Reuters World News Summary

In recent weeks fighting has spread from Tigray into two neighbouring regions, Amhara and Afar, forcing around 250,000 people to flee. Haiti requests U.N. commission to probe president's killing Haiti's government has requested help from the United Nations to conduct an international investigation into the killing last month of President Jovenel Moise, the country's embassy in the Dominican Republic said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Biden offers 'safe haven' to Hong Kong residents in U.S. after China crackdown

President Joe Biden on Thursday offered temporary "safe haven" to Hong Kong residents in the United States, allowing what could be thousands of people to extend their stay in the country in response to Beijing's crackdown on democracy in the Chinese territory. Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security to implement a "deferral of removal" for up to 18 months for Hong Kong residents currently in the United States, citing "compelling foreign policy reasons."

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

Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya decided to defect as she was being driven to a Tokyo airport because her grandmother told her that it was not safe to return home to Belarus. In an exclusive interview with Reuters in Warsaw on Thursday, 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.

U.S. senators to reintroduce bill targeting Cambodian officials on rights

Leading U.S. senators said on Thursday they plan to reintroduce legislation that would provide for sanctions to freeze assets of senior Cambodian officials who undermine democracy, engage in corruption, or otherwise violate human rights. The bipartisan Cambodia Democracy and Human Rights Act planned by Democratic Senators Ed Markey and Dick Durbin and Republican Marco Rubio would also require the U.S. president to submit a report to Congress on China's activities in Cambodia assessing whether this had caused a deterioration of democracy and human rights.

Analysis: Are COVID vaccine passes moving the needle on getting people inoculated?

People in France have been rushing for COVID-19 vaccines since the government introduced a mandatory health pass to access bars and restaurants, stirring the debate about how to get more shots in arms to combat the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Governments around the world are resorting to creative ways to encourage citizens to get inoculated - several countries are offering lottery tickets, the Netherlands gave away pickled herring and the U.S. plans to offer $100 cash rewards to entice vaccine stragglers.

Hardline cleric Raisi sworn in as Iran president amid tensions with West

Hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took the oath of office before parliament on Thursday, with the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers facing growing crises at home and abroad. The mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric formally started his four-year term on Tuesday when supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed his victory in the June election, when most prominent rivals were barred from standing.

Taliban target provincial Afghan cities in response to U.S. strikes, commanders say

Taliban militants have switched strategy from targeting rural areas of Afghanistan to attacking provincial cities, in response to increased U.S. air strikes after the United States said it was ending its longest war, three militant commanders said. The Taliban have stepped up their campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government as foreign forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of conflict.

Peru's new leftist president prioritizes China ties during early days in office

In his first week in office, Peru's new left-wing administration under President Pedro Castillo has been quick to extend a friendly hand to China, the Andean nation's most important commercial partner and the main buyer of its copper, a crucial source of tax revenue. Since Castillo was inaugurated on July 28, administration officials have met with the Chinese ambassador and Chinese mining executives to discuss not just policies for their industry but also to strengthen a previous free trade agreement first signed in 2009, government sources told Reuters.

Tigrayan forces take control of Ethiopia's Lalibela, a UN World Heritage Site - eyewitnesses

Forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region have taken control of the town of Lalibela, whose famed rock-hewn churches are a United Nations World Heritage Site, and residents were fleeing, two eyewitnesses told Reuters on Thursday. Lalibela, also a holy site for millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, is in the North Wollo Zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia's north. In recent weeks fighting has spread from Tigray into two neighbouring regions, Amhara and Afar, forcing around 250,000 people to flee.

Haiti requests U.N. commission to probe president's killing

Haiti's government has requested help from the United Nations to conduct an international investigation into the killing last month of President Jovenel Moise, the country's embassy in the Dominican Republic said on Thursday. Haiti requested the aid in a letter dated Aug. 3 addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the embassy in the neighboring country said in a statement. Specifically, Haiti called for an "international commission of inquiry" to be formed, along with a special court to prosecute the suspects.

Special Report-How a little-known G7 task force unwittingly helps governments target critics

In late 2020, when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni faced a fresh challenge to his 35-year rule, a new tool helped to silence his critics: anti-money laundering legislation promoted by the G7. The Financial Action Task Force, established by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the global financial system, had written to Uganda's government eight years earlier telling it to do more to combat money laundering and terrorism financing or risk being placed on a "grey list" of deficient countries, according to a top Ugandan official who described the private letter to Reuters. Such a move could damage Uganda's ties to foreign banks and investors, which closely follow the FATF's updates.

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