Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Italy to hold September election after PM Draghi resigns
Italy will hold a snap national election on Sept. 25 after Prime Minister Mario Draghi resigned following the collapse of his national unity government, sending tremors through financial markets. It will be the first autumn national election for more than a century in Italy, where the second half of the year is normally taken up with getting the budget law through parliament.
Hundreds protest in Baghdad after deadly attack on tourist resort
Hundreds of people protested in Baghdad on Thursday after an attack in northern Iraq killed nine people including a newly wed husband and a 1-year-old, a strike that Iraq blamed on Turkish forces but which Ankara denied carrying out. The incident took place on Wednesday at a summer resort near the northern Iraqi town of Zakho close to the border with Turkey, in a region where Turkish forces have waged a campaign against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.
Zelenskiy says Ukraine can inflict major damage to Russian forces
Ukraine’s military has the potential to make gains on the battlefield and inflict major losses on Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday after meeting senior commanders. Zelenskiy, speaking in a late-night video address, said the meeting had discussed the supply of modern weapons, adding the intensity of attacks on the Russians had to be stepped up.
Ukraine’s ports to reopen under deal to be signed Friday, Turkey says
Russia and Ukraine will sign a deal on Friday to reopen Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to grain exports, Turkey said, a hopeful sign that an international food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion could be eased. Ukraine and Russia, both among the world’s biggest exporters of food, did not immediately confirm Thursday’s announcement by the office of the Turkish presidency. But in a late night video address Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hinted that his country’s Black Sea ports could soon be unblocked.
Israeli attack on Syria’s Damascus kills three -Syrian state media
An Israeli attack on Syria’s capital, Damascus, has killed three soldiers and injured seven others, Syrian state media said early on Friday, citing a military statement. Syrian air defences have intercepted missiles launched from the Golan Heights attacking points in the vicinity of Damascus and managed to down some of them, the statement added.
U.S. Attorney General, Mexican counterpart discuss extradition of captured drug lord
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke by phone with his Mexican counterpart Alejandro Gertz Manero Thursday afternoon regarding the extradition of Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Mexico’s navy on Friday captured Caro Quintero, convicted of murdering a U.S. anti-narcotics agent in 1985, in a law enforcement coup that came at a heavy cost when a helicopter used in the mission crashed, killing 14 military personnel.
Sri Lankan security troops raid protest camp – media reports
Sri Lankan armed forces raided a camp set up by anti-government protesters in the capital Colombo, media reported on Friday, a day after the country’s new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was sworn in. Wickremesinghe issued a gazette notification on Thursday, calling for all members of the armed forces to maintain public order in several districts of the country from July 22. https://bit.ly/3b43L5Y
Canada’s Inuit seek Pope’s help to return accused priest from France
Canada’s Inuit people will press Pope Francis to help return a retired Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse to face charges in Canada, a former political leader in the country’s North said. Francis plans to visit Canada July 24-29 to apologize for abuses of indigenous children in government schools largely run by the Catholic church.
Peru indigenous communities say no progress in talks with Las Bambas mine
A group of indigenous Peruvian communities that have been protesting MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas copper mine said on Thursday there has been no progress after a full month of talks, risking the end of a precarious truce. “In my community, there is no progress,” said Romualdo Ochoa, the President of the Huancuire community, which is opposing a planned expansion by Las Bambas into its territory. “This is disappointing.”
At least 18 killed in latest deadly police raid in Rio de Janeiro
At least 18 people died on Thursday during a major police raid in a dense warren of Rio de Janeiro slums, state military police said, in the latest bloody confrontation in Brazil’s second-largest city. Tactical teams from Rio de Janeiro’s civil and military police raided the Alemao complex to take down an alleged criminal organization. The group was suspected of involvement in cargo theft and bank robberies and was planning incursions into rival slums, the military police said in a statement.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)