World News Roundup: Maldives election, Brexit, Indonesian quake

Maldives election body endorses opposition leader Solih's victory amid threats

The Elections Commission of Maldives on Saturday officially declared opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih winner of the country's national election, defeating president Abdulla Yameen who had sought a delay in publication of the final results. The Election Commission Secretary General Salah Rasheed said Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party had won by a 16.8 percentage margin, with an 89.2 percent voter turnout.

At the conference, British PM May faces party divided by Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party began gathering for its annual conference on Saturday, bitterly divided over her plans to leave the European Union which threatens to derail any deal and put her own job in doubt. Just six months before Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, May has said talks to clinch a divorce deal are at an impasse.

At least 384 killed in Indonesian quake, tsunami

At least 384 people were killed, many swept away as giant waves crashed onto beaches, when a major earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, authorities said on Saturday. Hundreds had gathered for a festival on the beach in the city of Palu on Friday when waves as high as six meters (18 feet) smashed onshore at dusk, sweeping many to their death and destroying anything in their path, following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

Women across Brazil to march against a right-wing presidential candidate

Tens of thousands of Brazilian women are expected to take to the streets on Saturday, protesting what they see as the misogynist ways of one of Brazil's most divisive presidential candidates in years: right-wing Congressman Jair Bolsonaro. In a series of marches stretching from Manaus in the Amazon jungle to the megacity of Sao Paulo in the nation's southeast, demonstrators organized under the hashtag #EleNao, or #NotHim, are pledging not to vote for the candidate who has made light of rape and called the gender pay gap justified.

Four ministers from Thailand's military government launch new party ahead of polls

Four ministers from Thailand's military government launched a new political party on Saturday, amid speculation they will back Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to remain in power beyond a general election promised by May. May next year is the most recent deadline Prayuth's junta has set for a vote its critics hope will return Thailand to civilian rule after more than four years of military government, although it has repeatedly extended the timeline.

Amal Clooney calls on Myanmar's Suu Kyi to pardon Reuters reporters

The families of two Reuters reporters imprisoned in Myanmar have asked for a pardon, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney told a press freedom event at the United Nations on Friday as she pressed the country's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to agree. Clooney is a member of the legal team representing Reuters journalists Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who was convicted on Sept. 3 under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in prison.

'Turbulence' in ties threatens U.S.-China security meeting

A key diplomatic and security meeting between China and the United States next month may not take place due to tensions in relations, sources briefed on the matter said, potentially the latest casualty of worsening ties. Beijing and Washington are locked in a spiraling trade war that has seen them level increasingly severe rounds of tariffs on each other's imports.

China eyes anti-terror force to protect overseas interests

China is working to develop a first-class, crack anti-terror force that can operate at home and abroad and protect the country's overseas interests, a senior Chinese officer said in comments carried by state media on Saturday. In late 2015, China passed a new anti-terrorism law that allows the military to venture overseas on counter-terror operations, though experts have said Beijing faces big practical and diplomatic problems to actually execute such an action.

World Court: Palestine files a complaint about the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem

The International Court of Justice on Friday said it has received a complaint from the "State of Palestine" against the United States, arguing that the U.S. government's placement of its Israeli embassy in Jerusalem violates an international treaty and it should be removed. The ICJ, known as the World Court, said in a statement Palestine argues the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations requires a country to locate its embassy on the territory of a host state. While Israel controls Jerusalem militarily, its ownership is disputed.

Syria says to reopen important Nassib crossing with Jordan on October 10

Syrian state media said on Saturday the major Nassib border crossing with Jordan would reopen on October 10, three years after the trade route was captured by rebels and closed. The closure of the crossing in 2015 cut an important transit route for hundreds of trucks a day transporting goods between Turkey and the Gulf, and Lebanon and the Gulf.

(With inputs from Reuters)