World News Roundup: Biden to offer temporary 'safe haven' to Hong Kong residents in U.S.; Brazilian business leaders, Exclusive-Belarusian sprinter decided to defect on way to airport on family fears about safety and more

The Independent Commission Against Corruption said on Monday https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-authorities-arrest-pro-democracy-singer-corruption-2021-08-02 that Wong had provided "entertainment to induce others to vote" for pro-democracy activist Au Nok-hin in a 2018 legislative by-election. Israeli aircraft strike rocket launch sites in Lebanon, military says Israeli jets struck what its military said were rocket launch sites in Lebanon early on Thursday in response to two rockets fired towards Israel from Lebanese territory, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Biden to offer temporary 'safe haven' to Hong Kong residents in U.S.

The United States on Thursday plans to offer a temporary "safe haven" to thousands of Hong Kong residents, a senior administration official told Reuters, allowing them to extend their stay in the country in response to Beijing's crackdown on democracy in the Chinese territory. President Joe Biden is expected to sign a memorandum directing the State and Homeland Security departments to grant Hong Kong residents in the United States an 18-month "deferral of removal," the official said.

Exclusive-Belarusian sprinter decided to defect on way to airport on family fears about safety

Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya decided to defect as she was being driven to a Tokyo airport because her grandmother told her that it wasn't safe to return home to Belarus. In an exclusive interview with Reuters in Warsaw, she said her family feared she would be sent to a psychiatric ward if she went back to Belarus, and that her grandmother had called her to tell her not to return.

Brazilian business leaders, in letter, rebuke Bolsonaro's 'authoritarian adventures'

Hundreds of business leaders representing large Brazilian banks and companies on Thursday published a letter titled "Elections will be respected", in an apparent rebuke of President Jair Bolsonaro's recent threats against the 2022 elections. "The principle of a healthy democracy is that elections are held and all involved accept its results," the letter said. Bolsonaro has repeatedly said if the printed ballots system is not adopted, the 2022 elections would not be held. On Wednesday, he threatened to react to a Supreme Court probe into his conduct "acting beyond the constitution".

Hardline cleric Raisi to be sworn in as Iran's president

Hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi will be sworn in as Iran's president on Thursday, with the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers face growing crises at home and abroad. Iranian television said Raisi, 60, would be inaugurated later on Thursday, two days after winning the formal endorsement of the country's supreme leader to take office following his victory in an election in June.

Hong Kong activist singer cleared of 'corrupt conduct' charge

A Hong Kong judge cleared on Thursday singer and pro-democracy activist Anthony Wong of a charge of "corrupt conduct" filed this week by the city's anti-corruption watchdog over an appearance at an opposition election rally in 2018. The Independent Commission Against Corruption said on Monday https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-authorities-arrest-pro-democracy-singer-corruption-2021-08-02 that Wong had provided "entertainment to induce others to vote" for pro-democracy activist Au Nok-hin in a 2018 legislative by-election.

Israeli aircraft strike rocket launch sites in Lebanon, military says

Israeli jets struck what its military said were rocket launch sites in Lebanon early on Thursday in response to two rockets fired towards Israel from Lebanese territory, in an escalation of cross-border hostilities amid heightened tensions with Iran. The rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck open areas in northern Israel, causing brush fires along the hilly frontier. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, which came from an area of south Lebanon under the sway of Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.

At least 40 bodies found in Myanmar jungle area after army crackdown -media

A Myanmar militia force fighting the army in a central part of the country and residents have found at least 40 bodies in jungle areas in recent weeks, including some showing signs of torture, a militia member and media reports said. Since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, hundreds of people have been killed as the army violently quelled protests, and in clashes between soldiers and often hastily assembled, lightly armed local militias.

Navalny's allies say Russia not able to track new form of donations

Allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny introduced on Thursday a new way to accept online donations from Russia, using U.S. payments processor Stripe, so that authorities could not track and punish their supporters. The announcement came via multiple social media accounts of Navalny's team, which is largely based outside Russia, the day after a Russian court rejected an appeal against a decision to label their Anti-Corruption Foundation an "extremist" group.

Chad army says at least 20 soldiers killed in Lake Chad attack

At least 20 Chadian soldiers were killed in the early hours of Thursday by suspected Boko Haram assailants following at attack on their patrol around the Lake Chad area, army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa said. "We deplore the death of about 20 of our soldiers during a routine patrol in the locality," Bermandoa told Reuters, adding that the attackers were repulsed by the army. He said troops from a multinational force the region had reinforced, in order to seal off the locality and track the insurgents.

U.N. climate report likely to deliver stark warnings on global warming

Eight years after its last update on climate science, the United Nations is set to publish a report Monday that will likely deliver even starker warnings about how quickly the planet is warming – and how damaging the impacts might get. Since the last report https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2013, both greenhouse gas emissions and the average global temperature have only continued to climb.

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