Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Sultan Qaboos ushered in Oman renaissance, quiet diplomacy

Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who died late on Friday, transformed Oman during his 49-year reign from a poverty-stricken country torn by dissent into a prosperous state and an internationally trusted mediator for some of the region's thorniest issues. He became sultan in July 1970 after deposing his father in a palace coup with the aim of ending the country's isolation and using its oil revenue for modernization and development. Explainer: Reading 'black boxes' of Ukrainian jet that crashed in Iran

Iran is examining 'black boxes' from a Ukrainian jet that crashed on Wednesday in a fireball shortly after taking off from Tehran, sparking an international hunt for clues amid Western claims that the jet had been brought down accidentally by Iranian missiles. WHAT ARE BLACK BOXES? Iran's Zarif says Ukrainian plane crash caused by human error and 'U.S. adventurism'

The Ukrainian plane crash earlier this week was caused by human error and "U.S. adventurism", Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Saturday. "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster," Zarif wrote on Twitter. "Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations." Washington spurns Iraqi call to remove troops

Washington on Friday spurned an Iraqi request to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions after the U.S. killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad, and said it was exploring a possible expansion of NATO's presence there. Seeking to tighten pressure on its foe, the United States meanwhile imposed more sanctions on Iran, responding to an attack on U.S. troops in Iraq launched by Tehran in retaliation for the death of General Qassem Soleimani. Twelve dead, 21 rescued as migrant boat sinks off Greek island

At least twelve people drowned when their boat sank off an island in western Greece on Saturday, Greek authorities said, marking the deadliest toll in months in Greece's migrant crisis. Twenty one people were rescued, the coastguard said. Death toll in Pakistan mosque bombing claimed by Islamic State rises to 15

The death toll from the bombing of a mosque in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta rose to 15 on Saturday, officials said, in an escalation of militant violence. An improvised explosive device ripped through the mosque during Friday evening prayers, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20, police said. Australian bushfires ease, promise reprieve to build defenses

Bushfire conditions eased in Australia on Saturday after a grueling night for firefighters, with authorities saying they expect at least a week of milder weather in which to step up defenses against the huge blazes still burning. Cooler temperatures and rainfall had eased conditions after Friday's strong southerly wind change that packed gusts of more than 100 kph (60 mph), whipping some fires on the east coast up to the emergency warning level. Malta ruling party members vote to elect new leader and PM

Members of Malta's ruling Labour Party voted on Saturday to elect a new leader to succeed Prime Minister Joseph Muscat who is stepping down following an investigation into the 2017 murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Muscat is not directly implicated in the case but announced his resignation last month after testimony by the self-confessed middleman in the murder plot linked people in his inner circle to attempts at an alleged cover-up. Taiwan president takes early lead in election closely watched by China

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took an early lead on Saturday in vote counting for a presidential election that will be closely watched by Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its own, in the shadow of anti-government protests in Hong Kong. One hour after polls closed at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) Tsai led her main opponent Han Kuo-yu from the opposition Kuomintang party by more than 500,000 votes, according to an initial vote tally by three Taiwanese television stations. Canada, under pressure at home over plane crash, warns Iran world is watching

The Canadian government, under pressure at home to be tougher on Iran over intelligence reports it shot down a passenger jet, on Friday reiterated calls for a full probe into the disaster and warned Tehran that "the world is watching". Friends and families of some of the Canadians killed when a Ukrainian airliner crashed outside Tehran are demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take a harder stance after accusing Iran of downing the plane, albeit probably by mistake. Iran denies the charge.