Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. U.N. rights experts cite concern at 'disproportionate' Assange detention

United Nations human rights experts voiced concern on Friday at what they called the "disproportionate sentence" of 50 weeks in prison imposed on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for skipping bail in Britain. Assange is being held in the high-security Belmarsh prison "as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence", the U.N. working group on arbitrary detention said in a statement, adding that this "appears to contravene principles of necessity and proportionality". It described the skipping bail charge as a relatively "minor violation". The real 'King and I' - the story of new Thai king's famous ancestor

Thailand's elaborate coronation ceremonies for King Maha Vajiralongkorn this weekend are steeped in history and a showcase for the kingdom's rich Buddhist culture for the world. Yet for many in the West, the Thai monarchy is still often associated with another king - the character played by Yul Brynner in the 1956 Hollywood musical "The King and I". English voters punish both Britain's main parties for Brexit chaos: early results

English voters used local elections to punish both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party for the deadlock over Brexit, partial results showed on Friday. With just under a third of English local council vote results declared, the Conservative Party had lost 212 councillors and the Labour Party had lost 54 councillors, according to a BBC tally. The Liberal Democrats gained 145. Backstory: Finding some solace amid the bloodshed in Christchurch and Colombo

The island nations of New Zealand and Sri Lanka are separated by some 6,600 miles (10,600 km) of ocean. But in just over a month's time, each has seen mass killings that generated similar headlines. In Christchurch, New Zealand, a man with his finger on the trigger of an AR-15 assault rifle stormed into mosques during Friday prayers on March 15. By the end of it, 51 people who had come to worship in two houses of God were dead. Pentagon warns on risk of Chinese submarines in Arctic

Deepening Chinese activities in the Arctic region could pave the way for a strengthened military presence, including the deployment of submarines to act as deterrents against nuclear attack, the Pentagon said in a report released on Thursday. The assessment is included in the U.S. military's annual report to Congress on China's armed forces and follows Beijing's publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June. Explainer: Who is targeting the Muslim Brotherhood?

U.S. President Donald Trump is working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization, a move that would bring sanctions against one of the Arab world's oldest and most influential Islamist movements. The Brotherhood, founded more than 90 years ago in Egypt, has survived repeated crackdowns at home and has a network of groups across the Middle East, some directly linked to the Egyptian organization and others more loosely affiliated. Diplomats condemn order suspending Ugandan journalists

Diplomats and rights groups condemned Ugandan authorities on Friday for ordering the suspension of more than 30 senior journalists after TV and radio stations covered protests by supporters of a pop star turned politician. Uganda's press regulator told 13 local media groups on Tuesday to suspend news editors, producers and program directors, accusing them of broadcasting "extremist or anarchic messages". Beans or brioche: breakfast is divisive in Libyan conflict

Coffee and a pastry covered in chocolate, honey and almonds or a savory bean stew sandwich with juice or a fizzy drink. What you have for breakfast has come to symbolize the divisions in Libya where regions, tribes, armed groups and towns with different traditions have been vying for power since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011. U.S. to return $200 million in 1MDB funds to Malaysia: sources

U.S. authorities will this month return $200 million stolen from Malaysia's state fund 1MDB, including money from a stake in a luxury New York hotel and from a Hollywood movie producer, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The U.S. Department of Justice, in the biggest ever case in its anti-kleptocracy program, is pursuing billions of dollars it says were misappropriated from 1MDB, a state fund founded by former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. Venezuela's Maduro seeks to display military loyalty in political crisis

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and key military figures made a show of unity in a television broadcast on Thursday, seeking to reject claims by the United States and the opposition that the armed forces high command was prepared to turn on him. Flanked by Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and military operations chief Remigio Ceballos, Maduro said in a dawn national address posted first to social media that the armed forces were "united, cohesive and subordinate to their constitutional mandate," just two days after opposition leader Juan Guaido urged the military to join him to oust Maduro.