Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Indonesia seeds clouds to keep them away from flooded capital

Indonesia's air force seeded clouds with salt on Friday to try to stop rainfall reaching the slowing sinking capital after deadly flash floods and landslides triggered by some of the heaviest rain ever recorded. The death toll in Jakarta and surrounding areas rose to 43 as of Friday, the disaster mitigation agency said, while tens of thousands of people have been displaced. Eight migrants die after boat sinks off western Turkey: interior ministry

Eight people, including three women, died after a boat carrying 15 migrants sank off the coast of western Turkey, the interior ministry said on Friday. The boat sank on Thursday off the coast of Fethiye district in Mugla province, it said, adding that the others were missing and a search was underway. Soleimani was Iran's celebrity soldier, spearhead in Middle East

Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, the top commander of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, helped Iran fight proxy wars across the Middle East by inspiring militias on the battlefield and negotiating with political leaders. His death on Friday in a U.S. air strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport marked the end of a man who was a celebrity at home and closely watched by the United States, Israel and Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia. Flights suspended in Libya's capital due to rocket fire, says official

Flights were suspended until further notice at the only functioning airport in Libya's capital Tripoli on Friday due to rockets falling nearby, an airport official said. The closure of Mitiga Airport comes a day after Turkey's parliament voted to allow a troop deployment to Libya, deepening fears of an escalation of fighting in the North African country. Greece, Israel and Cyprus call Turkey's planned Libya deployment 'dangerous escalation'

Turkey's bill allowing troop deployment in Libya marks a dangerous escalation in the North African country's civil war and severely threatens stability in the region, a joint statement by Greece, Israel and Cyprus said late on Thursday. "This decision constitutes a gross violation of the UNSC resolution...imposing an arms embargo in Libya and seriously undermines the international community's efforts to find a peaceful, political solution to the Libyan conflict," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said in the statement. Pakistan government introduces bill to extend army chief's tenure

Pakistan's government on Friday introduced legislation to extend the tenure of the army chief in line with a Supreme Court order that it must justify its wish to see the top commander stay on in the job for an extra three years. The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan approved an extension for General Qamar Javed Bajwa in August, citing a worsening national security situation in the region over its rivalry with India. Australia urges people to flee as fires set to surge at weekend

Authorities urged Australians on Friday to evacuate parts of the eastern states of Victoria and New South Wales to escape bushfires they fear are set to burn out of control this weekend. In a harbinger of the searing conditions expected, a number of fires burnt out of control in South Australia as temperatures topped 40 degrees C (104 F) across much of the state and strong winds fanned flames. Iran vows to avenge U.S. killing of top commander Soleimani

Iran threatened to retaliate after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's elite Quds Force and architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East. Soleimani, a 62-year-old general, was regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indonesia boosts patrols after Chinese boat 'trespasses' in its waters

Indonesia has increased patrols around islands near the disputed South China Sea after a Chinese coast guard vessel "trespassed" into Indonesia's exclusive economic zone, authorities said on Friday. The Chinese vessel entered waters off the coast of the northern Natuna islands in mid-December, leading Indonesian foreign ministry to issue a “strong protest” and summon the Chinese ambassador in Jakarta. France opens rape investigation after book accuses famed writer of child abuse

The French public prosecutor's office said on Friday it was opening a probe into allegations of rape of a child after a woman published a book saying that she had been sexually abused by a prominent author when she was 14. Vanessa Springora, 47, head of the Julliard publishing house, made the allegation in her book Le Consentement (Consent).