Reuters World News Summary

Mourners gathered at his residence and at the scene of Friday's tragedy in the western city of Nara, where Japan's longest-serving modern leader was gunned down in a rare act of political violence while making a campaign speech. Sri Lanka president to step down, parliamentary speaker says, amid storm of protests Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down, the country's parliamentary speaker said on Saturday, bowing to intense pressure after a violent day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the president's official residence and set fire to the prime minister's home in Colombo.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Former UK ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid join leadership race

British Conservative lawmakers and former health ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid used interviews with the Telegraph newspaper to announce they were joining the race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister. Both Hunt, who lost out to Johnson in the 2019 leadership race, and Javid, said as leader they would cut corporation tax to 15%, while Javid also said he would reverse an increase in social security contributions which took place in April.

Sri Lanka's Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Civil war victor brought down by protests

Sri Lanka's Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who oversaw a ruthless crushing of the Tamil Tigers to bring an end to the country's long-running civil war and went on to become president, appears set to be forced from office following months of protests. After the dramatic storming of the president's official residence by protesters on Saturday, the speaker of parliament said in a video statement Rajapaksa had informed him that he would step down on July 13. There was no immediate word from Rajapaksa himself.

Russia threatens broad Ukraine offensive as U.S. presses China over war stance

Ukrainian defenders battled on Saturday to contain Russian forces along several fronts, officials said, as the United States urged China to align itself with the West in opposing the invasion following an ill-tempered G20 meeting. A missile strike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv wounded three civilians, its governor said, though Russia's main attacks appeared focused southeast of there in Luhansk and Donetsk.

Flooding in Pakistan kills dozens as heavy monsoon rains lash the country

Intense floods killed dozens of people and left hundreds homeless in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday, as heavy monsoon rains battered the country. In the southern province of Balochistan, 57 people, including women and children, were killed after being swept away in flood waters, according to Ziaullah Langove, the disaster and home affairs advisor to the province's chief minister, adding that eight dams had burst due to the heavy rains.

Muslim pilgrims 'stone the devil' as haj nears end

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims threw pebbles on giant columns symbolising Satan on Saturday, part of the haj pilgrimage that has drawn to a close as Muslims around the world celebrated the first day of Eid al-Adha feast. Helicopters hovered overhead while security officers organised the flow of worshippers in Jamarat, where the stoning ritual takes place, as Saudi authorities closely watched the crowds to ensure an incident-free haj, which has been marred in the past by deadly stampedes.

Zelenskiy sacks Ukraine's envoy to Germany, other ambassadors

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday dismissed several of Kyiv's senior envoys abroad including the country's outspoken ambassador to Germany, the presidential website said. In a decree that gave no reason for the move, Zelenskiy announced the sacking of Ukraine's ambassadors to Germany, India, the Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary.

Police admit Nara security flaws as Abe's body returns home to Tokyo

Police acknowledged security flaws on Saturday in the Japanese city of Nara where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, as a motorcade carrying his body arrived at his home in the capital Tokyo. Mourners gathered at his residence and at the scene of Friday's tragedy in the western city of Nara, where Japan's longest-serving modern leader was gunned down in a rare act of political violence while making a campaign speech.

Sri Lanka president to step down, parliamentary speaker says, amid storm of protests

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down, the country's parliamentary speaker said on Saturday, bowing to intense pressure after a violent day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the president's official residence and set fire to the prime minister's home in Colombo. The announcement, following the dramatic escalation in months of largely peaceful anti-government protests over a dire economic crisis on the Indian Ocean island of 22 million people, triggered an eruption of celebratory fireworks in the city.

Four more candidates join growing field of Conservatives vying to be UK PM

Four further candidates have joined the increasingly crowded field of Conservatives vying to succeed Boris Johnson as British prime minister, as the committee overseeing the contest looks to speed up the process of whittling down the numbers. The Conservative Party's so-called 1922 Committee of legislators will set out the exact rules and timetable for the contest next week, after Johnson was forced to quit by his own party. Many lawmakers are pushing for a fast-tracked process.

Abe killer wielded homemade gun, grudge over mother's bankruptcy, police say

The man who killed Shinzo Abe believed the former Japanese leader was linked to a religious group he blamed for his mother's financial ruin and spent months planning the attack with a homemade gun, police told local media on Saturday. Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, identified as the suspect on suspicion of murder on Friday after a man was seen in videos repeatedly shown on Japanese television calmly approaching Japan's longest-serving prime minister from behind and firing.