Reuters World News Summary

"The Dominican government confirms it has not discussed, agreed or granted any authorization for the installation on our territory of an office to coordinate support for the Haitian National Police," Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez said in a tweet. Explainer-What is Russia's problem with the Black Sea grain deal? President Vladimir Putin said this month that Russia was considering withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal as he accused the West of cheating Moscow because it still faced obstacles getting its own agricultural goods to world markets.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Dominican Republic says it did not approve Canada's Haiti aid office

The Dominican Republic said on Friday it did not approve the installation of a Canadian office to coordinate support for neighboring Haiti's national police, a day after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced plans to set one up this summer. "The Dominican government confirms it has not discussed, agreed or granted any authorization for the installation on our territory of an office to coordinate support for the Haitian National Police," Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez said in a tweet.

Explainer-What is Russia's problem with the Black Sea grain deal?

President Vladimir Putin said this month that Russia was considering withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal as he accused the West of cheating Moscow because it still faced obstacles getting its own agricultural goods to world markets. Putin said he would discuss the future of the grain deal with visiting African leaders on Saturday.

Serbian court orders three Kosovo policemen held and investigated

A Serbian court on Friday ordered the continued detention and investigation of three Kosovo policemen arrested this week in a border area in disputed circumstances. Kosovo says the three were arrested inside its territory by Serbian officers who had crossed the border. Belgrade says they were detained inside Serbia.

Blinken heads to Beijing hoping to calm fears of a US-China break

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken goes to Beijing this weekend with expectations low that he will make headway on the long list of disputes between the United States and China. But he and his Chinese counterparts can achieve at least one thing, say analysts - show that the world's most important bilateral relationship is not about to fall off the rails. Blinken will hold meetings in China on June 18-19 and may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, sources said. He will be the highest-ranking U.S. government official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, and the first secretary of state in five years.

Blinken, Singapore foreign minister share pessimism on situation in Myanmar

There has been no sign of improvement in the political situation in Myanmar since the 2021 coup, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said following a meeting in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said he shared his counterpart's pessimism. Singapore is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which barred Myanmar's junta from its high-level meetings after the putsch plunged the country into violence, with the military battling on multiple fronts to try to crush an armed pro-democracy resistance movement.

Ukraine tells African mission no peace talks with Russia before withdrawal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after meeting African leaders in Kyiv on Friday that peace talks with Russia would be possible only after Moscow withdraws its forces from occupied Ukrainian territory. And Zelenskiy said he failed to understand what could be gained from the leaders meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in St Petersburg, Russia's second city.

Stoltenberg likely to be asked to remain as NATO chief for another year - sources

Jens Stoltenberg is expected to be asked to remain as NATO secretary general for another year, according to a source familiar with the discussions and a U.S. official, after the alliance has struggled to decide on a replacement ahead of a mid-July summit in Lithuania. Stoltenberg, a Norwegian who has spent nine years in the post and is due to step down at the end of September, has broad support among the alliance and continues to be an effective leader, the source, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

Putin says Russia positions nuclear bombs in Belarus as warning to West

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, something he confirmed for the first time had already happened, was a reminder to the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Speaking at Russia's flagship economic forum in St Petersburg, Putin said Russian tactical nuclear warheads had already been delivered to close ally Belarus, but stressed he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons for now.

Bolsonaro aide sought legal advice for Brazil coup -police report

One of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's closest aides sought legal advice for a military intervention that would have prevented the handover of power following last October's election, federal police said on Friday. Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid was one of Bolsonaro's personal assistants who stayed on as an aide after he stepped down. He is under arrest over allegations that he faked Bolsonaro's COVID-19 vaccination card.

Emotional reunion amid despair as Greece searches for shipwreck survivors

A Syrian teenager who survived a shipwreck that killed at least 78 people off Greece was emotionally reunited with his elder brother on Friday, but there was no news for other relatives searching for loved ones. Witness accounts suggested between 400 and 750 people had packed the 20- to 30 metre-long (65- to 100-foot) fishing boat that capsized and sank early on Wednesday morning about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos.