Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. 'Tarnished image': Myanmar touts troubled Rakhine as investment destination

Organisers of a summit in Myanmar's crisis-hit western state of Rakhine are this week pitching to investors its plentiful farmland and fishing grounds, tourist-ready beaches and historic temples. The event's website describes the "untouched opportunities" available in the strategically located region, close to large markets in India and Bangladesh. But a session at the fair will also be devoted to how to invest responsibly in the state, from which an estimated 730,000 minority Rohingya Muslims fled an army offensive in 2017. Three UK Conservatives quit party in protest at "disastrous Brexit"

Three pro-EU lawmakers from Britain's governing Conservatives quit over the government's "disastrous handling of Brexit" on Wednesday, in a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to unite her party around plans to leave the European Union. The lawmakers, long critical of May's Brexit strategy to leave the EU which they believe is being driven by Conservative eurosceptics, said in a statement they would join a new group in parliament set up by seven former opposition Labour politicians. Putin: We'll target USA if Washington deploys missiles in Europe

Russia will respond to any U.S. deployment of short or intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe by targeting not only the countries where they are stationed, but the United States itself, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. In his toughest remarks yet on a potential new arms race, Putin said Russia was not seeking confrontation and would not take the first step to deploy missiles in response to Washington's decision this month to quit a landmark Cold War-era arms control treaty. North Korea's Kim shuffles nuclear talks team after defections, spying allegations

Veteran North Korean diplomats are being sidelined from nuclear talks ahead of a second summit with the United States as recent defections and allegations of spying undermine the trust of leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean officials and experts say. Kim has purged and replaced many top diplomats and officials who served his father and grandfather with new, younger advisors as he gears up to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam next week. French senators call for perjury investigation against ex-Macron aide Benalla

A French senate committee on Wednesday recommended President Emmanuel Macron's former security aide, Alexandre Benalla, be prosecuted for perjury during a seven-month investigation into his violent conduct on the sidelines of a protest. Benalla was caught on video last year beating a May Day protester while wearing a police armband. Macron and his senior aides faced widespread criticism for being slow to come clean on the facts, prompting allegations of a cover up. Explainer: Does Islamic State still pose a threat?

Islamic State looks about to lose its last foothold on the banks of the Euphrates in Syria, but though its era of territorial rule may have been expunged for now, there is near universal agreement that the group remains a threat. WHAT HAS ITS TERRITORIAL DEFEAT ACCOMPLISHED? Philippines' Duterte warns of harsher drugs war ahead

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Wednesday that his signature anti-narcotics campaign will be even harsher in the future, signaling no let-up in a bloody crackdown that has alarmed the international community. Duterte won the presidency by a wide margin in 2016 on promises of eradicating drugs and crime, and recent opinion polls indicate broad support for him and for the crackdown, despite widespread allegations of police cover-ups and summary killings resulting from weak intelligence. As Maduro holds on, Venezuela opposition eyes negotiated transition

Venezuela's opposition is trying to convince ruling Socialist Party officials to join a transition government, shifting focus as it seeks to unseat President Nicolas Maduro, who has clung to power in the face of growing international pressure and U.S. sanctions. Last month, Venezuelan opposition leader and Congress chief Juan Guaido invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency after declaring Maduro's reelection in May 2018 illegitimate. He swiftly received recognition from the United States and Latin American powers. Britain strips citizenship from teenager who joined Islamic State in Syria

Britain stripped a teenager who traveled to join Islamic State of her citizenship on security grounds, triggering a row over the ramifications of leaving a 19-year-old mother with a jihadist fighter's child to fend for herself in a war zone. The fate of Shamima Begum, who was found in a detention camp in Syria last week, has illustrated the ethical, legal and security conundrum that governments face when dealing with the families of militants who swore to destroy the West. Thai police seek to prosecute leader of anti-junta party popular with young

Thai police said on Wednesday said they were seeking the prosecution of the leader of a new political party over a speech he made that was posted on Facebook criticizing the ruling junta, just over a month before a general election. The legal action against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 40, and two senior colleagues in the Future Forward Party, which has attracted the support of young voters, will add to concern that the military is determined to retain a hold over politics, even after the return of civilian rule in the March 24 vote.