Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

UK's Esther McVey to back Boris Johnson in leadership bid: Telegraph

British conservative lawmaker Esther McVey said on Saturday that she will support Boris Johnson in his bid to be prime minister, The Telegraph reported. "Boris Johnson is supporting my agenda – which is why I'm supporting him", she wrote http://bit.ly/2WLp52V in the newspaper, adding that she looks forward to working with Johnson to deliver on behalf of "blue collar Conservatives" across the country.

Amanda Knox breaks down in Italy as she relives murder trial

Amanda Knox, back in Italy for the first time since her 2015 murder acquittal, broke down in tears on Saturday as she relived her eight-year ordeal of trials and imprisonment, and the media frenzy surrounding it. Speaking at a conference on criminal justice in the northern Italian city of Modena, Knox said she had considered suicide while in jail, and she blamed the media for its treatment of her and her trial, which was closely followed around the world.

Venezuela's Guaido calls for probe into funds for military defectors

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Saturday called for an investigation into claims his representatives misappropriated funds intended to help defectors from the Venezuelan military living in Colombia. More than 1,400 members of Venezuela's armed forces have fled to Colombia this year, heeding Guaido's call to disavow socialist President Nicolas Maduro. They began arriving in late February, as Maduro's troops at the border with Colombia drove back convoys of humanitarian aid requested by Guaido.

Saudi seeks oil supply protection as U.S and Iran face off

Saudi Arabia called for swift action to secure Gulf energy supplies, after the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in a vital oil shipping route that have raised fears of broader confrontation in the region. Thursday's tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman exacerbated the antagonistic fallout from similar blasts in May that crippled four vessels. Washington, already embroiled in a standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, has blamed Tehran.

Exclusive: Saudis say Shi'ite man arrested as juvenile will not be executed

A young man from Saudi Arabia's minority Shi'ite Muslim community who was arrested at the age of 13 will not be executed and could be released by 2022, a Saudi official told Reuters on Saturday following reports of his pending execution. Murtaja Qureiris, who was detained in September 2014, has received an initial 12-year prison sentence with time served since his arrest and four years suspended for his young age, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The sentence is subject to appeal.

Brusque to bruised: Hong Kong's Lam caves to pressure on extradition bill

With an escalating U.S. trade war, a faltering economy and tensions in the South China Sea vexing her bosses in Beijing, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam appeared in no mood to compromise on a planned extradition law at recent meetings, according to foreign envoys and business people who met with her. Some of the people at those meetings in recent weeks pointed to media reports that even Hong Kong's usually reticent judges were worried about the proposed law which threatened to send people for trial in mainland China for the first time.

For U.S.-bound Central American migrants, better to stay in Mexico than be sent home

Many of the Central Americans who lined up for papers at an asylum office in southern Mexico said they could abandon plans to reach the United States and remain in Mexico if U.S. President Donald Trump clamps down further on migration. Mexico is ramping up security on its southern border with Guatemala as part of an agreement with Washington after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican goods if the government did not stem the flow of migrants reaching the United States.

Bowing to pressure, Hong Kong leader suspends extradition bill

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Saturday indefinitely delayed a proposed law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, in a dramatic retreat after anger over the bill triggered the city's biggest and most violent street protests in decades. The extradition bill, which would have covered Hong Kong's seven million residents as well as foreign and Chinese nationals there, was seen by many as a threat to the rule of law in the former British colony.

Trump calls London mayor a 'disaster' after a spate of killings

U.S. President Donald Trump once again criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday, saying he is a "disaster" and will "only get worse" after three people were slain in the city in less than 20 hours. Trump retweeted a tweet by the right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins who called London "stab city" and said "this is Khan’s Londonistan," a phrase used to describe the city's failure to tackle Muslim extremists.

Iran renews nuclear pact ultimatum amid tensions with U.S.

Iran will continue scaling back compliance with a nuclear deal unless other signatories to the pact show "positive signals", the Iranian president said on Saturday as tensions with the United States escalated over tanker attacks in the Gulf region. Iran stopped complying in May with some commitments in the 2015 nuclear deal that was agreed with global powers, after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and ratcheted up sanctions on Tehran.