Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Heavy gunfire heard at protest in Sudan's capital: live TV

Heavy gunfire was heard at a protest outside the Defence Ministry in Sudan's capital Khartoum on Tuesday, live broadcast by al-Hadath TV showed, and activists said in a statement that security forces were trying to break up the protest by force. Activists said in a statement posted on social media that army soldiers guarding the Ministry were trying to protect the demonstrators. Theresa May heads to France after asking Merkel to help on the Brexit impasse

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday met Angela Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader, to seek support for a new Brexit delay while her ministers tried to break the deadlock in London at crisis talks with the opposition Labour Party. More than a week after the United Kingdom was originally supposed to have left the EU, the weakest British leader in a generation has said Brexit might never happen as she battles to get a divorce deal ratified by a divided parliament. Iran's Khamenei calls U.S. blacklisting of Guards a 'vicious move'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States had made "a vicious move" in designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which he controls, as a foreign terrorist organization, state TV reported on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump designated Iran's Guards a foreign terrorist organization on Monday -- an unprecedented step that will raise tensions in the Middle East. Thousands of protesters reject Algerian interim president

Thousands of protesters rejected the Algerian parliament's choice of an interim president on Tuesday after the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, demanding radical change after decades of domination by the ailing leader's inner circle. The appointment of upper house chairman Abdelkader Bensalah accords with Algeria's constitution but many people oppose him because he is part of a ruling caste that has dominated Algeria since independence from France in 1962. Spain's left-wing parties could win majority in April 28 election: poll

Spain's left-wing parties could win a majority in elections on April 28, although that is not guaranteed, while right-wing parties look set to fall short under any scenario, according to an opinion poll on Tuesday. Spain is facing one of its most bitterly fought parliamentary elections in decades, and polls have been suggesting for weeks that the result is too close to call. Crystal meth and crowded jails: problems mount in Iraqi oil city

The southern Iraqi city of Basra is struggling to cope with a growing drug problem that has overcrowded prisons and strained police resources, only months after violent protests over poor municipal services. Basra's prison system is clogged up and creaking. On a recent day in one police station, Reuters reporters saw about 150 men, their heads shaved, squatting in two small, cramped holding cells. Newly assertive EU faces resistant China at summit

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and European Union institution leaders met in Brussels on Tuesday for an annual EU-China summit that the EU has seized on to pressure Beijing over trade and investment. After years of offering free access to its markets, the EU is losing patience with the slow pace of Beijing's own market liberalization. It is also growing concerned over state-led Chinese companies' dominance of some EU markets and acquisitions of strategic industries. Israelis go to polls to decide on Netanyahu's record reign

Israelis began voting on Tuesday in an election that could hand right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a record fifth term or see him dethroned by an ex-general who has pledged clean government and social cohesion. During the campaign leading up to polling day, the rival parties waged a vitriolic online battle, accusing each other of corruption, fostering bigotry and being soft on security. Suffering grows from Libya conflict, jihadists exploit vacuum

Casualties from the battle for Libya's capital mounted on Tuesday while Islamic State killed three people in a desert town, illustrating how jihadists may exploit renewed chaos. Medical facilities reported 47 people killed and 181 wounded in recent days as eastern forces seek to take Tripoli from an internationally-recognized government, the World Health Organisation said. Attacked by both sides: journalists caught in the crossfire of Kashmir conflict

Most nights in recent weeks, journalist Asif Qureshi’s phone vibrates with a message from a known number of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Pakistan-based militant group that killed 40 Indian paramilitary policemen in a suicide attack in Kashmir in February: "Allah always keeps you in safety and security". "They want to tell us that we are monitoring you," said Qureshi, the Kashmir bureau chief for Delhi-based TV channel ABP News.