Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Brazil's Bolsonaro disapproval rating rises to all-time high, two polls show

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's disapproval ratings rose to the highest level since he came to power 2-1/2 years ago, with the far-right leader also slipping further behind his main rival ahead of the election in 2022, two polls showed on Thursday. According to a Datafolha poll, 51% of Brazilians disapproved of Bolsonaro, up from 45% in the previous poll in May and the highest since he took office in January 2019.

Canada will not welcome unvaccinated tourists for some time -PM Trudeau

Foreign tourists who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be allowed to enter Canada for quite some time because the government is unwilling to jeopardize progress made on containing the virus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. "I can tell you right now that's not going to happen for quite a while," said Trudeau, when asked by reporters when Canada would allow unvaccinated tourists to enter the country.

Exclusive-Talks between Venezuelan gov't, opposition set for August -sources

Representatives of Venezuela's government and opposition are set to meet in Mexico beginning in August for a new round of negotiations aimed at ending the South American country's deep political crisis, five people familiar with the matter said. The dialogue would be mediated by international parties and is supported by Norway, which acted as a mediator in a previous negotiation attempt in 2019 and is currently in touch with both sides to set the agenda, the sources said.

Pentagon 'deeply concerned' by recent attacks on personnel in Iraq, Syria

The Pentagon said on Thursday it was deeply concerned about a series of attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria in recent days. U.S. diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria were targeted in three rocket and drone attacks on Wednesday alone, including at least 14 rockets hitting an Iraqi air base hosting U.S. forces, wounding two American service members.

Two Haitian Americans in custody after president's killing, minister says

Haitian police killed four suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise and arrested six more including two Haitian Americans, a minister said on Thursday, as authorities sought the masterminds behind the killing that stunned the impoverished Caribbean nation. Moise, 53, was shot dead early on Wednesday at his home by what officials said was a commando of apparently foreign, trained killers, pitching the poorest country in the Americas deeper into turmoil amidst political divisions, hunger, and widespread gang violence.

U.N. Security Council backs AU bid to broker Ethiopia dam deal

U.N. Security Council members on Thursday backed African Union mediation efforts between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan in a dispute over the operation of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, urging the parties to resume talks. Egypt and Sudan both called on the U.N. Security Council to help resolve the dispute after Ethiopia earlier this week began filling the reservoir behind its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for a second year. Ethiopia is opposed to any Security Council involvement.

Biden says Afghans must decide own future; U.S. to leave on Aug. 31

President Joe Biden on Thursday strongly defended his decision to pull U.S. military forces out of Afghanistan, saying the Afghan people must decide their own future and that he would not consign another generation of Americans to the 20-year war. Speaking in the White House East Room, Biden said the Afghan military has the ability to repel the Taliban, denying reports that U.S. intelligence had forecast a collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul in six months amid warnings of a civil war.

Hot air balloon crashes in New Zealand injuring 11 people

At least 11 people have been injured after a hot air balloon crashed into a house in a popular tourist town in the South Island of New Zealand. The crash occurred at about 10 a.m. local time on Morven Ferry Road in Arrowtown, police officials told Reuters.

Brazil registers record deaths, lowest number of births for Jan-June period

Brazil registered the highest number of deaths and lowest number of births in the first six months of the year since comparable data was first compiled in 2003, the national association of notary offices said on Thursday. Brazil has the second highest COVID-19 death toll in the world behind the United States, with 323,117 of the 528,540 total number of deaths from the disease being registered in the January-June period this year, according to the Health Ministry.

Multiple fatalities in Swedish airplane crash - police

Several people died in the crash of an airplane after takeoff outside Orebro, Sweden, on Thursday, Swedish police said. "It's a very severe accident," Swedish police said on their website. "Several people have died."

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