Reuters World News Summary

The United States was joined by NATO, the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan and New Zealand in condemning the spying, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said posed "a major threat to our economic and national security." Mexican president's inner circle potential targets of Pegasus spyware -The Guardian Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's inner circle, politicians from every party, dissidents and journalists were potential targets for surveillance by a government client of the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, The Guardian reported on Monday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Haiti interim prime minister Joseph set to step down this week

Claude Joseph, who has nominally led Haiti as acting prime minister since the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, will hand power to a challenger backed by the international community possibly as soon as Tuesday, a Haitian official said. The announcement appears to end a power struggle in the Caribbean nation between Joseph and Ariel Henry, the 71-year old neurosurgeon who was appointed prime minister by Moise two days before the killing but had yet to be sworn in.

UK PM Johnson dismissed COVID-19 lockdown as only elderly would die, ex-aide says

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was not prepared to impose lockdown restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 to save the elderly and denied the National Health Service would be overwhelmed, his former top adviser said in an interview aired on Monday. In his first TV interview since leaving his job last year, excerpts of which were released on Monday, Dominic Cummings said Johnson did not want to impose a second lockdown in the autumn last year because "the people who are dying are essentially all over 80".

U.S. and allies accuse China of global hacking spree

The United States and its allies accused China on Monday of a global cyberespionage campaign, mustering an unusually broad coalition of countries to publicly call out Beijing for hacking. The United States was joined by NATO, the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan and New Zealand in condemning the spying, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said posed "a major threat to our economic and national security."

Mexican president's inner circle potential targets of Pegasus spyware -The Guardian

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's inner circle, politicians from every party, dissidents and journalists were potential targets for surveillance by a government client of the Israeli spyware company NSO Group, The Guardian reported on Monday. At least 50 people close to Lopez Obrador were potentially targeted between 2016 and 2017 ahead of his election in 2018, including his wife, children and siblings, The Guardian said.

Peru election authority says set to name socialist Castillo as president

Peru's electoral authority said it would name socialist Pedro Castillo as the country's next president on Monday, calling him "president elect" in a statement sent to reporters announcing the ceremony would take place at 7 p.m. (2400 GMT). Right-wing presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori admitted she was headed for defeat, but pledged to mobilize her supporters and lashed out against Castillo as having won in an "illegitimate" manner.

Britain's opposition Labour Party considers cutting staff to save costs - source

Britain's opposition Labour Party is discussing cutting its staff in a bid to save costs, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The party's ruling national executive committee is to discuss plans for large-scale redundancies among staff, with at least 90 jobs at risk, The Guardian newspaper reported earlier.

Exclusive-Final settlement for Brazil's Samarco dam disaster could reach $19 billion, governor says

That estimate is nearly four times higher than an initial deal struck with mining companies in 2016, which created a foundation to implement reparations and temporarily froze lawsuits relating to the incident.

Canada to admit vaccinated U.S. tourists after more than 16 months

Canada on Monday said it would allow fully vaccinated U.S. tourists into the country starting from Aug. 9 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented 16-month ban that many businesses complained was crippling them. Inoculated visitors from countries other than the United States will be permitted to enter beginning on Sept. 7. The relaxation depends on Canada's COVID-19 rates remaining favorable, officials said.

Exclusive-U.S., Germany to announce deal on Nord Stream 2 pipeline in coming days -sources

The United States and Germany are expected to announce in coming days a deal resolving their long-standing dispute over Russia's $11 billion Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to settle their differences over the undersea pipeline when they met last week, but agreed Moscow must not be allowed to use energy as a weapon against its neighbors.

Suicide attack in Iraq's Sadr City kills at least 35, wounds dozens -sources

A suicide bomber killed at least 35 people and wounded dozens in a crowded market in the Sadr City neighbourhood of Baghdad on Monday, the eve of the Eid al-Adha festival, security and hospital sources said. More than 60 people were wounded, a police source said.