Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Exclusive: In rare move, French warship passes through Taiwan Strait

A French warship passed through the strategic Taiwan Strait this month, U.S. officials told Reuters, a rare voyage by a vessel of a European country that is likely to be welcomed by Washington but increase tension with Beijing. The passage, which was confirmed by China, is a sign that U.S. allies are increasingly asserting freedom of navigation in international waterways near China. It could open the door for other allies, such as Japan and Australia, to consider similar operations. Migrants evacuated as confident Tripoli fighters tell Haftar: 'We are coming'

The United Nations on Thursday evacuated more than 350 migrants from a detention center in southern Tripoli where a fierce battle raged as fighters from rival Libyan camps traded rockets and artillery shells. The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by commander Khalifa Haftar, which is allied to a rival government in eastern Libya, has mounted an offensive on Tripoli but has so far failed to breach the city’s southern defenses. Exclusive: U.S. accelerates plan to drastically downsize Kabul embassy - sources

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is accelerating a plan to cut up to half of the workforce at the U.S. embassy in Kabul starting at the end of next month, sparking concern it will undermine the fragile Afghan peace process, U.S. officials and congressional aides said. Pompeo’s order for the largest U.S. diplomatic mission comes about a year earlier than expected, a surprise development given the meager progress in U.S. talks with Taliban militants on an agreement that would pave the way for a U.S. troop withdrawal and an end to America's longest war. Cuba dubs Bolton 'pathological liar' over Venezuela troops charge

Cuba branded U.S. national security adviser John Bolton a "pathological liar" on Thursday for his allegation that it has troops stationed in ally Venezuela and said the latest U.S. sanctions would further hurt but not vanquish the Cuban people. In a speech last week unveiling a tightening of the decades-old U.S. travel and trade embargo on Cuba, Bolton reiterated his charge that its Communist government is propping up Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with thousands of security forces. Sri Lanka revises death toll from attacks down by 100

Sri Lankan officials revised the death toll from Easter Sunday bombings down by about 100 on Thursday, blaming the difficulty in identifying body parts at bomb scenes for the earlier inaccurate number. The new official figure was 253, down from an earlier 359, Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said. He blamed inaccurate data provided by morgues for the discrepancy. Huge crowds join sit-in outside Sudan's defense ministry

A huge crowd massed outside Sudan's Defense Ministry on Thursday to demand civilian rule, a Reuters witness said, challenging the Transitional Military Council that removed President Omar al-Bashir earlier this month to cede power. They were responding to a call by the Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA), the main organizer of protests including a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry compound that began on April 6, for a million people to join the march. Extinction Rebellion protesters glue themselves to London Stock Exchange

Protesters from the environmental group Extinction Rebellion glued themselves to the London Stock Exchange building on Thursday on the final day of protests that have caused mass disruption in the British capital. At London Stock Exchange's headquarters, six protesters dressed in black suits and red ties were blocking the revolving doors of the building. At marathon news conference, Macron launches fight back with tax cuts

At the first major news conference of his presidency, Emmanuel Macron pledged to cut taxes on Thursday and said the French would have to work longer as he outlined his response to months of anti-government protests that have shaken his authority. Speaking in a gilded hall at the Elysee Palace, seated behind a white desk with the French tricolor and European Union flags flanking him, Macron took reporters' questions for nearly two-and-a-half hours, part of an effort to redress the rocky relationship he has developed with the media. North Korean leader says peace on Korean peninsula depends on U.S. attitude: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin peace and security on the Korean peninsula depend entirely on the future U.S. attitude, North Korean state media KCNA said on Friday. Kim's remarks were seen as keeping pressure on the United States to be more flexible in accepting Pyongyang's demands to ease sanctions, compared to the U.S. stance during his unsuccessful second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in February. UK's Prince William meets survivors of Christchurch mosque shootings

Britain's Prince William met survivors of a deadly shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, including a five-year-old girl recovering in hospital, during a two-day visit to New Zealand. William, the Duke of Cambridge, was making the trip on behalf of his 93-year-old grandmother Queen Elizabeth, New Zealand's head of state, following a request from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.