World News Roundup: Niger awaits West African bloc's response after junta rejects ultimatum; Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to parliament after reinstatement and more

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday. Exclusive-North Korean hackers breached top Russian missile maker An elite group of North Korean hackers secretly breached computer networks at a major Russian missile developer for at least five months last year, according to technical evidence reviewed by Reuters and analysis by security researchers.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Niger awaits West African bloc's response after junta rejects ultimatum

Niger's junta braced for a response from the West African regional bloc on Monday after ignoring its deadline to reinstate the ousted president or face the threat of military intervention. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has sent military forces into troubled member states in the past, said it would issue a statement on its next steps, responding to the junta's refusal to stand down by Sunday.

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi returns to parliament after reinstatement

Rahul Gandhi returned to India's parliament on Monday after a Supreme Court ruling, boosting the profile of his Congress party and its opposition allies ahead of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. The vote is not expected to affect the popularity of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which enjoys a strong majority.

Spain's PP sees path to power after hard-right Vox dials down demands

Spain's conservative People's Party said on Monday it believed it could break a political deadlock and form a government after the hard-right Vox hinted it will not insist on being part of a coalition in exchange for its support. Vox on Sunday said its 33 lawmakers would "support a majority" for the right-wing bloc in the Spanish parliament's lower house to stop the Socialists (PSOE) making pacts with Catalan and Basque separatists and forging what the hard-right party has described as "a government of national destruction".

Philippines tells China it will not abandon post in disputed reef

The Philippines told China it will not abandon a disputed shoal in the South China Sea after it accused China's coast guard of using water cannons and "dangerous" moves to prevent Manila from sending supplies to its troops occupying the reef. Likening the Aug. 5 incident to a "David vs Goliath situation", Jonathan Malaya, a senior Philippine National Security Council (NSC) official said China's increased presence at the Second Thomas Shoal will not deter the Philippines' resolve to protect its position there.

China says Jeddah talks on Ukraine helped to 'consolidate international consensus'

China's foreign ministry said on Monday that international talks in Saudi Arabia at the weekend on finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis had helped "to consolidate international consensus". More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday.

Exclusive-North Korean hackers breached top Russian missile maker

An elite group of North Korean hackers secretly breached computer networks at a major Russian missile developer for at least five months last year, according to technical evidence reviewed by Reuters and analysis by security researchers. Reuters found cyber-espionage teams linked to the North Korean government, which security researchers call ScarCruft and Lazarus, secretly installed stealthy digital backdoors into systems at NPO Mashinostroyeniya, a rocket design bureau based in Reutov, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow.

Explainer-How does central Europe's ban impact Ukrainian grain exports?

Ukraine has become entirely dependent on alternative European Union routes for its grain exports after Russia last month exited a year-long deal that had allowed them to be shipped safely via its Black Sea ports. This has exacerbated Brussels' efforts to find a balance between helping Ukraine with the demand of five eastern EU member states to protect their own markets by extending a ban on domestic sales of Ukrainian grain till at least the end of 2023.

Ukraine says U.S and German air defence systems 'highly effective'

Ukraine is seeing "significant results" from U.S. and German air defence systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, despite waves of Russian air strikes that Kyiv says targeted civilians and residential buildings. Russia reported it had shot down a drone heading for Moscow in the third such attack in a week, while officials on both sides said Ukraine had struck two bridges linking Crimea to the mainland.

Israel to include Gaza Americans in U.S. visa waiver pilot next month

Israel plans to ease travel for Palestinian Americans from the blockaded Gaza Strip next month as part of preparations for Israelis to be able to enter the United States without visas, an Israeli official said on Monday. As a condition for its accession to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), Israel has since July 20 loosened access through its borders, and in and out of the occupied West Bank, for Palestinian Americans in what the allies deem a pilot period.

After heatwave, looming typhoon forces scouts to evacuate South Korea campsite

Tens of thousands of youngsters will be evacuated from the campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea to get them out of the path of a looming typhoon, organisers said on Monday, days after hundreds fell ill amid soaring temperatures. The storm on top of the country's worst heatwave in years has piled pressure on organisers who have faced mounting complaints from parents and the withdrawal of the U.S. and British contingents.