Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Myanmar army kills 13 rebels in Rakhine clashes: military spokesman

Myanmar’s army has killed 13 rebel fighters in the western Rakhine State, a military spokesman said on Friday, as government troops battle to contain a new insurgency in the troubled region. Fighting between security forces and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group seeking greater autonomy for Rakhine, has forced some 5,000 civilians to flee their homes since early December, according to the United Nations.

U.S., North Korea to hold talks on second Trump-Kim summit

North Korea's lead negotiator in nuclear diplomacy with the United States is expected to hold talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and could also meet President Donald Trump on Friday during a visit aimed at clearing the way for a second U.S.-North Korea summit. Kim Yong Chol arrived in Washington on Thursday evening for his first visit since he came last June ahead of a landmark meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. Efforts made since then to get Pyongyang to denuclearize appear to have stalled.

Internet blacked out in Zimbabwe as U.N. urges end to crackdown

Zimbabwe was under an internet blackout on Friday after authorities extended a communications ban to cover emails, while the United Nations urged an end to a security crackdown on civilians triggered by days of deadly protests. The government has said three people died during demonstrations that broke out on Monday after President Emmerson Mnangagwa raised fuel prices by 150 percent. Lawyers and activists say the toll was much higher and that security forces used violence and carried out mass arrests to quell the unrest.

ICC appeals panel extends detention of Ivory Coast politician Gbagbo

An appeals chamber at the International Criminal Court has granted a last-ditch request by prosecutors to extend the custody of Ivory Coast politician Laurent Gbagbo, who was acquitted of atrocities charges last week. The 3-2 decision by a panel of appeals judges ordered Gbagbo and co-defendant Charles Ble Goude to be held until they can consider prosecutors' arguments more fully.

Rescuers ready to drill tunnel for Spanish boy trapped in well

Heavy trucks brought drilling equipment and giant pipes as rescue workers prepared on Friday to dig a tunnel in an effort to reach a two-year-old boy who has been trapped in a deep well in southern Spain since Sunday. "The priority now is the works on the vertical tunnel," said a spokeswoman for the regional government in Malaga.

U.S. Navy chief does not rule out sending aircraft carrier through Taiwan Strait

The U.S. Navy has not ruled out sending an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, despite military technology advances by China that pose a greater threat to U.S. warships than ever before, the chief of U.S. naval operations said on Friday. Washington sent ships through the strategic waterway three times last year as it makes more frequent transits of the strait that separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland, but it has not dispatched a carrier in more than 10 years.

UK PM May to discuss Brexit next steps with ministers, EU leaders

British Prime Minister Theresa May will hold a series of meetings with some of her top ministers on Friday to discuss the way forward on Brexit after her deal with Brussels was rejected by parliament, her spokeswoman said. May spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday, and will have further calls with EU leaders over the weekend, she added.

In a first, Malaysia sues state over indigenous peoples' rights

Malaysia has filed a lawsuit against an opposition-run state for infringing on an indigenous tribe's land rights by handing out licenses to plantation companies to cut down timber, the first such action by a sitting government. Deforestation over the decades has displaced some of the dozens of indigenous groups in Malaysia from their customary land. Property development and palm oil, rubber and more recently durian plantations have also encroached on their land.

Iran's American-born journalist detained by FBI to appear in U.S. court: Iranian state TV

An American journalist working for Iran's state television channel Press TV who Iran says has been detained in Washington will appear in a U.S. court on Friday, the channel reported on Friday. Iran has called for the immediate release of TV anchor and documentary film maker Marziyeh Hashemian, whose employer, the English-language channel Press TV, said was arrested on Sunday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Congo rejects African Union demand to delay final election result

Democratic Republic of Congo has rejected an African Union demand to delay the announcement of final results from its disputed presidential election, the government said on Friday. The final tally for the Dec. 30 election, which was marred by widespread violence and fraud allegations, is to be released once the Constitutional Court has ruled on challenges to the provisional results, including from opposition leader and election runner-up Martin Fayulu. The court's decision is expected later on Friday or Saturday.