Reuters World News Summary

09/21/2016 8:56

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Knife-wielding man shot outside Israeli embassy in Turkey: officials

A man was shot and wounded by Turkish police outside the Israeli Embassy in Ankara after he shouted slogans and wielded a knife on Wednesday, but initial inquiries indicated he had no links to an organized group, officials said. The man, a 41-year-old from the central city of Konya, was carrying a bag and brandishing a 30-cm (12 inches) knife as he approached the embassy, the Ankara governor's office said in a statement.

Taiwan asks Google to blur images showing new South China Sea facilities

Taiwan's defense ministry said on Wednesday it is asking Google to blur satellite images showing what experts say appear to be new military installations on Itu Aba, Taipei's sole holding in the disputed South China Sea. The revelation of new military-related construction could raise tensions in the contested waterway, where China's building of airstrips and other facilities has worried other claimants and the United States.

Iraqi finance minister sacked, risking economic fallout

Iraq's parliament removed Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari from office on Wednesday over corruption allegations, a move that risks further destabilizing the major OPEC producer's fragile economy as it struggles with a massive budget deficit. Parliament voted 158-77 to withdraw confidence from Zebari, two lawmakers said, after questioning him last month about alleged corruption and misusing public funds, which he denies.

After middle-finger salute, Philippines' Duterte asks EU 'Why insult me?'

(Note obscenity in paragraph nine) Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte demanded on Wednesday the European Union show him respect worthy of a president, despite giving the bloc a one-finger gesture and a vulgar four-letter rebuke after its legislators expressed concern about his drug war.

Time for Mugabe to go, says Botswana President Khama

Zimbabwe's 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe should step aside without delay and allow new leadership of a country whose political and economic implosion since 2000 is dragging down the whole of southern Africa, Botswana President Ian Khama said. Despite his reputation as one of Africa's most outspoken figures, Khama's remarks are certain to raise hackles in Harare, where factions of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party are locked in a bitter struggle to succeed the only leader Zimbabwe has known.

South African universities close after tuition fee protests

At least three South African universities suspended classes on Wednesday because of student protests over tuition fees after the government recommended above-inflation increases for 2017. Students demanding free tertiary education marched near Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, known as "Wits," where classes were called off for the rest of this week.

Fighting further buries hopes for Syria truce

Syrian rebels and pro-government forces battled each other on major frontlines near Aleppo and Hama, and air strikes reportedly killed a dozen people including four medical workers, as a ceasefire appeared to have completely unraveled. The renewed battles demonstrated the thin prospects for reviving a truce that collapsed into fresh fighting and bombardments on Monday, including an attack on an aid convoy which U.S. officials believe was carried out by Russian jets. Moscow denies involvement.

U.S. bombers fly over South Korea for second time since North's nuclear test

Two U.S. supersonic bombers flew over South Korea on Wednesday, with one of them landing at an air base 40 km (25 miles) south of the capital, the second such flight since North Korea's Sept. 9 nuclear test. U.S. Forces Korea said the flight by a pair of B-1B Lancer strategic bombers based in Guam was a show of force and of U.S. commitment to preserve the security of the peninsula and the region.

Exclusive: How EU firms skirt sanctions to do business in Crimea

Products for sale in the Crimean stores of two European retailers are being shipped there from Russia via a ferry and port that are subject to EU sanctions, people involved in the transportation said, suggesting companies are finding ways around the punitive economic regime facing Moscow since 2014. Products carrying the brands of Germany's Metro AG and Auchan of France are visibly for sale on the shelves of the retailers' Crimean subsidiaries.

Iran parades new weapons at time of Gulf tension with U.S.

Iran marked the anniversary of its 1980 invasion by Iraq by showing off its latest ships and missiles and telling the United States not to meddle in the Gulf. At a parade in Tehran on Wednesday, shown on state TV, the military displayed long-range missiles, tanks, and the Russian-supplied S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system.

09/21/2016 8:56