World News Summary: May under pressure over Brexit plan; Myanmar army apologizes for Rohingya photos

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pakistan girds for 'exchanges' with Pompeo as U.S. halts military funding

Pakistan's new foreign minister said he will "have exchanges" with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over Washington's cancellation of a $300 million disbursement for the Pakistani military when he visits Islamabad on Wednesday. Adopting a tougher line with an ally that U.S. President Donald Trump considers unreliable, the United States halted the disbursement of Coalition Support Funds due to Islamabad's perceived failure to take decisive action against Afghan Taliban militants operating from Pakistani soil.

Pressure mounts on UK PM May as critics tear into her Brexit plan

Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy means disaster for Britain, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said, as critics at home and officials in Brussels step up their opposition to her plans for how to leave the European Union. With under two months before Britain and the EU want to agree a deal to end over 40 years of union, May is struggling to sell what she calls her business-friendly Brexit to her own party and across a divided country.

Myanmar army apologizes for mistaken photos in book on Rohingya crisis

The Myanmar military issued a rare apology on Monday, acknowledging that two photographs it published in a book on the crisis over the Rohingya Muslim minority were "published incorrectly". Reuters published an exclusive report on Friday revealing that two of the pictures in the book that aimed at illustrating the army's account of last year's events in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine, were in fact archive pictures of different conflicts, and one was posted with an incorrect caption.

Israel signals it could attack Iranian weaponry in Iraq

Israel signaled on Monday that it could attack suspected Iranian military assets in Iraq, as it has done with scores of air strikes in war-torn Syria. Citing Iranian, Iraqi and Western sources, Reuters reported last week that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Shi'ite allies in Iraq in recent months. Tehran and Baghdad formally denied that report.

UNRWA chief defends refugee criteria for millions of Palestinians

Millions of Palestinian refugees "cannot simply be wished away", the head of a U.N. support agency said on Monday, hitting back at a U.S. aid cutoff and allegations its work only perpetuates their plight. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides services to about 5 million Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza. Most are descendants of some 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes or fled fighting in the 1948 war that led to Israel's creation.

Special Report: How Myanmar punished two reporters for uncovering an atrocity

Time and again, Myanmar's government appeared at risk of blowing its prosecution of two young journalists who had exposed a massacre of 10 Muslim men and implicated security forces in the killings. On April 20, a prosecution witness revealed in pre-trial hearings that police planted military documents on Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo in order to frame them for violating the country's Official Secrets Act. That admission drew gasps from the courtroom.

Kremlin says U.S. spy efforts show it is meddling in Russia's affairs

The Kremlin said on Monday the United States was "crudely" trying to recruit Russian nationals to act as its agents, adding that this showed Washington was meddling in Russian affairs. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked during a conference call to comment on a report in the New York Times which said the F.B.I. and U.S. Justice Department had tried unsuccessfully to recruit Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska as an informer between 2014 and 2016.

World Court weighs Britain's claim to Chagos Islands in Indian Ocean

The legality of Britain's claim to the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, which house a major U.S. military base, will be considered by the International Court of Justice on Monday when it starts a week of hearings. Britain has overseen the islands since 1814 and in 1965 detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, a British colony that became independent three years later.

Myanmar court jails Reuters reporters for seven years in landmark secrets case

A Myanmar judge on Monday found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case seen as a test of progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country. Yangon northern district judge Ye Lwin said Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, breached the colonial-era Official Secrets Act when they collected and obtained confidential documents.

Militants must be 'cleaned out' of Syria's Idlib, Iran says

Iran called on Monday for militants to be "cleaned out" of Syria's Idlib province, as it prepared for talks with Syria and Russia about confronting the last major enclave held by rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian government forces are planning a phased offensive in Idlib and surrounding areas held by rebels fighting Assad, a close Russian ally who has also been backed by Iranian forces in the country's civil war.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)