Reuters World News Summary

09/10/2016 8:59

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S., Russia clinch Syria deal, aim for truce from Monday

The United States and Russia hailed a breakthrough deal on Saturday to put Syria's peace process back on track, including a nationwide truce effective from sundown on Monday, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups. "Today, Sergei Lavrov and I, on behalf of our presidents and our countries, call on every Syrian stakeholder to support the plan that the United States and Russia have reached, to ... bring this catastrophic conflict to the quickest possible end through a political process," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference after marathon talks in the Swiss city.

South Korea says North's nuclear capability 'speeding up', calls for action

South Korea's foreign minister said on Saturday that North Korea's nuclear capability is expanding fast, echoing alarm around the world over the isolated state's fifth nuclear test carried out in defiance of U.N. sanctions. North Korea conducted its biggest nuclear test on Friday and said it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile, ratcheting up a threat that rivals and the United Nations have been powerless to contain.

U.S.-Russian Syria peace deal raises rebel doubts as fighting rages

The United States and Russia hailed a breakthrough deal early on Saturday to put Syria's peace process back on track, though the war-torn country's rebels said they doubted it would hold and violence raged on in Aleppo. The agreement reached by the powers backing opposing sides in the conflict promised a nationwide truce effective from sundown on Monday, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups.

Islamic State twin suicide bombings at Baghdad mall kill 12

Twelve people were killed late on Friday in two suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State at a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said. More than 40 people were wounded in the attack at Nakheel Mall across from the oil ministry, the sources said. One bomb went off at the entrance to the mall, the other in the parking lot.

Prominent journalist, academic held in Turkey coup probe: reports

Turkish authorities detained a prominent journalist and his brother, a well-known academic, on Saturday as part of investigations into a failed coup attempt in July they blame on followers of a U.S.-based Turkish cleric. Ahmet Altan, a writer and former editor-in-chief of the Taraf newspaper, and his brother Mehmet were detained for questioning over their comments on a TV show a day before the putsch, according to local media reports and P24, an Istanbul-based association supporting independent journalism.

Afghan security forces plan push to relieve besieged provincial capital

Afghan forces backed by air strikes are preparing a new offensive to clear Taliban militants encircling the capital of Afghanistan's province of Uruzgan, where the two sides have fought bitter clashes, officials said on Saturday. Street-to-street fighting in Tarin Kot, the provincial capital, where Taliban fighters rampaged to within a few meters (yards) of the government center on Thursday, has quieted as the frontline has moved 15 to 20 km (9 to 12 miles) away, said Dost Mohammed Nayab, the provincial governor's spokesman.

China eyes closer military ties with Myanmar

China's military wants to strengthen ties with neighboring Myanmar by having more exchanges and greater cooperation, a top officer told Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a visit to the Southeast Asian country, state media said on Saturday. China has been on a diplomatic offensive ever since the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's government came to power in April, aiming to forge good ties with its resource-rich neighbor.

Russia's Putin inaugurates $2 billion Moscow railway project

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday inaugurated a $2 billion Moscow railway ring project that is opening for passengers just before parliamentary elections. The completion of the project, pushed back from 2015, comes as Russia is struggling to plug holes in the budget amid lower oil export revenues and Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Iran, Russia start construction of new Iranian nuclear plant

Iran began building a second nuclear plant with Russian help on Saturday, in a $10 billion project which follows Tehran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers last year, state media reported. State television showed Iranian and Russian officials at launching ceremonies for the 10-year project which will include two power plants with a total capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts after their completion.

Bangladesh factory fire kills 23, injures more than 24

A fire on Saturday at a food and cigarette packaging factory in Bangladesh killed at least 23 people and injured more than two dozen, emergency and government officials said, with fears the toll could rise. The cause of the fire in the Tongi industrial zone about 20 km (12 miles) north of the capital, Dhaka, was not immediately known, but officials said a boiler explosion probably triggered the blaze, around 8 a.m., as workers prepared to swap shifts.

09/10/2016 8:59