Reuters World News Summary

09/14/2016 8:56

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Kremlin: Obama's Trump criticism anti-Russian, won't foster better ties

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it viewed U.S. President Barack Obama's recent statements on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as anti-Russian and said they were unlikely to improve fragile relations between Russia and the United States. Obama on Tuesday strongly criticized Trump for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and for appearing on a TV channel, RT, funded by the Russian government.

Czech MPs back conflict of interest law in vote aimed at billionaire Babis

The Czech lower house approved a law on Wednesday aimed at limiting politicians' business interests, moving closer to clipping the wings of the country's popular finance minister, Andrej Babis. The conflict of interest law, backed by all parties except Babis's ANO movement, would ban all members of future cabinets from owning media outlets, and any companies in which they own large stakes would be barred from public contracts and non-automatic subsidies.

On Juncker's big day, Barroso row casts shadow on EU

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Union's chief executive, had his annual moment in the spotlight on Wednesday, but his predecessor has cast an unwelcome if unmentioned shadow on his State of the Union address. Just as Juncker was telling Europeans the British vote to quit the bloc must not mean the end of an EU seen by critics as out of touch with citizens and in thrall to global capital, he is rowing with Jose Manuel Barroso for being hired by U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Cornered Renzi changes tack in Italy's high stakes reform campaign

Having pegged his political future to a referendum on constitutional reform, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi called up President Barack Obama's communications maestro Jim Messina for advice on how to win the do-or-die vote. Messina, who led Obama's successful 2012 re-election campaign, met Renzi's inner circle in late July to discuss what they should do to regain the initiative after opinion polls showed the Italian leader faced defeat.

Top diplomats from U.S., Japan, South Korea to meet on North Korea

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in New York on Sunday to discuss responses to North Korea's latest nuclear test, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The three countries are pushing for tough new U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea after the isolated country on Friday conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test.

French police arrest another teenager suspected of plotting attack

French police on Wednesday arrested a 15-year old suspected of planning an attack and using encrypted social media channels to communicate with a French Islamist militant believed to be in Syria or Iraq, sources said. In an operation led by France's domestic intelligence agency, police swooped on the teenager in Paris' eastern 20th arrondissement.

Suu Kyi to meet Obama in Washington for first time as Myanmar leader

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi meets with President Barack Obama on Wednesday in her first visit to the United States since her party won a sweeping victory in last year's election, capping a decades-long journey from political prisoner to national leader. With Suu Kyi no longer an opposition figure, the United States is weighing a further easing of sanctions against Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, as Obama looks to normalize relations with a country Washington shunned when it was ruled by a military junta.

Brexit not the end of European Union, Juncker says

The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, sought on Wednesday to rally support for the European Union, saying the bloc battered by the UK Brexit referendum was not about to break up despite its existential crisis. In setting out the Commission's plans for the first time since the UK voted to exit the EU on June 23, Juncker highlighted the British referendum as a warning that the EU faces a battle for survival against nationalism in Europe.

Kerry defends Syria deal with Russia, says Obama backs plan

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday sought to diffuse criticism of a U.S.-Russian ceasefire agreement on Syria arguing that without it violence would increase significantly with many more Syrians slaughtered or forced to flee the war-torn country. The deal struck between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday agreed to a seven-day period of reduced violence and increased humanitarian aid deliveries.

Israeli statesman Peres, 93, 'critical but stable' after stroke

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres remains in a "critical but stable" condition in hospital following a massive stroke, his son-in-law and personal physician Rafi Valdan said on Wednesday, though the family is optimistic he will recover. Valdan said it was too early to tell whether there may be lasting neurological damage following the stroke that afflicted the right side of Peres' brain on Tuesday, but the 93-year-old's broader health indicators were good.

09/14/2016 8:56