Reuters World News Summary

08/05/2016 19:52

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Voters condemn South African ruling party to worst election outcome

South Africa's ruling party was in a close race early on Saturday in two major cities after losing one other key municipality in its worst electoral performance since the end of apartheid. The African National Congress has ruled virtually unopposed since it ended white-minority rule in 1994 with Nelson Mandela at its helm. But its grip on power is being shaken against the backdrop of high unemployment, a stagnating economy and a series of scandals that have dogged President Jacob Zuma.

London knife attacker charged with murder of U.S. woman

A 19-year-old man was charged on Friday with the murder of a 64-year-old U.S. woman in a knife attack that wounded five others in Central London on Wednesday, London Metropolitan Police said. The man, Zakaria Bulham, was also charged with five counts of attempted murder in relation to the individuals injured in the attack, police said.

Cuban dissident briefly hospitalized, hunger strike in third week

Veteran Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas was briefly hospitalized in Santa Clara on Friday after losing consciousness in his home on the 16th day of a hunger strike to protest government repression, his opposition organization said. This was the second time the 54-year-old Farinas, who has staged more than 20 similar actions over the years, was rushed to receive medical attention and intravenous liquids since starting the hunger strike after what he said was a beating by police in his home city of Santa Clara in central Cuba.

Exclusive: Stiglitz quits Panama Papers probe, cites lack of transparency

The committee set up to investigate lack of transparency in Panama's financial system itself lacks transparency, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told Reuters on Friday after resigning from the "Panama Papers" commission. The leak in April of more than 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, dubbed the "Panama Papers," detailed financial information from offshore accounts and potential tax evasion by the rich and powerful.

More than 100 migrants break through barriers from Italy to France

More than 100 migrants broke through police barriers at the Italian border town of Ventimiglia and made their way into France on Friday, the local Italian police chief said. They stopped on rocks near the port at the French Riviera town of Menton after breaking through in the afternoon and were still there in the evening under the surveillance of French police, said Ventimiglia police commander Giorgio Marenco.

U.S. says strike in Yemen kills three al Qaeda operatives

The U.S. military killed three al Qaeda operatives in a strike on Thursday in Yemen, U.S. Central Command said on Friday. The Central Command statement did not specify how the strike was carried out or the identities of those killed.

Colombian government and rebels agree on demobilization plan

Colombia's government and leftist FARC rebels took another step toward ending more than a half century of conflict on Friday, agreeing on a U.N.-supervised security protocol, timetable and other details for disarming the estimated 9,000 guerillas. The announcement came after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos signed in June an historic agreement that stated they had reached deals on all major issues and established a de facto ceasefire and the parameters for the rebels to disarm and rejoin civil society.

Blast in Iran gas pipeline not sabotage, under control: state TV

Part of a gas pipeline near the Iranian town of Gonaveh exploded early on Saturday, a local official told state TV, adding that it was not an act of sabotage. "There were no fatalities and nearby villages have been evacuated ... part of the gas pipeline ... exploded near Gonaveh ... No dead has been reported," a local official told state TV.

Japan remembers Hiroshima, urges world to follow Obama and visit

Japan marked the 71st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Saturday as its mayor urged world leaders to follow in U.S. President Barack Obama's footsteps and visit, and ultimately rid the world of nuclear arms. A peace bell tolled at 8:15 a.m. (2315 GMT on Friday), the time a U.S. warplane dropped the bomb. About 50,000 participants including aging survivors and dignitaries held a moment of silence at a memorial ceremony in the western Japanese city.

Syrian rebels storm Aleppo artillery base, army says attack repelled

Syrian rebels stormed an artillery base in the northern city of Aleppo on Friday to try an end the siege of opposition-held areas but the Syrian army said it had repelled the attack and killed hundreds of insurgents. A quarter of a million civilians still live in Aleppo's opposition-controlled eastern neighborhoods, effectively under siege since the army, aided by Iranian-backed militias, cut off the last road into rebel districts in early July.

08/05/2016 19:52