Reuters World News Summary

08/09/2016 19:51

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Venezuela timeline for Maduro recall makes 2016 vote unlikely

Venezuela on Tuesday presented a timeline for a potential recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro that appeared to make a vote unlikely this year, a move slammed by the opposition as an effort to favor the ruling Socialist Party. The timing of the recall is critical because recalling Maduro in 2016 will trigger fresh elections. Polls suggest he would lose given discontent over product shortages and triple-digit inflation.

Photos suggest China built reinforced hangars on disputed islands: CSIS

Satellite photographs taken in late July show China appears to have built reinforced aircraft hangars on its holdings in disputed South China Sea islands, a Washington-based research group said. The hangars on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly islands have room for any fighter jet in the Chinese air force, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report on the photographs.

U.N. censure of North Korea missile thwarted

The United Nations Security Council has been unable to condemn the launch of a missile by North Korea that landed near Japan because China wanted the statement to oppose the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile defense system in South Korea. North Korea launched a ballistic missile last Wednesday that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, the latest in a series of launches by the isolated country in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Exclusive: Vietnam moves new rocket launchers into disputed South China Sea - sources

Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China's runways and military installations across the vital trade route, according to Western officials. Diplomats and military officers told Reuters that intelligence shows Hanoi has shipped the launchers from the Vietnamese mainland into position on five bases in the Spratly islands in recent months, a move likely to raise tensions with Beijing.

U.S. Vice President Biden to visit Serbia, Kosovo next week

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Serbia and Kosovo next week, the White House said on Tuesday. A White House statement announcing the Aug. 15-17 Balkan tour said Biden would hold meetings with each country's president and prime minister, but did not say what subjects would be discussed.

Grief, anger after 74 Pakistanis killed in hospital bomb

Pakistani mourners flocked to funerals on Tuesday for 74 victims, most of them lawyers, of the bombing of a hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta, and legal organizations staged a nationwide strike in protest. Monday's suicide bombing, which struck grief-stricken colleagues crowding around the body of the slain head of the provincial bar association, was the deadliest jihadist attack in Pakistan this year.

U.S. approves $1.15 billion sale of tanks, equipment to Saudi Arabia

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of more than 130 Abrams battle tanks, 20 armored recovery vehicles and other equipment, worth about $1.15 billion, to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. The approval for land force equipment coincides with Saudi Arabia leading a military coalition in support of Yemeni forces loyal to the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who are trying to oust Iran-allied Houthi forces from the capital, Sanaa. Human rights groups have criticized the coalition's air strikes because of the deaths of civilians.

More than half of British women sexually harassed at work: survey

More than half of British women have been sexually harassed at work, according to a survey published on Wednesday, but almost 80 percent said they did not report the incident to their employer. Nearly one in five respondents said the perpetrator was their direct supervisor, and around a quarter said they felt they would not be taken seriously or believed if they reported the harassment.

U.N. urges Aleppo ceasefire to repair water system, stem outbreaks

The United Nations called on Tuesday for an urgent ceasefire in the divided Syrian city of Aleppo, where it said two million people lacked access to clean running water, with children most at risk of disease. Access is needed to deliver food and medical supplies and for technicians to repair electricity networks that drive water pumping stations, which were heavily damaged in attacks on civilian infrastructure last week.

Putin and Erdogan move toward repairing ties amid tension with West

Russia and Turkey took a big step toward normalizing relations on Tuesday, with their leaders announcing an acceleration in trade and energy ties at a time when both countries have troubled economies and strains with the West. President Vladimir Putin received his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in a Tsarist-era palace outside his home city of St Petersburg. It was Erdogan's first foreign trip since last month's failed military coup, which left Turkey's relationship with the United States and Europe badly damaged.

08/09/2016 19:51