Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Police evacuate at least six German courts after bomb threats

Police searched courtrooms in at least six cities across Germany after emailed bomb threats and other security alerts on Friday, officials and media said. Police said they evacuated a court in the eastern city of Potsdam and another in the western city of Wiesbaden where a suspicious package was found.

Congo election loser vows court challenge, violence feared

The runner-up in Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential election pledged on Friday to launch a formal fraud complaint in a dispute many fear could reawaken violence in a nation where millions have died in civil wars since the 1990s. Pre-election polls predicted a landslide win for opposition candidate Martin Fayulu in a vote hoped to bring Congo's first democratic transfer of power in six decades of coups, dictatorships, assassinations and conflicts since independence.

U.S.-led coalition says it has started Syria withdrawal

The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State has begun the process of withdrawing from Syria, a spokesman said on Friday, indicating the start of a U.S. pullout that has been clouded by mixed messages from Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement last month that he had decided to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops stunned allies that have joined Washington in the battle against Islamic State in Syria. Senior U.S. officials were shocked too, among them Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who quit in protest.

Exclusive: Leading Brexit donors say Britain will reverse decision to leave EU

Two of the biggest donors to the Brexit campaign say they now believe the project they championed will eventually be abandoned by the government and the United Kingdom will stay in the European Union. Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire who was the second biggest donor to the 2016 leave campaign, and veteran hedge fund manager Crispin Odey told Reuters they expect Britain to stay in the EU despite their campaign victory in the 2016 referendum.

Poland arrests two over spying allegations, including Huawei employee

Poland has arrested a Chinese employee of Huawei and a Polish national involved in cyber business on allegations of spying, Polish media reported on Friday, deepening the controversy over Western criticism of the Chinese telecoms equipment maker. U.S. intelligence agencies allege Huawei Technologies Cos Ltd is linked to China's government and that its equipment could contain "backdoors" for use by government spies.

'The whole country is a prison': No sign of better rights in North Korea - U.N.

Despite more than a year of international engagement and promises of economic reform by North Korea's leaders, the human rights situation in the isolated country remains dire, a top U.N. rights official said on Friday. Blocked by the government from visiting North Korea, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea Tomas Quintana visited South Korea this week as part of an investigation that will be provided to the U.N. Human Rights Council in March.

U.S. to host Iran-focused global summit next month: Pompeo

The United States plans to host a global summit focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, next month in Poland, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News in an interview to air on Friday. Pompeo told Fox the international gathering would be held Feb. 13 to Feb. 14 in Poland to "focus on Middle East stability and peace and freedom and security here in this region, and that includes an important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence."

Saudi asylum seeker deletes Twitter account after death threats, friend says

A Saudi teenager who fled to Thailand saying she feared her family would kill her deleted her Twitter account on Friday after getting death threats, a friend said, while she awaits a decision on where she might be granted asylum. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, arrived in Thailand on Saturday and was initially denied entry.

Haitians abandon forgotten town, isolated for over a decade

Near the bottom of the island of Hispaniola in southeast Haiti is a forgotten village, cut off from its own country, and slowly emptying as its residents leave for the neighboring Dominican Republic. Without health services, electricity, or paved roads, Boucan Ferdinand lost its only road to the nearest Haitian town, Bois Negresse, in devastating floods back in 2004.

Myanmar court rejects appeal by jailed Reuters reporters

A Myanmar court on Friday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of breaking the Official Secrets Act, saying the defense had not provided sufficient evidence to show they were innocent. Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were convicted by a lower court in September in a landmark case that has raised questions about Myanmar's progress toward democracy and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)