Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. EU offers PM May Brexit pause to October 31

European Union leaders agreed to grant British Prime Minister Theresa May a new Brexit deadline of Oct. 31, officials said, after French President Emmanuel Macron opposed efforts to give her another year. "A Brexit extension until 31 October is sensible since it gives time to UK to finally choose its way," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat tweeted, adding that a summit in June would let EU leaders "take stock of the situation". Nicaraguan bishop, a vocal Ortega critic, says he was target of assassination plot

A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua who has been a sharp critic of the government of President Daniel Ortega said he had been the target of an assassination plot last year and that Pope Francis had invited him to relocate to Rome. The cleric, Monsignor Silvio Baez, revealed details of the plot on Wednesday during a news conference. Fact-checkers vs. hoax peddlers: a fake news battle ahead of Indonesia’s election

Armed with laptops, three dozen journalists and fact-checkers braced for battle before a live debate between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his challenger, Prabowo Subianto. With two giant screens displaying television network feeds in front of them, the keyboard warriors split into six groups, each responsible for fact-checking a segment of the debate. Exclusive: Egypt withdraws from U.S.-led anti-Iran security initiative - sources

Egypt has pulled out of the U.S. effort to forge an "Arab NATO" with key Arab allies, according to four sources familiar with the decision, in a blow to the Trump administration's strategy to contain Iranian power. Egypt conveyed its decision to the United States and other participants in the proposed Middle East Security Alliance, or MESA, ahead of a meeting held Sunday in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, one source said. North Korea's Kim says must deliver 'serious blow' to those imposing sanctions: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country needs to deliver a "serious blow" to those imposing sanctions by ensuring its economy is more self-reliant, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday. It was the first time Kim stated North Korea's position on the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi that collapsed in February, and signaled a continued focus on economic development, a strategic direction officially declared a priority last April. In leaky White House, Trump team keeps Middle East peace plan secret

In a White House where no secret is safe for long, one development has remained stubbornly confidential - the contents of a Middle East peace plan authored by President Donald Trump's advisers Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt. With Trump having delighted Israelis and angered Palestinians by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and moving the American Embassy to the holy city last May, a U.S.-brokered peace deal may seem farther away now than when talks collapsed five years ago. UK man who fled to Georgia after speedboat death returns to Britain

A British man who went on the run last year after killing a woman in a speedboat crash on the River Thames has returned to Britain after being extradited from the former Soviet state of Georgia, UK prosecutors said on Wednesday. Jack Shepherd, 31, was convicted in his absence last July of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Charlotte Brown, 24, and sentenced to six years in jail. Israel's Netanyahu wins re-election, main challenger concedes defeat

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a clear path to re-election on Wednesday, with religious-rightist parties set to hand him a parliamentary majority and his main challenger conceding defeat. With more than 99 percent of votes counted - ballots cast by soldiers at military bases will be tallied over the next two days - Netanyahu's conservative Likud party looked likely to muster enough support to control 65 of the Knesset's 120 seats and be named to head the next coalition government. U.S. wants U.N. to revoke credentials of Maduro's government

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called on the United Nations on Wednesday to revoke the U.N. credentials of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government and recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate leader. He said the United States had drafted a U.N. resolution and called on all states to support it. Thousands flee Tripoli homes as battle rages on outskirts

Eastern-based forces battled troops loyal to the Tripoli government in the outskirts of Libya's capital on Wednesday as thousands of residents fled the fighting. The Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar held positions in the suburbs about 11 km (7 miles) south of the city center. Steel shipping containers, sand barriers and pickups with mounted machine-guns blocked their way into the capital.