Reuters World News Summary

08/13/2016 19:51

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Six injured in attack on Swiss train; motive unknown, police say

Six people were injured in an attack aboard a Swiss train on Saturday by a man armed with a knife and flammable fluid, St Gallen cantonal police said. Three adults, two teenagers and a child aged six were hurt, according to a police statement. Five were stabbed or burned. A sixth suffered smoke inhalation as he came to the aid of the others. The assailant, a Swiss citizen, was also injured.

On 90th birthday, Fidel Castro thanks well-wishers, appears at gala

Fidel Castro made a rare public appearance on Saturday at his 90th birthday gala, after the leader of the 1959 revolution thanked fellow Cubans for their well wishes and lambasted his old foe the United States in a column carried by state-run media. Cuba went into overdrive this month honoring the retired "El Comandante," who built a Communist-run state on the doorstep of the United States, surviving what it says were hundreds of assassination attempts along the way.

Thousands return to Manbij after IS militants flee city

Thousands of displaced residents streamed back into the northern Syrian town of Manbij on Saturday after U.S.-backed fighters ousted the last Islamic State militants from their former stronghold, residents and U.S. allies said. The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Friday they had seized full control of the city near the Turkish border after the departure of the last of the militants, who had been using civilians as human shields.

Bangladesh allows more time to detain two over July cafe attack

A Bangladesh court allowed police on Saturday to continue holding two men in connection with an attack last month claimed by Islamic State that killed 20 hostages at an upscale cafe in the capital, Dhaka police said. Police told the court they needed more time to interrogate Hasnat Karim, a dual British and Bangladeshi national, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student at Toronto University, in connection with the assault on July 1. The families of both men say they are innocent.

Venezuelans cross reopened border to Colombia for food, medicine

Thousands of Venezuelans were welcomed to Colombia by a military band early on Saturday morning as the two countries' borders were officially reopened after being closed by Venezuela a year ago. Some people had traveled across Venezuela to queue overnight hoping to cross to buy food and other basics that are in short supply in Venezuela, which is steeped in an economic crisis.

U.S. drone kills Islamic State leader for Afghanistan, Pakistan: officials

The leader of Islamic State's branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan was killed in a U.S. drone strike on July 26, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday after the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan announced the news to Reuters. The death of Hafiz Saeed Khan is a blow to efforts by Islamic State - also known as ISIS or Daesh - to expand from its heartlands in Syria and Iraq into Afghanistan and Pakistan, already crowded with jihadist movements including the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Ten children reported dead in Yemen air strike, parliament convenes

At least 10 children were killed and 21 were injured in northern Yemen on Saturday, aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said, in what the country's dominant Houthi group said was a Saudi-led air strike on a school. The tragedy occurred as Yemen's parliament convened for the first time in almost two years, in a move that bolsters the Houthi movement and challenges the Saudi-backed exiled government.

Turkey says no compromise with Washington on cleric's extradition

Turkey will not compromise with Washington over the extradition of the Islamic cleric it accuses of orchestrating a failed coup, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday, warning of rising anti-Americanism if the United States fails to extradite. Yildirim's comments, at a briefing for local reporters, were the latest to take aim at Turkey's top NATO ally and coincided with a report that an Istanbul prosecutor wrote to U.S. authorities asking f/4or the detention of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Thaksin's party denies role in Thai blasts as police hunt suspects

The Thai political party whose governments have been overthrown by the country's ruling generals denied on Saturday having any role in the bomb attacks on popular tourist destinations that killed four people and wounded dozens. The blasts on Thursday and Friday in five of southern Thailand's internationally known resorts came days after Thais voted to accept a military-backed constitution that paves the way for an election at the end of 2017.

Brexit could be delayed as government departments not ready: Sunday Times

Britain could leave the European Union toward the end of 2019, instead of early that year as expected by some politicians, reported the Sunday Times citing sources who have been briefed by ministers that Brexit departments were not ready. The UK voted to leave the EU on June 23, but Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will not invoke "Article 50," the two-year formal process for divorcing the bloc, this year as the country needs time to prepare for negotiations.

08/13/2016 19:51