Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Germany, Italy, France to meet with Turkey on migrants: Merkel
The leaders of Germany, France and Italy will discuss the migrant crisis with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a meeting of the G20 countries in China next week, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Turkey on Thursday said it would not implement an agreement with the European Union meant to stem the flow of illegal migrants and refugees if it does not get the visa-free travel to Europe for Turks that it has been promised.
U.S. imposes sanctions on 'Putin's bridge' to Crimea
Companies building a multi-billion dollar bridge to link the Russian mainland with annexed Crimea, a project close to the heart President Vladimir Putin, were targeted by the United States in an updated sanctions blacklist on Thursday. The U.S. Department of the Treasury added dozens of people and companies to the list, first introduced after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and expanded over its support for separatist rebels in the east of the country.
U.S. disputes political motive for prosecuting Macau billionaire
U.S. prosecutors have dismissed as "inflammatory nonsense" a Macau billionaire's claims that he is being prosecuted in connection with a U.N. bribery scheme for geopolitical reasons to slow China's influence over developing nations. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed papers late on Wednesday rejecting as "fantastic" claims by real estate developer Ng Lap Seng's lawyers that his case was politically motivated.
U.S. troops in Iraq increasingly active as Mosul battle nears
Kurdish Peshmerga forces retook a swath of northern Iraq late last month from Islamic State and days later American forces appeared in the area, the latest sign of increasing U.S. military activity in the country. The U.S. troops, numbering about a dozen, were still there this week and spent Wednesday supervising Iraqi army engineers repairing a bridge to help local forces cross the Great Zab river in their push towards Mosul, the militants' de facto capital in Iraq which Baghdad wants to retake this year.
Australia must choose between United States and China: U.S. Army official
A senior U.S. soldier said on Thursday Australia must choose between a stronger U.S. alliance or closer ties with China, and urged Canberra to take a tougher stance against Chinese claims in the South China Sea. The Pentagon, however, disputed the statement by U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff Colonel Tom Hanson, saying it did not represent the position of the U.S. government.
Syrian opposition says Aleppo battle hides 'cleansing' of siege towns
Russian air cover and Iranian-backed militias are enabling Syria's government to keep fighting in Aleppo, distracting the world from the planned "cleansing" of besieged areas across Syria, an opposition negotiator told Reuters on Thursday. Basma Kodmani, a member of the Saudi-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee, said forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had changed tactics after failing to starve rebels out of besieged zones.
U.S., others agreed 'secret' exemptions for Iran after nuclear deal: think tank
The United States and its negotiating partners agreed "in secret" to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year's landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions, according to a think tank report published on Thursday. The report, which was released by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, is based on information provided by several officials of governments involved in the negotiations. The group's president David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and co-author of the report, declined to identify the officials, and Reuters could not independently verify the report's assertions.
After sweeping into northern Syria, Turkey faces hard choices
Flashing victory signs and firing in the air, the young rebels who took this Syrian town from Islamic State a week ago may be jubilant, but their ability to hold territory will hinge on Turkey's appetite for keeping its forces inside Syria. Sweeping in to Jarablus may have been the easy part. Backed by Turkish tanks, jets and special forces, Arab and Turkmen fighters under the loose banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) drove out Islamic State in a matter of hours last Wednesday.
Turkey's president says more changes possible in cabinet
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that there could be more changes in government after the resignation of the interior minister this week, but said he had not been informed of any specific moves by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Efkan Ala resigned as interior minister on Wednesday following a string of bombings that prompted public criticism and concerns about intelligence failures before a July failed coup.
Venezuelan opposition floods Caracas in vast anti-Maduro protest
Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded Venezuela's capital on Thursday in one of the biggest mass protests against socialist rule for more than a decade. Dressed in white and chanting "this government will fall," hundreds of thousands rallied across Caracas to demand a recall referendum against Maduro and decry a deep economic crisis in the South American OPEC nation.
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