Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Nobel laureate Alexievich denounces Belarus ‘terror’ as another activist is detained

Nobel prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich accused the authorities in Belarus of terrorising their own people on Wednesday as another opposition politician was detained by masked men in plain clothes. Maxim Znak was the latest figure to be seized in a systematic campaign by the government of President Alexander Lukashenko to round up leaders of a month-long mass protest movement. ‘Illegal thoughts’: how some exiled critics of Thai king are fuelling a revolt

At a university campus demonstration in Bangkok on Aug. 10, the images of two men were projected onto a giant screen against a shimmering golden background as protesters mockingly chanted “Long live the king.” The images were not of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who holds a place of “revered worship” in the Thai constitution and whose image is omnipresent on city streets, schools and businesses, but of two exiles who have openly criticized the monarchy. Global coronavirus deaths hit 900,000 as cases surge in India

The global death toll from the coronavirus passed 900,000 on Wednesday, as worldwide cases topped 27.7 million, according to a Reuters tally. The United States remains the world’s worst-affected country, with deaths exceeding 190,000 and cases exceeding 6.3 million. Brazil is in second place with more than 127,000 deaths followed by India with nearly 74,000 dead. U.N. peacekeepers resume protection of Congo’s Nobel Laureate

United Nations peacekeepers on Wednesday resumed protection of Congo’s Nobel Prize Laureate Denis Mukwege, who received death threats in recent weeks after he called for justice over serious human rights violations. Mukwege has won international recognition, including the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, for decades of work treating female victims of the conflict in Bukavu in east Democratic Republic of Congo. Mali’s protest leader backs civilian ‘rare bird’ to lead transition

Influential Mali cleric Imam Mahmoud Dicko urged the military junta on Wednesday to comply with demands from West African leaders to name a civilian president and prime minister by Sept. 15 to ease sanctions imposed after last month’s coup. On Saturday the junta began talks with Mali’s political parties and civil society groups over a transition to civilian rule. The move was welcomed by the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but it kept sanctions in place. Peru opposition bids to oust economy minister over COVID-19 response

Peruvian opposition lawmakers filed a censure motion to oust the government’s economy minister on Wednesday, underscoring political tensions as the Andean country rides out its deepest economic plunge in decades due to the coronavirus pandemic. If accepted by Congress and passed in a vote by lawmakers, María Antonieta Alva, a 35-year-old, Harvard-trained public official, who has been a key figure in the administration of President Martin Vizcarra, would be forced to resign. Brexit in crisis: EU ‘very concerned’ by UK plan to break divorce treaty

Britain plunged Brexit trade talks into crisis on Wednesday by explicitly acknowledging that it could break international law by ignoring some parts of its European Union divorce treaty, prompting a rapid rebuke from the EU’s chief executive. Brushing aside warnings from Brussels that it was scuppering any trade deal, London said in the proposed legislation that it would ignore parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, which was only signed in January. Thousands homeless after fire guts migrant camp on Greek island

Thousands of migrants were left without shelter on Wednesday after overnight fires gutted their overcrowded camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, and authorities warned that some asylum seekers who tested positive for COVID-19 could spread the virus. The Moria camp, which hosts more than 12,000 people, was “probably totally destroyed”, a Greek migration official said. Israel’s Netanyahu demands probe of investigators in his corruption trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for an inquiry into the investigators who brought corruption charges against him, in a move that critics said was an attempt to distract from his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid a surge in coronavirus cases, Israel’s attorney general has accused Netanyahu of trying to discredit the country’s criminal justice system while he is on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing. U.S. has canceled more than 1,000 visas for Chinese nationals deemed security risks

The United States has revoked visas for more than 1,000 Chinese nationals under a May 29 presidential proclamation to suspend entry from China of students and researchers deemed security risks, a State Department spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The acting head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, said earlier that Washington was blocking visas “for certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research.”