Reuters World News Summary

Forest fires that have gathered strength over the last month have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and sent a smoky haze billowing over a large swath of the United States. Biden and UK's Sunak pledge AI, minerals, Ukraine partnership U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday their countries would partner on advanced technologies, clean energy and critical minerals as they strengthen a historical security alliance.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Hundreds plucked from flooded homes; Ukraine dismisses counteroffensive reports

Hundreds of Ukrainians were rescued from rooftops on Thursday, two days after waters from a huge breached dam submerged villages, fields and roads in the southern region of Kherson, as Kyiv dismissed reports its counteroffensive had begun. Drone video showed areas where often only the roofs were visible above the flooding. The region's governor said some 600 square kilometres, or 230 square miles, were under water.

Blinken says expanding human rights will boost Saudi reform drive

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday Saudi Arabia's reform efforts will be more successful if the kingdom expands human rights, as he concluded a visit aimed at repairing strained U.S.-Saudi relations. Speaking at a press conference alongside his Saudi counterpart, Blinken said the "historic" reform drive known as Vision 2030 would require Saudi Arabia to attract talent from around the world.

Four toddlers stabbed in France, government says suspect is Syrian refugee

Four toddlers and two pensioners were stabbed in a knife attack in the tranquil French mountain town of Annecy on Thursday and the government said the suspected assailant was a Syrian refugee. A video of the attack, taken by a bystander and verified by Reuters, showed the assailant jump a low wall into a children's playground and repeatedly lunge at a child in a stroller, pushing aside a woman who tries to fend him off.

International help rolls in to fight persistent Canadian wildfires

Allies around the world have promised to increase their help to Canada in its fight against hundreds of blazes that have swept through the country in its worst-ever start to wildfire season. Forest fires that have gathered strength over the last month have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and sent a smoky haze billowing over a large swath of the United States.

Biden and UK's Sunak pledge AI, minerals, Ukraine partnership

U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday their countries would partner on advanced technologies, clean energy and critical minerals as they strengthen a historical security alliance. Biden and Sunak signed the "Atlantic Declaration," which Sunak described as a first-of-its-kind economic partnership on artificial intelligence and other economic and commercial relations, as the British leader made an official visit to the White House.

Damaged reservoir can still provide water for big Ukrainian nuclear plant -IAEA

Water from the reservoir of a breached Ukrainian dam is still being pumped to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to cool reactors and other areas, though levels are at values earlier thought to make it impossible, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Thursday. The plant, occupied by Russia since the early days of its invasion last year, can fall back on other water sources when the reservoir's water is no longer available.

COVID masks are back as Canadian wildfires fill skies with smoke

Just when it seemed safe to unmask, some Canadians are donning the face coverings made ubiquitous during the coronavirus pandemic as a protection against hazardous smoky conditions as wildfires ravage much of the country. Canada is seeing its worst-ever start to wildfire season as blazes burn from the western provinces to Atlantic Canada. Smoke from wildfires in Quebec has settled over southern Ontario and travelled into the United States, disrupting flights and sending people indoors.

Rebel mobilisation in southern Sudan raises fears of conflict spreading

Residents of Sudan's South Kordofan State reported mobilisation by a large rebel force on Thursday, raising fear that internal conflict could spread in the country's southern regions. The rebel force, the SPLM-N, is led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, and is estimated to contain tens of thousands of men as well as heavy weaponry.

For Russians near Ukraine border, conflict feels very close to home

Irina Markevich used to sleep in summer with her windows and balcony open at night. Nowadays she shuts them before going to bed in order to block out the sound of explosions. The blasts - some distant, some uncomfortably close - have become a daily reality for Markevich and her neighbours in the Russian town of Razumnoye, a 35-minute drive from the border with Ukraine. So too has the occasional boom of Russian air defences directed against incoming missiles or drones.

Mexico president puts unity first to broker compromise in succession race

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador this week intervened in the increasingly fractious race to succeed him, a move party insiders said was aimed at warding off potential division and protecting the commanding political power base he has built. Under pressure for months from Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to get contenders seeking the presidential nomination of the ruling National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) to step down before campaigning, Lopez Obrador this week finally went along with the idea, according to three party sources familiar with the matter.

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