Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Top ally backs embattled Canada PM, easing pressure over crisis

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the public support on Thursday of a top political ally, indicating there was no immediate pressure inside his Liberal Party to oust him over a deepening political scandal. Trudeau, rejecting an opposition call for his resignation, disputed allegations on Wednesday by his former justice minister that government officials inappropriately pressured her to help the SNC-Lavalin construction firm avoid a corruption trial. Argentine court clears ex-President Menem in Jewish bombing cover-up case

An Argentine court on Thursday cleared former President Carlos Menem on charges that he conspired to derail investigations into a deadly bombing at the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires 25 years ago. The 88-year-old Menem, who ruled Argentina from 1989 to 1999, has always denied that he tried to quash the probe into the bombing, which left 85 dead and has never been solved. Israeli attorney-general plans to charge Netanyahu in corruption cases

Israel's attorney-general announced on Thursday he intends to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges, a decision coming just six weeks before a closely contested national election. It was the first time a serving Israeli prime minister has been put on official notice of planned prosecution, and deepened uncertainty over how Netanyahu, a veteran right-wing leader, will fare against a coalition of upstart centrist rivals. Summit collapse clouds future of U.S.-North Korea nuclear diplomacy

A second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un collapsed on Thursday over sanctions, and the two sides gave conflicting accounts of what happened, raising questions about the future of their denuclearization negotiations. Trump said two days of talks in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi had made good progress in building relations and on the main issue of denuclearization, but it was important not to rush into a bad deal. He said he had walked away because of unacceptable North Korean demands. Britain's Labour Party backs Brexit referendum

Britain's opposition Labour Party will support a new referendum on Brexit after parliament defeated its alternative plan for leaving the European Union, the party's leader Jeremy Corbyn said. With 29 days left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union, the leaders of Britain's two main parties have been forced into making key turns on the divorce in recent days. China presses tough message to diplomats on Xinjiang's 'murderous devils'

China is taking an increasingly strident tone as it defends its de-radicalization program in western Xinjiang, telling foreign diplomats recently that "absurd preachings" from Islamist extremists there had turned some people into "murderous devils". Beijing has faced growing international opprobrium about camps it has set up in Xinjiang - strategically located on the borders of Central Asia - which China calls education and training centers and many Western countries and rights groups view as internment facilities for ethnic Uighurs and other Muslim peoples. Trump says all Islamic State territory retaken, contradicting allied commander

President Donald Trump told American troops on Thursday that U.S.-backed forces in Syria have retaken 100 percent of the territory once held by Islamic State militants, contradicting the commander of the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces, who said it would take another week. "We just took over, you know, you kept hearing it was 90 percent, 92 percent, the caliphate in Syria. Now it's 100 percent we just took over, 100 percent caliphate," Trump told troops at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson during a refueling stop in Alaska. India welcomes Pakistan's return of captured pilot, as powers urge de-escalation

Indian military officials said on Thursday they welcomed Pakistan's planned return of a captured pilot, but refused to confirm they would de-escalate a conflict between the two nuclear powers. The pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan, became the human face of the flare-up over the contested region of Kashmir following the release of videos showing him being captured and later held in custody. Islamist bomb targets Mogadishu hotel, killing at least 10

A suicide car bombing targeting a Mogadishu hotel by the Islamist group Al Shabaab on Thursday killed at least 10 people and destroyed buildings in the Somali capital's busiest street, police said. It was one of the heaviest blasts to have hit Mogadishu in recent times. Venezuela's Guaido vows to return to Caracas despite threat of prison

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, visiting Brazil to drum up support for his bid to push for a change of government in his country, said on Thursday he will return to Caracas by Monday despite threats of imprisonment. Guaido said the leftist "regime" of President Nicolas Maduro was "weak, lacking support in Venezuela and international recognition."