Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Time-lapse shots of Notre-Dame spire may offer clues on blaze

A time lapse camera installed just hours before Monday's devastating blaze at Notre-Dame de Paris may contain vital clues as to what caused the inferno, a French scaffolding company working at the cathedral said on Thursday. Europe Echafaudage was one of five companies contracted to restore the landmark spire, which was timber-framed and towered 295 feet (90 meters), shaping the skyline along the Seine river. The burning spire collapsed in the blaze, crashing through the Cathedral's ceiling. North Korea leader Kim to meet Russia's Putin this month: Kremlin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will travel to Russia in the second half of this month and meet President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The announcement of the upcoming summit comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is pushing for a deal with Kim that would bring an end to nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula. Foxconn's Gou's close China links could weigh on Taiwan election chances

While Foxconn chairman Terry Gou enters Taiwan's rancorous political arena free of any political baggage, he could yet find himself weighed down by connections to Beijing forged during his pragmatic commercial rise. Gou, 68, announced on Wednesday that he would contest Taiwan's 2020 presidential election, seeking to represent the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party - a vote that comes after a period of increasing tension between Beijing and the self-ruled island. Erdogan says to keep up election challenge but Turkey must move on

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday his AK Party would keep up its challenge to the Istanbul election results after the main opposition candidate became mayor, but Turkey needed to end debate on the issue and focus on issues like the economy. After 17 days of objections and recounts, the secularist opposition Republican People's Party new mayor Ekrem Imamoglu took office on Wednesday, despite a pending request by the AKP to annul and repeat mayoral elections in Istanbul. Death toll exceeds 200 in Tripoli fighting: WHO

Some 205 people have been killed, including 18 civilians, and 913 wounded in two weeks of fighting near the Libyan capital of Tripoli, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. Shells slammed into a densely-populated district of Tripoli late on Tuesday, piling misery on civilians from a two-week assault by commander Khalifa Haftar's forces to take Libya's capital from an internationally-backed government. Sporadic violence as millions vote in second phase of India's mammoth election

Millions of voters across swaths of southern India cast ballots early on Thursday in the second phase of a mammoth, staggered general election, as sporadic violence flared in the east and the insurgency-wracked state of Jammu and Kashmir. More than 155 million people are eligible to vote in 95 constituencies in 12 states on Thursday, with results of the election to India's 545-member parliament expected on May 23. Indonesian 'quick counts' underline Widodo poll win, markets rally

The prospect of another five years in office for President Joko Widodo cheered Indonesia's financial markets on Thursday after unofficial election results indicated a comfortable win for the incumbent. The results from private pollsters based on counts of vote samples were in line with opinion polls that predicted a victory for Widodo, raising expectations for a splurge of reforms in his second term. U.N. urges resolving fate of 2,500 foreign children at Syria camp

A senior United Nations relief official called on governments on Thursday to help resolve the fate of 2,500 foreign children being held among 75,000 people at al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria after fleeing Islamic State's last stronghold. "Children should be treated first and foremost as victims. Any solutions must be decided on the basis of the best interest of the child," Panos Moumtzis, U.N. regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, told a Geneva briefing. North Korea calls for Pompeo to be dropped from talks; tests tactical weapon

North Korea said on Thursday it no longer wanted to deal with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and said he should be replaced in talks by someone more mature, hours after it announced its first weapons test since nuclear talks broke down. The North's official KCNA news agency quoted senior foreign ministry official Kwon Jong Gun as warning that no one could predict the situation on the Korean peninsula if the United States did not abandon the "root cause" that compelled North Korea to develop nuclear weapons. U.S. says China steps up campaign to influence Taiwan, including vote

China was stepping up a campaign to exert influence over Taiwan, including its upcoming presidential election, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, at a time of heightened tension between the self-ruled island and Beijing. China has increased military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, whose president, Tsai Ing-wen, Beijing suspects of pushing for the island's formal independence, a red line for China which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.