World News Roundup: U.S. confirms 'avoidable' death of Kassem; Hours of forewarning saved U.S. and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. confirms 'avoidable' death of Egyptian-American Kassem in custody

The United States on Monday confirmed the death of Egyptian-American Moustafa Kassem in a prison in Egypt where he had been in custody since 2013 and vowed to continue raising concerns over Cairo's human rights record. Egypt's state prosecutor said Kassem died in a Cairo hospital on Monday, saying in a statement an autopsy had been ordered to determine the cause of death. The prosecutor said Kassem had been transferred on Sunday from a jail hospital to the Cairo university hospital.

Hours of forewarning saved U.S., Iraqi lives from Iran's missile attack

Nearly eight hours before Iran's Jan. 8 missile attack on U.S. forces at bases in Iraq, American, and Iraqi soldiers at Ain al-Asad air base scrambled to move personnel and weaponry to fortified bunkers, two Iraqi officers stationed at the base told Reuters. By midnight, not a single fighter jet or helicopter remained out in the open, said one of the sources, an intelligence officer. Another Iraqi intelligence source said U.S. troops even seemed to know the timing of the attack, saying they seemed "totally aware" the base would be attacked "after midnight."

Independence Day: UK's queen agrees grandson Harry, wife Meghan can exit senior royal role

Queen Elizabeth has reluctantly agreed to her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's wish for a more independent future after the British royal family held crisis talks on Monday to resolve a widening rift among the Windsors. Harry and his American actress wife will now begin a "period of transition" that will see them split their time between Britain and Canada as they also seek a lifestyle less encumbered by royal duties and to end their reliance on public funding.

Australian prime minister's approval rating goes up in flames

Public support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison has slumped to its lowest levels amid widespread anger over his government's handling of Australia's bushfire crisis, according to a survey released by Newspoll on Monday. At least 28 people have been killed in the fires that have destroyed 2,000 homes and razed 11.2 million hectares (27.7 million acres), nearly half the area of the United Kingdom.

U.S. targets Maduro-backed legislator and allies in fresh Venezuelan sanctions

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on seven Venezuelan politicians it said led a bid by President Nicolas Maduro to wrest control of the country's congress from U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido. Earlier this month, troops blocked Guaido from entering congress long enough for the Socialist Party to declare allied legislator Luis Parra as head of parliament. Opposition legislators in a separate session on Jan. 5 re-elected Guaido and later returned to the legislative palace to hold session.

Britain secretly funded Reuters in 1960s and 1970s: documents

The British government secretly funded Reuters in the 1960s and 1970s at the behest of an anti-Soviet propaganda unit linked to British intelligence and concealed the funding by using the BBC to make the payments, declassified government documents show. The money was used to expand Reuters coverage of the Middle East and Latin America and hidden by increased news subscription payments to Reuters from the BBC.

Turkish, Syrian top spies meet in first official contact in years

Turkish and Syrian heads of intelligence met in Moscow on Monday, in the first official contact in years despite Ankara's long-standing hostility to President Bashar al-Assad, a senior Turkish official and Syrian news agency SANA said. Both sides have said there have been intelligence contacts, but this is the first explicit acknowledgment of such a senior meeting.

Iran denies shooting at protesters amid fury over downing of plane

Iran's police said on Monday officers had not fired at protesters demonstrating over Tehran's admission that it shot down a passenger plane, as video on social media recorded gunshots and pools of blood. U.S. President Donald Trump, tweeting on Sunday during a second day of Iranian demonstrations, told the authorities "don't kill your protesters."

Lebanon regains vote at United Nations after making payment

Lebanon has regained its full voting rights at the United Nations after paying part of what it owes the world body, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. Under U.N. rules, a country can lose its General Assembly vote if it is in arrears by any amount that equals or exceeds the contributions due for the previous two years unless it shows evidence of an inability to pay that is beyond its control.

Trump: Timing of threat from Soleimani 'doesn't really matter'

President Donald Trump fueled controversy on Monday over his decision to kill Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani by saying "it doesn't really matter" whether Soleimani posed an imminent threat to the United States. "The Fake News Media and their Democrat Partners are working hard to determine whether or not the future attack by terrorist Soleimani was 'imminent' or not, & was my team in agreement," Trump wrote on Twitter.