Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

CIA probe of 'Havana syndrome' to be led by Bin Laden search veteran -source

A CIA official who was involved in the search for Osama bin Laden has been chosen to head an agency task force investigating cases of an ailment known as "Havana Syndrome" among U.S. spies and diplomats, a government source said on Wednesday. CIA director William Burns named a career undercover spy, who was part of the search for the al Qaeda leader that ended with him being killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan in 2011, the source said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the appointment.

Norway marks ten years since Breivik's deadly attacks

Norway on Thursday marks 10 years since anti-immigrant extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in the worst act of violence in the country since World War Two. Breivik detonated a car bomb outside the prime minister's office in Oslo, killing eight, before driving to Utoeya island and shooting 69 people at a Labour Party youth camp on July 22, 2011.

Peru arrests state hospital workers for charging COVID-19 patients $21,000 per bed

Peruvian police said on Wednesday they had dismantled an alleged criminal ring that had charged as much $21,000 per bed for seriously ill COVID-19 patients in a state-run hospital, aggravating care in a country hit by one of the world's deadliest outbreaks of the virus. Authorities arrested nine people in an early morning raid on Wednesday, including the administrators of Lima's Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen public hospital, according to prosecutor Reynaldo Abia.

Death toll in South Africa riots rises to 276, minister says

The death toll from recent riots in South Africa has risen to 276, and police are investigating 168 cases for murder, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday. The unrest started as protests over former president Jacob Zuma's jailing two weeks ago in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. But it quickly escalated into arson and looting, and spread to Gauteng province where the biggest city Johannesburg is located.

At least 17 migrants drown off Tunisia in shipwreck -Red Crescent

At least 17 Bengali migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy from Libya, while more than 380 were rescued by the coastguard, the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Wednesday. The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya's northwest coast, carrying migrants from Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Mali and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said.

At least 25 dead as rains deluge central China's Henan province

At least 25 people have died in China's flood-stricken central province of Henan, a dozen of them in a subway line in its capital Zhengzhou, and more rains are forecast for the region. About 100,000 people have been evacuated in Zhengzhou, an industrial and transport hub, where rail and road links were disrupted. Dams and reservoirs have swelled to warning levels and thousands of troops are taking part in the rescue effort in the province.

Half of all Afghan district centers under Taliban control - U.S. general

Taliban insurgents control about half of Afghanistan's district centers, the senior U.S. general said on Wednesday, indicating a rapidly deteriorating security situation. Insecurity has been growing in Afghanistan in recent weeks, largely spurred by fighting in its provinces as U.S.-led foreign troops complete their withdrawal and the Taliban launch major offensives, taking districts and border crossings.

Germany counts cost of floods as hopes of finding survivors fade

A relief official dampened hopes on Wednesday of finding more survivors in the rubble of villages devastated by floods in western Germany, as a poll showed many Germans felt policymakers had not done enough to protect them. More than 170 people died in last week's flooding, Germany's worst natural disaster in more than half a century, and thousands went missing.

U.S. extends travel curbs at Canada, Mexico land borders through Aug. 21

The U.S. government on Wednesday extended the closure of land borders with Canada and Mexico to non-essential travel such as tourism through Aug. 21 even as officials debate whether to require visitors to have received a COVID-19 vaccine. The latest 30-day extension by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) came after Canada said on Monday it would start allowing in fully vaccinated U.S. visitors on Aug. 9 for non-essential travel after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a 16-month ban that many businesses have called crippling.

Hundreds of cities back U.N. fight against global woes

Some 332 local governments worldwide have backed a New York City-led campaign to address global goals tackling poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change and pledged to report their progress to the United Nations. The governments signed on to a voluntary declaration drafted by New York City, up from some 22 cities when the movement launched in September 2019, the city's International Affairs Commissioner Penny Abeywardena told Reuters.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)