World News Summary: Super typhoon in East Asia; China warns Taiwan; Brexit referendum

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Myanmar youth, journalists demonstrate against jailing of Reuters reporters

At least 100 Myanmar youth activists and journalists called for the release of two jailed Reuters journalists on Sunday, warning that the seven-year prison terms handed to the pair this month threaten the public's right to information. Demonstrators including high-school students gathered peacefully in the heart of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, held signs and chanted slogans denouncing the guilty verdict against the two journalists. A small contingent of police looked on as the protesters released black balloons printed with the words "Free Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo".

Super typhoon slams into China after pummeling Philippines

A super typhoon made landfall in China's Guangdong on Sunday, the country's most populous province, after wreaking havoc in Hong Kong and Macau and killing potentially more than 50 people in the Philippines. Packing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph), tropical cyclone Mangkhut is considered the strongest to hit the region this year, equivalent to a maximum Category 5 "intense hurricane" in the Atlantic.

China tells Taiwan to halt all mainland spying, sabotage activities

China on Sunday accused Taiwan's spy agencies of stepping up efforts to steal intelligence with the aim of "infiltration" and "sabotage", and warned the island against further damaging already strained cross-strait ties. The relevant agencies in Taiwan must end such activities immediately, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing An Fengshan, a spokesman of China's policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office.

Palestinian stabs Israeli to death at West Bank mall: officials

A Palestinian fatally stabbed an Israeli at a shopping mall in the occupied West Bank on Sunday before an armed civilian shot and wounded the assailant, Israeli police and medical officials said. Security camera footage circulated on social media appeared to show the attacker stabbing a man in the back outside the mall in the Jewish settlement bloc of Gush Etzion.

Anti-capitalism group targets French banks a decade after Lehman Brothers demise

Anti-globalization activists threw black liquid soap across the glass-front of a bank in Paris on Saturday, one of several actions planned in France and Germany in protest against banking practices a decade after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Railing against tax fraud and mega-investments in fossil fuels by the world's biggest banks, the protesters in the French capital lit orange smoke bombs and spilled a fluorescent green liquid on the pavement to symbolize what they called toxic money.

Australia to start powerful public inquiry into aged-care sector

Australia will begin a public inquiry, or Royal Commission, into the country's aged-care sector as a spike in cases of elderly abuse creates a "disturbing trend", Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. The inquiry comes at a time when the number of Australians moving into residential care is set to jump, with the population aged 65 years and above, according to official data, forecast to more than double to 8.9 million by 2055.

Palestinian official says U.S. will never present Middle East peace plan

The United States will not present its long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace any time soon and is instead trying to unilaterally change the terms of reference for any future proposal, a senior Palestinian official said on Saturday. Echoing deep scepticism among the Palestinians, Arab countries and analysts, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, said that the Trump administration was siding with Israel on the core issues of the decades-old conflict, burying all chances for Middle East peace.

Anti-Kremlin activist doing better in German hospital: fellow activist

An anti-Kremlin activist lost his sight, hearing and ability to walk in a suspected poisoning last week but is doing better since he arrived in Berlin for treatment, according to a fellow member of the Pussy Riot band and a newspaper. Pyotr Verzilov was flown to Berlin on a special medical transport plane late on Saturday, German newspaper Bild. It published a photograph of Verzilov on a stretcher at the airport.

London mayor calls for second Brexit referendum

London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for another referendum on Britain's European Union membership, saying the prime minister's handling of Brexit negotiations had become "mired in confusion and deadlock" and was leading the country down a damaging path. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29. But with Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans still not accepted, some lawmakers, as well as union and business leaders, are arguing for people to have a final say on any deal with Brussels.

Exclusive: Saudi Arabia to auction detained tycoon's real estate assets - sources

Saudi Arabia will auction real estate owned by indebted billionaire Maan al-Sanea and his company starting next month to help repay billions of riyals due to creditors, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Sanea, ranked by Forbes in 2007 as one of the world's 100 richest people, was detained last year for unpaid debts dating back to 2009 when his company, Saad Group, defaulted.