Reuters World News Summary

Some of the attacks affected fuel and food supplies in parts of the United States. Tunisian Islamists move to ease tensions, unions demand roadmap Tunisia's leading Islamist party moved on Tuesday to ease the country's political crisis, calling for dialogue and urging supporters not to protest after accusing President Kais Saied of launching a coup.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Blast in German industrial park kills two, several missing

An explosion in a German industrial park on Tuesday killed at least two people and injured 31, setting off a fierce blaze that sent a pall of smoke over the western city of Leverkusen. Several people were still missing. Emergency services took three hours to extinguish the fire at the Chempark site, home to chemicals companies Bayer and Lanxess, that flared up after the blast at 9:40 a.m. (0740 GMT), park operator Currenta said.

Biden to tap ex-ambassador Gitenstein as EU envoy

President Joe Biden has nominated former U.S. ambassador Mark Gitenstein to serve as ambassador to the European Union, the White House said on Tuesday. Gitenstein, U.S. ambassador to Romania in the Obama administration, is an international lawyer and Biden Foundation board member.

Top security official for slain Haitian president arrested by police

A top security official of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moise was arrested by police on suspicion of involvement in the assassination plot, his lawyer said on Tuesday, as another aide's apparent account of the event was leaked on social media. Presidential Security Coordinator Jean Laguel Civil was arrested on Monday, lawyer Reynold Georges told Reuters, nearly three weeks after Moise was killed on July 7 in the middle of the night at his private residence in Port-au-Prince by a group of more than 20 mostly Colombian mercenaries.

Sydney braces for extended COVID-19 lockdown as rest of Australia opens

Australian officials are set to extend a COVID-19 lockdown in the country's largest city, Sydney, as new cases remain stubbornly high despite a month under strict stay-home orders, while Victoria and South Australia eased curbs from Wednesday. Sydney is struggling to control its worst outbreak of the year from a flare up of infections fuelled by the highly infectious Delta virus strain, with officials imploring residents to remain home except for urgent reasons.

Brazil's Bolsonaro turns to center-right senator for political survival

Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has asked Senator Ciro Nogueira to be his chief of staff to shore up support in Congress in the face of falling popularity and growing outrage over his handling of the world's second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak. Nogueira, a leader of the center-right Progressives Party(PP), tweeted on Tuesday that he has accepted the job and is expected to be sworn in this week as Bolsonaro's closest minister, replacing a retired general.

U.S. pauses some cooperation with Guatemala over ouster of anti-graft fighter

The United States said on Tuesday it was pausing some cooperation with Guatemala's criminal prosecutor after last week's ouster of the head of an anti-corruption prosecution unit. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters on Tuesday the change affects "programmatic cooperation with the Public Ministry," which is responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases.

Biden: If U.S. has 'real shooting war' it could be result of cyber attacks

President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned that if the United States ended up in a "real shooting war" with a "major power" it could be the result of a significant cyber attack on the country, highlighting what Washington sees as growing threats posed by Russia and China. Cybersecurity has risen to the top of the agenda for the Biden administration after a series of high-profile attacks on entities such as network management company SolarWinds, the Colonial Pipeline company, meat processing company JBS and software firm Kaseya hurt the U.S. far beyond just the companies hacked. Some of the attacks affected fuel and food supplies in parts of the United States.

Tunisian Islamists move to ease tensions, unions demand roadmap

Tunisia's leading Islamist party moved on Tuesday to ease the country's political crisis, calling for dialogue and urging supporters not to protest after accusing President Kais Saied of launching a coup. Tunisia faced its worst political crisis in a decade of democracy after Saied, backed by the army, sacked the prime minister and froze parliament on Sunday, sparking concern in Western capitals that have praised its transition from autocracy since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.

Russian billionaires vs British writer: court battle begins over Putin book

England's High Court will begin hearing arguments on Wednesday from lawyers for four Russian billionaires including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich and state-owned oil firm Rosneft about a book on President Vladimir Putin which they say defames them. In the 2020 book, British journalist Catherine Belton chronicles Putin's rise to power and how many of his associates from the former Soviet spy services rose to positions of wealth and influence after he won the top Kremlin job in 1999.

Canada border guards vote to strike days ahead of reopening to U.S. tourists

Canadian border guards and customs officials voted on Tuesday to go on strike just days before fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be allowed into Canada, unions representing the workers said, a move that could potentially cause disruptions and hurt businesses emerging out of the pandemic-driven economic downturn. A strike would slow down commercial traffic at the land border, the unions said, as well as impact international mail and collection of duties and taxes. But a spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said 90% of employees have been identified as "essential" so will continue to work in the event of a strike.

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