World News Roundup: EU ambassador to UK says trust is low ahead of Brexit talks; Mexicans primed to vote in midterm elections seen as referendum on president and more

Two days ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of the schools. Mexicans primed to vote in midterm elections seen as referendum on president Mexicans will head to the polls on Sunday to elect a new lower house of Congress, state governors and local lawmakers, in a pivotal race seen as a referendum on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's efforts to shake up the country's institutions.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

East German state votes in final test before election to decide who replaces Merkel

The eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt started voting on Sunday in the last test of public opinion before September's national election, one which could deal a blow to conservative Armin Laschet's hopes of succeeding Chancellor Angela Merkel. Surveys in the state show a small lead for the Christian Democrats (CDU) of Laschet and Merkel, but the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was running just one percentage point behind in the final poll published on Friday.

Israeli police detain Palestinian activist twins from East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah

Israeli police detained two prominent Palestinian activists on Sunday who have become the face of a campaign to halt Palestinian evictions from a flashpoint East Jerusalem neighbourhood. Supporters of Muna and Mohammed El-Kurd, who are twins, say their detention is part of a broader Israeli effort to halt opposition to the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, where Jewish settlers want to move into the El-Kurds' home and others under an Israeli court ruling.

Israel domestic security warns of violence as Netanyahu faces unseating

The head of Israel's domestic security service issued a rare warning on Saturday of possible violence during one of the most politically charged periods in decades, with the country on the verge of unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, its longest serving leader. Netanyahu is facing the prospect of an end to his 12-year run as premier after Israel's centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid announced on Wednesday that he had succeeded in forming a governing coalition following a March 23 election.

U.S. boosts Taiwan's COVID-19 fight with vaccines as senators visit

The United States will donate 750,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan as part of the country's plan to share shots globally, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said on Sunday, offering a much-needed boost to the island's fight against the pandemic. Taiwan is dealing with a spike in domestic cases but has been affected like many places by global vaccines shortages. Only around 3% of its 23.5 million people have been vaccinated, with most getting only the first shot of two needed.

Attackers kill 88 people in northwest Nigeria

Attackers killed 88 people in Nigeria's Kebbi state on Thursday, spurring its governor to pledge a bigger deployment of security forces on Sunday as insecurity spreads largely unchecked through the country's northwest. Perpetrators swept through eight villages, killing people and sending residents fleeing, police said, giving a death toll of 88. Details began to emerge on Saturday.

Social media account of China's Xiaohongshu goes dark after Tiananmen anniversary post

A social media account for popular Chinese e-commerce site Xiaohongshu, or "Little Red Book," was unavailable on Sunday, after it issued a post on Friday, the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square, a highly sensitive date in China. The Friday post on its account on China's Twitter-like Weibo said, "Tell me loud: what's the date today?", according to a screenshot seen by Reuters. That post was quickly deleted by Xiaohongshu, according to a person familiar with the matter, who declined to be named given its sensitivity.

Peruvians head to polls to elect president, divided by class and geography

Peruvians will pick a president on Sunday in an election that has bitterly divided them by class and geography, with urban and higher-income citizens preferring right-wing Keiko Fujimori while the rural poor support leftist political novice Pedro Castillo. Polls in the runoff election are to open at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT) in most of the country’s 11,700 voting centres, with official results starting to arrive from 11:30 p.m. (0430 GMT on Monday).

Pope calls for reconciliation, healing over Canada school discovery

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect of the rights and cultures of native peoples. However, Francis stopped short of the direct apology some Canadians had demanded. Two days ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of the schools.

Mexicans primed to vote in midterm elections seen as referendum on president

Mexicans will head to the polls on Sunday to elect a new lower house of Congress, state governors and local lawmakers, in a pivotal race seen as a referendum on President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's efforts to shake up the country's institutions. With all 500 seats in the lower house, 15 state governorships, and thousands of local leadership positions up for grabs and some 93.5 million Mexicans eligible to vote, according to the national electoral institute INE's data, this will be one of the country's biggest elections.

EU ambassador to UK says trust is low ahead of Brexit talks

The European Union's ambassador to the United Kingdom said on Sunday that levels of trust between the two powers was low ahead of Brexit talks on the Northern Ireland protocol this week, but added that he was confident it would improve. "The levels of trust are low right now," Joao Vale de Almeida told Times Radio.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)