Reuters World News Summary

Biden portrayed the chaotic exit as a logistical success that would have been just as messy even if it had been launched weeks earlier, while staying in the country would have required committing more American troops. Firefight at Libyan government building shows continued insecurity Clashes erupted at a government building in central Tripoli on Tuesday after a dispute over the leadership of a state institution, its head said, underscoring the volatility and insecurity in Libya https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/untangling-crisis-libya-2021-06-22 months before a planned election.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. agency says Tigrayan forces looted aid warehouses in Ethiopia's Amhara region

Forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region in recent weeks looted warehouses belonging to the U.S. government's humanitarian agency in the Amhara region, USAID's Ethiopia director said on Tuesday. War broke out in the mountainous region last November between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the region. The conflict has killed thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.

Exclusive-In call before Afghan collapse, Biden pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’

In the last call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither Biden nor Ashraf Ghani appeared aware of or prepared for the immediate danger of the entire country falling to insurgents, a transcript reviewed by Reuters shows. The men spoke for roughly 14 minutes on July 23. On August 15, Ghani fled the presidential palace, and the Taliban entered Kabul. Since then, tens of thousands of desperate Afghans have fled and 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghan civilians were killed in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport during the frenetic U.S. military evacuation.

Biden says U.S. committed to safe passage for last 100-200 Americans left in Afghanistan

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said 90% of Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan were able to do so, and the United States remained committed to helping the remaining 100 to 200 U.S. citizens who had some intention to leave. Speaking at the White House, Biden told reporters that most of those people were dual citizens and longtime residents, who had earlier decided to stay in the country given their family roots in Afghanistan.

Venezuela opposition shifts strategy, will take part in elections

Venezuela's main opposition parties said on Tuesday they will participate in November regional and local elections, a strategy reversal after boycotting previous elections they argued were not free or fair. The opposition's decision https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-opposition-parties-announce-participation-regional-vote-sources-say-2021-08-30 was made as a more-than two-year push to oust President Nicolas Maduro through international pressure and calls for the military to switch allegiances has failed. Opponents label Maduro a dictator who rigged his 2018 re-election and violates human rights to quash dissent.

'Oh, that's an idea...': U.S. parents respond to China screen time ban

Raleigh Smith Duttweiler was folding laundry in her Ohio home, her three children playing the video game Minecraft upstairs, when she heard an NPR story about new rules in China that forbid teenagers and children under age 18 from playing video games for more than three hours a week. "Oh, that's an idea," Duttweiler, who works in public relations at a nonprofit, recalls thinking. "My American gut instinct: This is sort of an infringement on rights and you don't get to tell us what to do inside of our own homes.

Biden says Afghanistan exit marks the end of U.S nation-building

Facing sharp criticism over the tumultuous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday it was the best available option to end both the United States' longest war and decades of fruitless efforts to remake other countries through military force. Biden portrayed the chaotic exit as a logistical success that would have been just as messy even if it had been launched weeks earlier, while staying in the country would have required committing more American troops.

Firefight at Libyan government building shows continued insecurity

Clashes erupted at a government building in central Tripoli on Tuesday after a dispute over the leadership of a state institution, its head said, underscoring the volatility and insecurity in Libya https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/untangling-crisis-libya-2021-06-22 months before a planned election. Pickup trucks carrying fighters rushed to the street where the Administrative Control Agency (ACA) is based, a Reuters witness said, amid the sound of gunfire and as black smoke rose overhead.

U.S. adds Canada to its " do not travel" advisory list amid COVID-19 -State Dept

The U.S. State Department has raised its travel advisory alert for Canada to a "level 4 – do not travel" status amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The department, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday warned against travel to Switzerland, among other countries because of rising cases of the novel coronavirus.

Iran plans new round of talks with Saudi Arabia -Iranian envoy

Iran plans to hold a fourth round of talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia in Iraq after the new Iranian government is set up, the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad was quoted on Tuesday as saying. Iran and Saudi Arabia, leading Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, have been rivals for years, backing allies fighting proxy wars in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. They cut diplomatic ties in 2016.

Colombia's ex-President Andres Pastrana defends efforts to build peace

Colombia's ex-President Andres Pastrana said on Tuesday his government had laid the ground work for building peace in the South American country, even though he did not reach an agreement with leftwing guerrillas and rightwing paramilitaries.

Pastrana, who governed Colombia between 1998 and 2002, became the fifth ex-president to testify before the country's truth commission, which was established as part of a 2016 peace agreement with the now-demobilized rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).