Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. EU gives May till October for Brexit, seeking clarity

European Union leaders gave Britain six more months to leave the bloc, more than Prime Minister Theresa May says she needs but less than many in the bloc wanted, thanks to fierce resistance from France. The summit deal in Brussels in the early hours of Thursday meant Britain will not crash out on Friday without a treaty to smooth its passage. But it offers little clarity on when, how or even if Brexit will happen, as May struggles to build support in parliament for withdrawal terms agreed with the EU last year. Frail-looking Assange arrested in London after seven years in Ecuador embassy

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by British police and carried out of the Ecuadorean embassy on Thursday after his South American hosts abruptly revoked his seven-year asylum, paving the way for his possible extradition to the United States. An agitated, frail-looking Assange with white hair and a white beard was carried out of the embassy by at least seven men to a waiting police van. Libya fighting kills 56, European powers jostle over conflict

Fighting between eastern Libyan forces and Tripoli government troops killed 56 people and forced 6,000 to flee their homes in the capital in the last week, the United Nations said on Thursday, as France and Italy wrangled over how to respond to the renewed conflict. After sweeping up from the south, the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of Khalifa Haftar have been blocked in the southern suburbs of Tripoli about 11 km (7 miles) from the center. Daunting salvage task awaits Japanese F-35 investigators baffled by crash

Two days after one of Japan's F-35 stealth fighters plunged into the Pacific and no closer to finding out why it happened, investigators face a daunting task to recover what remains of the highly classified jet from the ocean depths. Air Self Defense Force (ASDF) investigators have found small sections of the F-35's wing floating in the sea which suggests the advanced aircraft hit the water, but not why it disappeared from radar screens without warning. Sexual revolution of 1960s led to Church abuse crisis, ex-pope says

Former Pope Benedict has blamed the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal on the effects of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and a general collapse in morality. Critics accused him of trying to shift blame away from the Church. Snipers, starvation and death: IS 'caliphate' ended in bloodbath

Even when U.S. coalition air strikes and artillery paused for people to evacuate during lulls in fighting, the killing did not stop in Islamic State's final enclave. Snipers in areas controlled by Syria's government near the village of Baghouz picked off women and children fetching water from the river or climbing the small hill to seek medical help in Kurdish-controlled territory, survivors said. Stranded migrant boat appeals to Europe for port after eight days at sea

A charity ship with scores of African migrants on board appealed to European states for a safe port on Thursday after being stranded for eight days between Malta and Italy, saying the health of the rescued people was worsening. Rome and Valletta denied the Alan Kurdi ship entry into their waters after the vessel, managed by German humanitarian organization Sea-Eye, rescued 64 migrants off the Libyan coast on April 3. Big turnout for India's giant election, where Modi has an edge

Indians voted enthusiastically on Thursday at the start of a mammoth general election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a second term after campaigning fervently on a plank of national security, following tension with neighboring Pakistan. People trekked, rode bicycles and drove tractors to polling stations in the world's biggest democratic exercise, with nearly 900 million eligible to vote during seven phases of balloting spread over 39 days, and vote-counting set for May 23. Sudan's Bashir ousted by military and placed under arrest

President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for 30 years, was on Thursday overthrown in a coup by the armed forces which announced a two-year period of military rule to be followed by elections. In an address on state television, Defence Minister Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf said Bashir, 75, was under arrest in a "safe place" and a military council was now running the country. Why Spain's election is so open, and how it may pan out

Spain is gearing up for one of its most tightly contested national elections in decades, with the result too close to call and at least five parties from across the political spectrum with a shot at being in government. The April 28 ballot is set to mark a number of firsts: the first far-right lawmakers in nearly four decades, the first coalition government since Spain's return to democracy and the first time since the financial crisis that the economy is not a top issue.