World News Roundup: US, Turkey at odds over Syrian Kurds; China sentences Canadian to death as diplomatic row deepens

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

'Bolsonaro is Hitler!' Venezuela's Maduro exclaims amid Brazil spat

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday called Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a modern Adolf Hitler, days after Brasilia officially recognized an opposition leader as the legitimate head of the increasingly isolated country. Brazil on Saturday said it recognized Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela's opposition-run Congress, as legitimate president after Maduro was sworn in to a second term that countries around the world described as illegitimate.

Spanish NGO says rescue boat blocked from operating in Mediterranean

A Spanish charity boat which rescues migrants at sea has been blocked by authorities from operating in the Mediterranean, the non-governmental organization said on Monday. The Barcelona Maritime Authority, in a letter seen by Reuters, said the charity Proactiva Open Arms had violated international agreements that rescued migrants should be taken to the closest port available.

Car bomb blast near high-security compound in Kabul kills four, 90 wounded

At least four people were killed and 90 wounded when a bomb-laden car blew up near a high-security compound in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, officials said. An Afghan government security official said the blast occurred on Jalalabad Road in eastern Kabul near the Green Village compound, home to several international companies and charities.

Liberal mayor of Poland's Gdansk dies after stabbing

Pawel Adamowicz, the liberal mayor of the Polish city of Gdansk, died on Monday of his wounds a day after being stabbed by a former convict who rushed the stage during one of Poland's biggest annual charity events. Thousands of people gathered in Polish cities to mourn the death of Adamowicz, who had been mayor of Gdansk for 20 years and espoused liberal causes including giving refuge to migrants at odds with Poland's conservative nationalist government.

China court sentences Canadian to death as diplomatic row deepens

A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a Canadian man to be executed for drug smuggling, prompting Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accuse China of using the death penalty arbitrarily. The ruling, and Trudeau's reaction, could aggravate already sour relations between Beijing and Ottawa following the arrest of a senior Chinese executive in Canada and China's subsequent detention of two Canadians.

Indonesian divers find crashed Lion Air jet's second black box

Indonesian authorities on Monday said they will immediately begin to download contents of a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from a Lion Air jet that crashed into the sea near Jakarta more than two months ago, killing all 189 people on board. The crash was the world's first of a Boeing Co 737 MAX jet and the deadliest of 2018, and the recovery of the aircraft's second black box from the Java Sea north of Jakarta on Monday may provide an account of the last actions of the doomed jet's pilots.

U.S., Turkey at odds over Kurdish fighters in Syria

The United States and Turkey sparred on Monday over the fate of U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria, with Washington insisting they not be harmed and Ankara rejecting a perceived U.S. threat to punish Turkey economically if it attacked them. The disagreement, played out in rival tweets, is the latest consequence of U.S. President Donald Trump's Dec. 19 decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, potentially leaving the Kurdish militia under threat as Turkey weighs a new offensive there.

Take a second look, Britain's May urges lawmakers before Brexit vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May urged lawmakers on Monday to take a "second look" at her deal to leave the European Union, a last-ditch effort to win over a parliament that looks set to reject the agreement. The fate of the United Kingdom's March 29 exit from the EU is in the balance before Tuesday when parliament is widely expected to vote against May's deal, opening up outcomes ranging from a disorderly divorce to reversing Brexit.

In Lebanon, U.S. State Department official calls Hezbollah 'unacceptable'

The U.S. State Department criticized Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Monday for digging tunnels into Israel and stockpiling rockets, as Washington steps up efforts to isolate Tehran. In recent weeks, Israeli forces uncovered tunnels they said were dug by Hezbollah, and Lebanon complained about Israel's construction of a barrier along disputed parts of the border.

Syrian jihadists deny they plan to crush rivals and take over Idlib region

The main jihadist group in northwest Syria said on Monday it did not seek to dominate the Idlib region, after it cemented its grip on the last rebel-held bastion, putting a deal to avert a Russian-led army assault on the area at risk. Abu Mohammad al Golani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), led by the former Syrian offshoot of al Qaeda, said its goal was a unified civilian administration in Idlib that brings stability and ends lawlessness.