Reuters World News Summary

09/05/2016 8:58

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

G20 summit warned of risks to economy as North Korea test-fires missiles

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday in a defiant reminder of the risks to global security, as world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama gathered at a G20 summit in China for the second day. North Korea has tested missiles at sensitive times in the past to draw attention to its military might. But Monday's launch risks embarrassing its main ally Beijing, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure a smooth summit meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

North Korea fires three ballistic missiles as G20 leaders meet in China

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea's military said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North's main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a region south of the capital Pyongyang just after noon local time (0300 GMT) and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), hitting Japan's air defense identification zone, the South's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

China blames United States, journalists for Obama airport fiasco

China on Monday leveled responsibility at the United States and journalists for a fracas at a Chinese airport, in which officials of both countries exchanged heated remarks as President Barack Obama disembarked from his aircraft. The comments by a foreign ministry spokeswoman were in response to questions whether China, which is hosting a G20 summit meeting in its eastern city of Hangzhou, intentionally failed to provide Obama's plane with a staircase, an event that has fueled speculation it was a diplomatic snub.

Protesters urge South Africa's Zuma, top ANC leaders to quit party posts

Members of South Africa's ANC chanted slogans outside its headquarters on Monday demanding President Jacob Zuma step down in a rare public show of anger in the ruling party after its worst election performance since the end of apartheid in 1994. The demonstrators argue that Zuma, whose rule has been tainted by scandal, is responsible for the African National Congress (ANC) losing control of three major urban centers in local elections last month by mismanagement of the economy that is now teetering on the edge of recession.

Merkel unsatisfied with German state election result

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she was unhappy about the results of Sunday's regional election, where her party was relegated to third place behind an anti-immigrant party but added her refugee policies have been right all along. Merkel acknowledged her pro-refugee position in the last year had a lot to do with her conservative party's drubbing in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

U.S., Russia meeting on Syria ends without a deal

A meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ended on Monday without a deal on Syria and differences remain, a senior State Department Official said. The two were meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Blasts kill dozens in Syria as U.S.-Russia truce talks make little progress

Explosions in government-controlled areas of Syria and a province held by Kurdish militia killed dozens on Monday, while the United States and Russia failed to make concrete progress towards a ceasefire. Six explosions hit west of the capital Damascus, in the government-held cities of Homs and Tartous - which hosts a Russian military base - and the Kurdish-controlled northeastern province of Hasaka between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. (0500-0600 GMT), state media and a monitor said.

Obama to address lethal legacy of secret war in Laos

Yianyang Bounxieng remembers playing with bombs as a child growing up in Xieng Khouang, a verdant and mountainous province of Laos, and the area most heavily bombed by U.S. Air Force planes during the war in neighboring Vietnam. His grandmother resented foreigners because of the bombings.

Taliban attack in Afghan capital Kabul kills at least nine

A Taliban suicide attack on a busy area near the defense ministry in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday killed at least nine people and wounded more than 30, less than two weeks after a deadly attack on the city's American University. Defense ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said there had been two blasts in quick succession in a crowded area of the city near government buildings as well as a market and a main intersection.

UK's May: wants government control on migration, points system open to abuse

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she wants a new system to give the government control over who is able to enter the country after it leaves the European Union, rather than a points-based system that selects candidates based on criteria. "What the British people voted for on the 23rd of June was to bring some control into the movement of people from the European Union to the UK," she told reporters on Monday after a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. "A points-based system does not give you that control."

09/05/2016 8:58