World News Round-up: Indonesian quake quagmire, Merkel calls, Saudi journalist, Interpol chief's disappearance

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party have struggled to maintain a united front on immigration policy and the fate of the scandal-hit domestic intelligence agency.

Girl scout among 34 dead found in Indonesian quake quagmire

More than a week after a major earthquake hit the west coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi island, rescuers workers were focusing on Saturday on what looks sure to be a long, difficult search for bodies, many buried in appalling morasses of debris and mud. President Joko Widodo has said all of the victims of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck on Sept. 28 must be found.

Car blast kills four in Turkey-backed Syrian town: reports

A car blast in a town controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups near the Turkish border killed at least four people on Saturday, a war monitor and local media reports said. The town of Azaz lies in a part of northern Syria that Turkey's army helped rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad to capture in 2016.

Merkel calls for end to conservative in-fighting to halt poll slide

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the conservatives must end their in-fighting to reverse slides in the polls before two regional elections this month. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party have struggled to maintain a united front on immigration policy and the fate of the scandal-hit domestic intelligence agency.

Exclusive: Turkish police believe Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed in consulate - sources

Turkish authorities believe that prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared four days ago after entering Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, was killed inside the consulate, two Turkish sources said on Saturday. "The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate," one Turkish official told Reuters.

French police probe Interpol chief's disappearance on China trip

French police are investigating the disappearance of Interpol chief, Meng Hongwei, who was reported missing after travelling from France to his native China, while his wife has been placed under police protection after receiving threats. Meng's wife contacted police in Lyon, the French city where the international police agency is based, after not hearing from him since Sept. 25, and after receiving threats by phone and on social media, France's interior ministry said.

Syrian rebels start to withdraw heavy weapons from Idlib buffer zone

Syrian Turkey-backed rebel groups began to withdraw heavy weaponry from a demilitarized zone agreed by Turkey and Russia in northwest Syria on Saturday, rebels said. The Turkey-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) rebel alliance said in a statement the process of withdrawing heavy weapons had begun, but the fighters would remain in their positions within the demilitarized zone.

Brazil's far-right Bolsonaro grows lead with run-off victory in sight

Brazil's far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro has widened his lead over leftist Fernando Haddad ahead of Sunday's deeply polarized election, and would win a likely second-round run-off later this month, a CNT/MDA poll showed on Saturday. With more polls due later on Saturday, the CNT/MDA survey captured a palpable surge in Bolsonaro's support in recent days that could, if it continues, see him win a majority of votes on Sunday, and avoid the Oct. 28 run-off.

Afghan forces, Taliban battle for control of highways in Ghazni province

Heavily armed Taliban fighters destroyed bridges near the central city of Ghazni on Saturday, closing the main highway between the capital Kabul and southern Afghanistan, officials said. Sporadic clashes erupted between Afghan soldiers and Taliban insurgents who were trying to gain control over parts of Ghazni province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, officials added.

Pompeo pledges coordination with Japan in North Korea talks, to raise abduction issue

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday he would coordinate closely with Japan during denuclearization talks with North Korea and promised to raise the issue of the abductions of Japanese citizens in his meetings in Pyongyang. "We will have a fully coordinated, unified view of how to proceed, which will be what is needed if it is going to be successful in denuclearizing North Korea," Pompeo told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. "We will bring up the issue of the abductees as well," he said.

Erdogan vows to 'finish' Kurdish militants in Iraq to avenge dead soldiers

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday vowed to "finish" Kurdish militants in Iraq's Sinjar and Qandil regions to avenge eight Turkish soldiers killed in a bomb attack in southeastern Turkey earlier this week. On Wednesday, eight Turkish soldiers were killed and two were wounded after a roadside bomb in the southeastern province of Batman was detonated by outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.