 years since Lebanon's Rafik al-Hariri was killed by a massive bomb blast in Beirut, the verdict of a U.N.-backed tribunal into his assassination is due on Tuesday as the country reels from the aftermath of an even bigger explosion. The Aug. 4 port blast, which killed 178 people, has overshadowed the long-awaited verdict. It was the biggest explosion in Lebanon's history and more powerful than the bomb that killed Hariri and 21 others on Beirut's seafront corniche in 2005. Pakistani army chief visits Saudi Arabia to revive ties strained over Kashmir

Pakistan's army chief met with senior Saudi Arabian officials in Riyadh on Monday in an effort to ease a row between the two countries over policy towards the disputed region of Kashmir. The argument, brought on by Pakistani demands for Saudi Arabia to take a firmer line against India's behaviour in Kashmir, has threatened Riyadh's financial lifeline to Islamabad. Amazon blazes burn forest, farmland and threaten homes

Residents and firefighters in northwestern Brazil are battling fires that are raging in the Amazon, destroying farmland and threatening their homes. The blazes, that occur every year in the dry season, sent clouds of smokes billowing into the sky that could be seen and smelt from the capital of Rondonia state 24 miles (38 km) away. Israel's president invites UAE's de facto leader to Jerusalem

Israel's president on Monday invited the United Arab Emirates' de facto leader to visit Jerusalem, praising his role in achieving a "noble and courageous" deal to normalise relations between Israel and the UAE. Both countries announced on Thursday they would forge formal ties under a U.S.-sponsored deal whose implementation could recast Middle East politics ranging from the Palestinian issue to dealing with Iran, the common foe of Israel and Gulf Arabs. Lebanese leaders' response to reform calls 'disappointing', says U.N. official

Warnings by Western officials over the need for reforms in Lebanon had often been met with disappointing responses by the country's political leaders, a senior United Nations official said on Monday following this month's Beirut port explosion. U.S. and French officials visiting the city after the Aug. 4 blast that killed 178 people said they had made clear they would not extend a financial lifeline to the country if its leaders did not tackle corruption and mismanagement. Brazil Economy Minister Paulo Guedes not about to resign: sources

Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has no intention of resigning, two sources from the economic team told Reuters, in an attempt to quash rising speculation that political pressure for more public spending could force him to quit. Doubts about Guedes' future have grown since two more of his special secretaries left the ministry last week and local media reported at the weekend that central bank president Roberto Campos Neto is being lined up to replace him.