Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Britain likely to delay Brexit, former EU chief Barroso says

Britain is likely to delay Brexit and not leave the European Union in March, former EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday, adding the bloc would likely accept a request to extension to sort out the details of departure. "I think the most likely scenario is not to do that in March of this year. We need more... preparations," Barroso, who now serves as a non-executive chairman at Goldman Sachs, told Sky News when asked when if he thought Brexit would happen as currently scheduled on March 29. Ahead of Saudi visit, China seeks 'deeper trust' with Iran

China wants to deepen "strategic trust" with Iran, the Chinese government's top diplomat told Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday, days before Saudi Arabia's crown prince visits Beijing, underscoring China's difficult Middle East balancing act. China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on the region for oil, but it has been trying to raise its profile, especially in the Arab world. EU Commission rebukes Hungary's new media campaign as 'fake news'

The European Commission on Tuesday rebuked a media campaign by the Hungarian government aimed at European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and U.S. businessman George Soros, accusing Brussels of pushing migration plans threatening Hungary. Orban's latest campaign, announced in a Facebook post on Monday, depicts smiling images of Soros and Juncker with the text "You also have the right to know what Brussels prepares for!" overlaid in red and white block capitals. Senegal's modernizing president leads field in upcoming election

President Macky Sall is the strong favorite to win Senegal's election on Sunday, boosted by a modernizing first term that propelled economic growth although critics accuse him of jailing his rivals for political gain. Sall, 57, is facing only four contenders in the first round of voting - the smallest presidential field since 1988 - after two of Senegal's best-known opposition figures were ruled out because of corruption convictions. EU's Juncker, Britain's May to meet on Brexit on Wednesday

British Prime Minister Theresa May will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for more talks with European Union officials, part of a renewed push to get her Brexit deal passed by parliament. Meetings between EU and British officials in recent days have yet to produce a breakthrough after the British parliament resoundingly defeated the divorce deal May agreed with the EU in November. Pakistan PM warns India against attack, urges talks on Kashmir blast

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday Pakistan would retaliate if India were to attack in response to a bombing in the disputed Kashmir region, which India blamed on Pakistan, while adding he wanted to cooperate in investigating the blast. Tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors has risen sharply over the killing in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir on Thursday of 40 Indian paramilitary police in a suicide bomb attack claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group. Suicide bomber who killed 27 members of Iran's Guards was Pakistani: Guards commander

The man who carried out a suicide bombing which killed 27 members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards near the border with Pakistan last week was Pakistani, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday, according to the Tasnim news agency. One other member of the militant cell that planned the attack was also a Pakistani citizen, the head of the Guards' ground forces, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said. Two hundred families trapped by Islamic State in Syria: U.N. rights chief

Some 200 families are trapped in a shrinking area of Syria still controlled by Islamic State, whose forces are stopping some from fleeing, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday. "Many of them (also) ...continue to be subjected to intensified air and ground-based strikes by the U.S.-led Coalition forces and their SDF allies on the ground," Bachelet said in a statement. Haute-couture designer Karl Lagerfeld dies aged 85

German haute-couture designer Karl Lagerfeld, artistic director at Chanel and an icon of the global fashion industry for over half a century, has died, a source at the French fashion house said on Tuesday. He was 85. Lagerfeld, instantly recognizable in his dark suits, pony-tailed white hair and sun glasses, was best known for his association with Chanel but delivered collections for LVMH's Fendi and his own eponymous label. Russia's Putin, Israel's Netanyahu to discuss Syria in Moscow

Russia President Vladimir Putin and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold talks in Moscow on Feb. 21, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. They plan to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including Syria, the Kremlin said in a statement.