World News Roundup: Brexit deal in next few days?; Gaza-Israel hostilities flare with rockets

UK politicians can reach Brexit deal in next few days: Scottish Conservative leader

A Brexit deal could be reached by negotiators from Britain's Conservative and Labour parties within a few days, the leader of Scotland's Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said. "We are getting closer and closer. There is not that much between the two main parties as I understand it within the room," she told reporters at a party conference in Aberdeen.

North Korea fires 'projectiles', South Korea says stop raising tensions

North Korea fired several "unidentified short-range projectiles" into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, prompting South Korea to call on its communist neighbor to "stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula". The South Korean military initially described it as a missile launch, but subsequently gave a more vague description. The latest firing came after the North's test of what it called a tactical guided weapons system in April.

Gaza-Israel hostilities flare with rocket attacks, air strikes

Gaza militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday and an Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian gunman as hostilities flared across the border for a second day. The escalation began on Friday, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by Gaza gunfire near the border. A retaliatory Israeli air strike killed two militants from the Islamist Hamas group that governs Gaza. Two other Palestinians protesting near the frontier were also killed by Israeli forces.

China putting minority Muslims in 'concentration camps,' U.S. says

The United States accused China on Friday of putting well more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," in some of the strongest U.S. condemnation to date of what it calls Beijing's mass detention of mostly Muslim Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. The comments by Randall Schriver, who leads Asia policy at the U.S. Defense Department, are likely to increase tension with Beijing, which is sensitive to international criticism and describes the sites as vocational education training centers aimed at stemming the threat of Islamic extremism.

'I shall reign with righteousness': Thailand crowns king in ornate ceremonies

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Saturday completed Buddhist and Brahmin rituals to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The coronation of King Vajiralongkorn, 66, took place inside the Grand Palace throne hall in Bangkok after a period of official mourning for his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October 2016 having reigned for 70 years.

UK Conservatives look for Brexit compromise after local poll losses

Britain's governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, senior ministers said on Saturday. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1,332 seats on English local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

South Africa's largest opposition party promises to lead coalitions, tackle racism

South Africa's largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), although heading for defeat in May 8 national elections, pledged to forge coalitions with smaller parties to break the dominance of the ruling ANC, especially at the local level. South Africans vote for a sixth time since the end of apartheid in 1994, and while an all-out victory for the ruling African National Congress is almost certain, the margin of its majority is set to drop following a decade of weak economic growth and a rise in racial tensions.

Iran must resist U.S. sanctions through oil, non-oil exports: Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday Iran must counter U.S. sanctions by continuing to export its oil as well as boosting non-oil exports. Rouhani's comments, carried live on Iranian TV, came a day after Washington acted to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting its ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power.

Nine soldiers killed in south Libya attack on Haftar camp: hospital

Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said. The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Cyclone Fani kills at least 12 dead in India before swiping Bangladesh

The strongest cyclone to hit India in five years killed at least 12 people in eastern Odisha state, before swinging north-eastwards into Bangladesh on Saturday where more than a million people have been moved to safety. Having hit land, tropical cyclone Fani had lost some of its power and was downgraded to a 'Deep Depression' by the Indian Meteorological Department.

(With inputs from agencies.)