Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Afghan Taliban reject talks with U.S. in Pakistan

The Afghan Taliban rejected reports in the Pakistani media that they were prepared to resume meetings with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Islamabad and repeated their refusal to deal directly with the Afghan government. Pakistani newspapers and television stations reported that a meeting in Islamabad was in prospect following discussions between Khalilzad and Pakistani officials including Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday. Former British PM Major urges May to drop Brexit red lines

Former British prime minister John Major urged Theresa May on Saturday to drop her "red lines" on Brexit or allow parliament to find a way forward to avoid a damaging no-deal departure from the European Union in March. Major said he compromised on key decisions on the Northern Irish peace process and the first Gulf War while prime minister between 1990 and 1997, and May should do the same after her Brexit plan was rejected by a huge majority in parliament. Former Afghan warlord Hekmatyar enters presidential race

A former warlord accused of historic war crimes entered Afghanistan's presidential race on Saturday in a new challenge to President Ashraf Ghani who allowed him to return from exile two decades he was forced out by the Taliban. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whose fighters killed thousands in Kabul during the bloody civil war of the 1990s, has remained a divisive figure since his return from exile in 2016. Mexican pipeline blast during fuel raid kills at least 21

At least 21 people were killed and 71 were injured on Friday when a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico as dozens of people tried to fill up containers, state and federal authorities said. Mexican television footage showed flames leaping into the night sky in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan, in Hidalgo state north of Mexico City, as people screamed and cried for help. French 'Yellow Vests' gather in Paris for tenth weekend of protests

"Yellow Vest" demonstrators gathered in the French capital on Saturday for their tenth consecutive weekend of protests against President Emmanuel Macron's government. Protesters started to assemble by the Champs Elysees and the Invalides esplanade near the Assemblee Nationale lower house of parliament and the Eiffel Tower, with their numbers expected to increase during the day. Murdered Polish mayor's funeral draws crowd of 45,000 in Gdansk

Murdered Gdansk mayor Pawel Adamowicz's funeral drew tens of thousands of people in the Polish Baltic coast city on Saturday amid outrage over his murder six days ago. Banners with black and white pictures of Adamowicz were draped over buildings as Polish politicians including former president Lech Walesa, who helped to overturn communism in Eastern Europe, joined a mass at St Mary's Basilica. Indian opposition stages giant joint rally to oust Modi

India's main opposition parties joined forces against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at a rally which attracted hundreds of thousands of people months ahead of elections. The 23 regional groups said they forged a common front to stop Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which beat the main opposition Congress and regional parties in 2014. Rival groups demonstrate in Thailand as election tensions grow

Rival groups held demonstrations in Thailand's capital on Saturday, with hundreds of people demanding quick elections to end military rule and a much smaller group of pro-junta supporters saying it was too soon for a vote. The competing protests were tiny compared to those that paralyzed Bangkok in 2014 before the army seized power in the name of ending instability, but were an indication of the tensions in the run-up to a long-delayed ballot. At least three migrants dead after dinghy sinks off Libyan coast

At least three people died at sea on Friday after a rubber dinghy carrying around 20 migrants ran into trouble in the Mediterranean some 100 km north of Tripoli, an Italian navy official said. Three people had been saved while the others were missing, the Italian navy said. Spanish rescuers to start drilling for boy trapped in well

Rescuers in southern Spain worked through the night as efforts to reach a two-year-old boy trapped in a deep well since Sunday entered a sixth day in an operation that has gripped the nation. The mission to save the child has triggered an outpouring of public support as rescuers struggle with the challenge of reaching the toddler safely and bringing heavy equipment up steep access roads.