World News Roundup: China tourist trips top pre-pandemic levels over May Day break; India posts record daily COVID-19 deaths and more

China marked International Labour Day with a five-day holiday from May 1-5, giving workers a long-awaited opportunity to travel to other parts of the country after they were urged to skip their annual trip home for Lunar New Year in mid-February to stave off the risk of a COVID-19 resurgence. India posts record daily COVID-19 deaths, delegates test positive at G7 meet India accounted for nearly half the coronavirus cases reported worldwide last week, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, as COVID-19 deaths in the south Asian nation rose by a record 3,780 during the past 24 hours.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China tourist trips top pre-pandemic levels over May Day break, revenues still lower

Chinese tourists made around 230 million trips over the extended May Day holiday as domestic travel surpassed pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, according to official estimates on Wednesday, although total tourism revenues were still lower. China marked International Labour Day with a five-day holiday from May 1-5, giving workers a long-awaited opportunity to travel to other parts of the country after they were urged to skip their annual trip home for Lunar New Year in mid-February to stave off the risk of a COVID-19 resurgence.

India posts record daily COVID-19 deaths, delegates test positive at G7 meet

India accounted for nearly half the coronavirus cases reported worldwide last week, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, as COVID-19 deaths in the south Asian nation rose by a record 3,780 during the past 24 hours. In a weekly report, the WHO said India accounted for 46% of global cases and a quarter of global deaths reported in the past week.

COVID scare at G7 meeting after Indian delegates test positive

The Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in London was hit by a COVID-19 scare on Wednesday when India's foreign minister and his entire team said they were self-isolating after two delegation members tested positive. Britain is hosting the three-day meeting - the first such G7 event in two years - which has been heavily billed as a chance to restart face-to-face diplomacy and a opportunity for the West to show a united front against threats from China and Russia.

Iran envoy drops appeal to jail in Belgium, no prisoner swap seen

An Iranian diplomat sentenced to 20 years in prison for planning a bomb attack in France has dropped an appeal in Belgium and will serve his sentence, his representative said on Wednesday. Belgian authorities have said they will oppose any potential swap deal with Western prisoners, lawyers said.

Kushner launches group to promote Arab states' new ties with Israel

Jared Kushner is forming a group to promote relations between four Arab states and Israel, normalized under agreements he helped broker as a top adviser to his father-in-law former President Donald Trump, the group said on Wednesday. Kushner is founding the "Abraham Accords Institute for Peace," to work on deepening agreements Israel reached last year with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

Greek PM Mitsotakis sees COVID situation improving 'dramatically'

Falling COVID-19 case numbers and more vaccinations will permit Greece to open its vital tourism sector next week, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, adding he was "very, very sure" the situation would be much better in a month's time. On May 15 Greece plans to lift travel restrictions on foreign visitors who have been vaccinated or have negative test results. Tourism accounts for about a fifth of Greece's economy and jobs market, and after the worst year on record for the sector last year the country can ill afford another lost summer.

EU seeks India's support for plastics treaty, draft summit statement says

The European Union will ask India to join its push for a global treaty on plastic pollution, according to a draft statement prepared for a virtual summit on Saturday and seen by Reuters. The draft statement, which must be signed off by EU ambassadors and needs New Delhi's final approval, said: "The EU invited India to consider endorsing the Leaders' Pledge for Nature, and effective engagement with like-minded countries on negotiations on a Global Plastics Agreement."

Bulgaria to hold fresh general election on July 11 - president

Bulgaria will hold a snap parliamentary election on July 11, after a third and final attempt to form a government following April 4 polls that led to a fragmented parliament failed, President Rumen Radev said on Wednesday. Outgoing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's centre-right GERB, which has dominated Bulgarian politics over the last decade, again emerged as the largest party after last month's election but it lost seats amid widespread public anger over corruption in the European Union's poorest member state.

Ten Belarusians file criminal case against Lukashenko in Germany

Ten Belarusians have asked Germany's federal prosecutor to open a criminal investigation against President Alexander Lukashenko and security officers for alleged crimes against humanity during a crackdown on protests. Lawyers who brought the case for the 10, who are now living across Europe, cited universal jurisdiction laws that allow Germany to try crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.

Analysis-Rail accident rattles Mexico's presidential succession favorites

The dramatic collapse of a rail overpass in Mexico City that killed at least 24 people has dealt a blow to two of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's most senior aides, who are widely viewed as the leading candidates to succeed him. Monday night's accident has stirred up concern about the city's infrastructure, in particular Linea 12, the metro line where the collapse occurred, and a flagship project of Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard when he was mayor from 2006 to 2012.