Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
North Korea says it has resumed plutonium production: Kyodo
North Korea says it has resumed plutonium production by reprocessing spent fuel rods and has no plans to stop nuclear tests as long as perceived U.S. threats remain, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday. North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute, which has jurisdiction over its main Yongbyon nuclear facilities, also told Kyodo it had been producing highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear arms and power "as scheduled."
Russia uses Iran to strike Syria militants again, rejects U.S. censure
Russia used an Iranian air base to launch air strikes in Syria for a second day running on Wednesday, rejecting U.S. suggestions its co-operation with Tehran might violate a U.N. resolution. Russia's Defence Ministry said that SU-34 fighter bombers flying from Iran's Hamadan air base had struck Islamic State targets in Syria's Deir al-Zor province, destroying two command posts and killing more than 150 militants.
North Korea deputy ambassador in UK defects to South
North Korea's deputy ambassador in London has defected with his family to South Korea, making him the highest-ranking Pyongyang diplomat ever to flee the isolated regime for the democratic South, South Korea said on Wednesday. The Unification Ministry in Seoul declined to say when or how Thae and his family arrived, or how many relatives accompanied him.
Philippines' Duterte says he's willing to face probe into drug killings
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday his government is willing to face any inquiry into the deaths of hundreds of suspected drug dealers and users as human rights groups express alarm over extrajudicial killings. Nearly 600 suspected drug peddlers and users have been killed in police operations since Duterte took power six weeks ago, police say, but rights groups put the number at more than 1,000.
Exclusive: Civil war costs Yemen $14 billion in damage and economic losses - report
The cost from damage to infrastructure and economic losses in Yemen's civil war is more than $14 billion so far, according to a confidential report seen by Reuters that highlights the effort needed to rebuild the country, where more than half the population is suffering from malnutrition. "The conflict has so far resulted in damage costs (still partial and incomplete) of almost $7 billion and economic losses (in nominal terms) of over $7.3 billion in relation to production and service delivery," said the May 6 joint report by the World Bank, United Nations, Islamic Development Bank and European Union.
German police arrest man suspected of planning attack: Focus
German elite police have arrested a 27-year old German man suspected of having explosives in his apartment and planning an attack at a festival in the eastern town of Eisenhuettenstadt, Germany's Focus magazine reported on Wednesday. The magazine reported the man had a Salafist background.
Palestinians take tentative step toward local elections
Palestinian political parties began registering candidates for municipal elections on Wednesday, the first step in years toward a democratic vote but one that threatens to re-inflame tensions between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements. The Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah, in the Israeli- occupied West Bank, has called the elections for Oct. 8, with an estimated two million Palestinians eligible to cast ballots.
German arrested on suspicion of selling gun to Munich shooter, prosecutor says
Police on Tuesday arrested an armed 31-year-old German man who boasted during a sting operation that he had supplied the Glock 17 pistol used by a gunman who killed nine people in Munich on July 22, the Frankfurt state prosecutor said in a statement. Authorities arrested the man, who was not named, in Marburg, about 100 km (65 miles) north of Frankfurt, after contacting him on the so-called "dark net" and posing as buyers for an automatic weapon and another Glock 17 pistol for 8,000 euros ($9,021), it said.
Who is an extremist? UK faces legal challenge over strategy to stop radicals
To his detractors, including the British government, Salman Butt is an extremist whose views on Islam fly in the face of Britain's values and help foster an atmosphere where young Muslims can be radicalized by militants. Even though he is not accused of supporting militant groups or violence, the British authorities believe it is only by cracking down on activists like Butt and denying a forum for their ideas to be widely heard that the threat posed by jihadis and groups such as Islamic State can be countered.
Turkey issues decrees dismissing thousands from security forces over attempted coup
Turkey issued two decrees under emergency rule on Wednesday in which it dismissed more than 2,000 police officers and hundreds of members of the military and the BTK communication technology authority in relation to last month's attempted military coup. The decrees, published in the state's Official Gazette, also included a decision to close a telecoms authority and another decision under which the president appoints the head of the armed forces.
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