World News Roundup: Belarusian opposition leader believes blogger tortured; Air France cancels flights as Russia withholds clearance and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Egypt's intelligence chief holds truce talks with Hamas in Gaza

Egypt's intelligence chief met Hamas leaders in Gaza on Monday to try to bolster a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel and to discuss reconstruction plans following the recent hostilities, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said. The visit was the first by an Egyptian intelligence chief to the enclave since the early 2000s.

U.S. spied on Merkel and other Europeans through Danish cables - broadcaster DR

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) used a partnership with Denmark's foreign intelligence unit to spy on senior officials of neighbouring countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish state broadcaster DR said. The findings are the result of a 2015 internal investigation in the Danish Defence Intelligence Service into NSA's role in the partnership, DR said, citing nine unnamed sources with access to the investigation.

Belarusian opposition leader believes blogger tortured

Belarus's leading opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Monday that detained blogger Roman Protasevich had been beaten and tortured in jail. A lawyer who visited Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega said he was fine, "but it's doubtful, because for sure he was tortured, for sure he was beaten", she told reporters at a news conference in Tallinn.

Air France cancels flights as Russia withholds clearance

Air France cancelled two more flights to Moscow on Monday after Russian authorities failed to approve flight plans that avoid Belarus airspace. The European Union has urged its airlines to avoid Belarus amid outrage over the forced landing of a Ryanair jet en route to Lithuania from Greece on May 23 and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board.

Three-child policy: China lifts cap on births in major policy shift

Married Chinese couples may have up to three children, China announced on Monday, in a major shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world's most populous country. Beijing scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit to try and stave off risks to its economy from a rapidly aging population. But that failed to result in a sustained surge in births given the high cost of raising children in Chinese cities, a challenge that persists to this day.

Israel's 'magician' Netanyahu faces final curtain after record run

Long the familiar face of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has held on as prime minister for more than a decade, clinging to power through a criminal indictment and four elections in the past two years alone. Now, the question is whether the 71-year-old Netanyahu, dubbed "the magician" by his admirers, has any cards left up his sleeve.

WHO, at heart of world's sluggish COVID response, could face shake-up

The World Health Organization, at the heart of the world's sluggish handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, faces a potential shake-up to prevent future outbreaks as a top official warned that "the pathogens have the upper hand". Health ministers agreed on Monday to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the capacity of both the U.N. agency and countries to contain new viruses.

Netanyahu's disparate rivals try to nail down pact to unseat him

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rivals on Monday sought to finalise a unity coalition that would unseat the veteran Israeli leader, but political commentators saw a bitter fight ahead. Centrist opposition chief Yair Lapid secured support on Sunday from ultranationalist Naftali Bennett for a "change" government of ideologically disparate rivals.

Greece and Turkey aim to smooth differences, leaders to meet

Greece and Turkey pledged on Monday to smooth differences that erupted into a public spat between their foreign ministers, announcing a meeting between President Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at next month's NATO summit. The two historic rivals are at odds over many issues from competing for territorial claims in the eastern Mediterranean to migrant boats and the status of Cyprus. They came close to armed conflict last year but have been trying to lower tensions.

EU executive urges reopening in summer to vaccinated tourists

The European Commission proposed on Monday that vaccinated people should be exempt from testing or quarantines when travelling from one EU country to another, and urged a gradual easing of travel measures as COVID-19 inoculations accelerate. The EU reached a deal earlier this month on COVID-19 certificates that will show, via a QR code, whether a person is vaccinated, immune-based on recovery from infection or has had a recent negative test. The scheme should be ready by July 1.

(With inputs from agencies.)