Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Abuse victims demand to see pope, call for bishops to be fired

Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy demanded on Wednesday to meet Pope Francis to press their call for the Church to apply a zero tolerance policy including the dismissal of bishops who covered up such offences. The 12 victims met with five Vatican officials a day before the start of an unprecedented conference on clerical abuse that aims to guide senior bishops on how best to tackle a problem that has decimated the Church's credibility. 'Time of the essence,' says May on latest Brussels shuttle

British Prime Minister Theresa May held "constructive" talks in Brussels on Wednesday as she sought concessions on Brexit from a skeptical European Union, her strategy under strain after the defection of three lawmakers. Emerging from an hour or so of discussions with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the second in as many weeks, May told a British television channel that she again pressed for "legally binding changes" to a deal she agreed with the EU in November so that a "backstop" policy on the Irish border would not bind Britain indefinitely to keeping EU rules. Moscow ready to cut time for nuclear strike on U.S. if necessary: Putin

Moscow will match any U.S. move to deploy new nuclear missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the United States or by deploying faster missiles or both, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. In Washington, the U.S. State Department dismissed Putin's comments as "propaganda designed to divert attention from what Washington alleges are Moscow's violations of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Iran will not rule out possibility of military conflict with Israel

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused Israel of engaging in "adventurism" with its bombing campaigns in Syria and said he could not rule out the possibility of a military conflict between the countries. Zarif told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that Iran was in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government, while Israel was violating Lebanese and Syrian air space, as well as international law. U.N. permits North Koreans to travel to Vietnam for Trump summit

A United Nations Security Council sanctions committee has approved the travel of a North Korean delegation to Vietnam next week for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization. The 15-member Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products. French TV cuts Facebook live feed from Jewish cemetery after anti-Semitic abuse

A French TV channel said on Wednesday it had been forced to cut short a live Facebook broadcast from a desecrated Jewish cemetery in eastern France because of an onslaught of anti-Semitic commentary. Separately, two swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans were found painted in red on a monument at a different cemetery near Lyon. 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. Canada PM meets legislators for first time since ethics allegations

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday faced legislators from his Liberal Party for the first time since two high-profile resignations over ethics allegations rocked his government. Liberals say they are concerned about how Trudeau's team is handling the fallout of a newspaper report that officials put pressure on then justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould last year to ensure construction firm SNC-Lavalin avoided a corruption and bribery trial. Islamic State nears defeat in last Syrian enclave

Islamic State looked close to defeat in its last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday as civilians poured out and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the remaining jihadists wanted to fight to the death. More than 2,000 civilians left the village of Baghouz in a convoy of dozens of trucks. Coalition warplanes could be seen overhead and the sounds of intermittent gunbattles could be heard from the area, which is completely surrounded by the SDF. U.S., Central America launch plan to crack down on people smugglers

The United States and three Central American nations on Wednesday announced an effort to combat trafficking of people to the U.S.-Mexico border, days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, citing large-scale unlawful immigration. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen called immigration from the region a "humanitarian crisis" and said the regional security plan with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras would secure the border and improve conditions in the countries.