World News Summary: Maldives' election, Bedouin village evacuation, UK elections and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Maldives' vote expected to keep hardline Yameen in power

The Maldives voted on Sunday in an election in which hardline President Abdulla Yameen is expected to cement his grip on power but which opposition and international groups have criticized for a lack of transparency and suppression of dissent. The Muslim-majority Indian Ocean nation has become a theater of rivalry between its traditional partner, India, and China, which has backed Yameen's infrastructure drive, and prompted concern in the West about Beijing's increasing influence.

Israel sets October deadline to evacuate Bedouin village in West Bank

Israel on Sunday told residents of Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank slated for demolition, to clear their houses by Oct. 1. Khan al-Ahmar consists of tin and wood shacks built on a desert hillside beside an Israeli highway that runs from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.

Britain's opposition Labour backs new election to solve Brexit

Britain's opposition Labour Party prefers a new election to a second referendum on Brexit, its leader said on Sunday, heaping pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May whose plans for a divorce deal with the European Union have hit an impasse. Labour's Jeremy Corbyn has so far resisted calls to back a "People's Vote", or new referendum on the decision to quit the EU. But the political landscape has changed since May was ambushed by the EU on Thursday over her plans for Brexit - the biggest shift in British policy for almost half a century.

Act against 'any whiff' of resurgent anti-Semitism, pope says

Pope Francis said on Sunday that society should be vigilant for "any whiff" of resurgent anti-Semitism, calling for new generations to be taught the horrors of the Holocaust. He made his appeal in Kaunas, Lithuania's second city, on the 75th anniversary of the wartime liquidation of the ghetto in the capital Vilnius. Two years of Nazi oppression in which tens of thousands of Jews were killed or deported culminated on Sept. 23-24, 1943.

Turkey's Erdogan seeks better economic, political ties with Germany

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he would work on improving political and economic ties with Germany during a visit to the country later this month. Turkey is seeking to improve its awkward relationship with Europe at a time when its ties with the United States have deteriorated and the lira has been falling sharply.

From reality TV to U.N., Trump to wield Security Council gavel

He has chaired board meetings, cabinet meetings and starred in a reality television show, but on Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump will wield the gavel in the United Nations Security Council to denounce Iran for what it sees as its malign regional behavior. Trump is able to preside over the 15-member council as the United States holds the monthly rotating presidency, which coincides with the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York this week.

Explainer: Why nuclear disclosure is key first step in North Korea's denuclearization

New pledges made last week by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to curb his nuclear weapons program may have opened the door to further talks with Washington, but just how much impact would they have on the North's nuclear arsenal? At last week's summit with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in, Kim promised to allow outside inspections on key missile facilities, and expressed a willingness, for the first time, to "permanently" scrap North Korea's main nuclear complex.

Jihadist group rejects deal for Syria's Idlib, main faction yet to declare stance

A jihadist faction in the Idlib region of northwestern Syria has rejected a Turkish-Russian deal that requires "radical" insurgents to withdraw from a demilitarized zone, and urged rebels to launch new military operations. While the Huras al-Din faction is not the main Islamist militant group in Idlib, its statement points to objections that may complicate the implementation of the agreement clinched last week by Russia and Turkey.

Swiss canton becomes second to ban burqas in public

Voters in St. Gallen on Sunday approved by a two-thirds majority a ban on facial coverings such as the burqa, becoming the second Swiss canton to do so. Full-face coverings such as niqabs and burqas are a polarizing issue across Europe, with some arguing that they symbolize discrimination against women and should be outlawed. The clothing has already been banned in France and Denmark.

Rouhani says U.S. wants to cause insecurity in Iran but will not succeed

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday the United States wants to create insecurity in the Islamic Republic a day after an attack on a military parade that killed members of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards. Speaking before leaving Tehran to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Rouhani accused U.S.-backed Gulf Arab states of providing financial and military support for anti-government ethnic Arab groups.