World News Roundup: Trump says 'Iran did do it'; China denies hit and run; Putin gives China's Xi ice cream

Trump says 'Iran did do it,' as U.S. seeks support on Gulf oil tanker attacks

The United States on Friday blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers at the entrance to the Gulf and said it was seeking international consensus about the threat to shipping, despite Tehran denying involvement in the explosions at sea. Thursday's attacks raised fears of a confrontation in the vital oil shipping route at a time of increased tension between Iran and the United States over U.S. sanctions and military moves in the Middle East, Tehran's proxy groups in the region and its nuclear program.

China denies hit and run as pressure builds on Duterte to speak up

China has rejected Philippine allegations that a Chinese fishing vessel abandoned 22 Filipinos after it sank their boat in the South China Sea, as pressure builds on President Rodrigo Duterte to take a tougher line. China's embassy in Manila said the crew had sought to rescue the Filipino fishermen but fled after being "suddenly besieged by seven or eight Filipino fishing boats".

Russia's Putin gives China's Xi ice cream on his 66th birthday

Chinese President Xi Jinping celebrated his 66th birthday on Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Xi considers a close friend and who gave Xi ice cream as a present, Chinese state media reported. The discussion of senior leaders' private lives is extremely rare in China, and the exact birth dates of most of them are not revealed publicly, as they are considered a state secret.

Anti-graft crusader sworn in as Slovakia's first female president

Anti-corruption campaigner Zuzana Caputova was sworn in as Slovakia's first female president on Saturday, vowing to fight impunity and champion justice in a country shaken by a journalist's murder last year. The killing of Jan Kuciak, who investigated high-level graft cases, and his fiancé at their home last February sparked mass street protests and hit the approval ratings of the governing leftist party Smer.

UK court sets Assange U.S. extradition hearing for February 2020

The full extradition hearing to decide whether Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be sent to the United States to face accusations including spying charges will take place in February next year, a London court ruled on Friday. Assange, 47, faces 18 counts in the U.S. including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.

Bowing to pressure, Hong Kong leader suspends extradition bill

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Saturday indefinitely delayed a proposed law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, in a dramatic retreat after anger over the bill triggered the city's biggest and most violent street protests in decades. The extradition bill, which would have covered Hong Kong's seven million residents as well as foreign and Chinese nationals there, was seen by many as a threat to the rule of law in the former British colony.

Worshippers in hard hats to attend Notre-Dame's first mass since fire

A small congregation wearing hard hats will attend mass at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday, the first service to be held since a fire devastated the Gothic landmark two months ago. Church leaders are keen to show life goes on at the cathedral as donations to help rebuild it trickle in. Less than 10% of the 850 million euros pledged by billionaires, business leaders and others have been received so far, the French government said.

Brexit: Irish PM says no backstop as bad for Ireland as no deal

Ireland will not allow the Northern Ireland "backstop" clause in Britain's EU withdrawal agreement to be dropped because doing so would be as big a threat to the country as Britain leaving without a deal, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday. While it is "alarming" that leading contenders to replace Theresa May as Britain's Prime Minister are increasingly threatening a no-deal Brexit, Ireland was 100 per cent certain the European Union would not allow the backstop to go, he said.

Iran renews nuclear pact ultimatum amid tensions with U.S.

Iran will continue scaling back compliance with a nuclear deal unless other signatories to the pact show "positive signals", the Iranian president said on Saturday as tensions with the United States escalated over tanker attacks in the Gulf region. Iran stopped complying in May with some commitments in the 2015 nuclear deal that was agreed with global powers after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 and ratcheted up sanctions on Tehran.

Spain's conservatives retake Madrid in pact with far-right

A conservative was sworn in on Saturday as Madrid's new mayor, regaining control of the Spanish capital for his People's Party (PP) after forging a rightist coalition involving the anti-immigration Vox group. Spain's municipal elections in May led to a fragmented political landscape, requiring numerous power-sharing deals to form coalition governments and keeping some of the most-voted candidates out of office.