Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Syrian troops enter northeastern town after deal with Kurdish forces: state media

Syria's troops have entered a northeastern town, Syrian state media said on Monday, after Washington announced it was abruptly pulling out its forces, and its former Kurdish allies reached a deal with Damascus to help resist a Turkish attack. The abrupt U.S. withdrawal from the eight-year Syrian war, and the potential return of the Syrian army to the Kurdish-controlled northeast, are major victories for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies Russia and Iran. Exclusive: Police chase suspected kingpin of vast Asian meth syndicate

The largest ever task force assembled to fight organized crime in Asia has identified a long-time drug trafficker, a China-born Canadian national, as the suspected kingpin of a crime syndicate that police say dominates the $70 billion-a-year Asia-Pacific drug trade. The suspected syndicate leader is Tse Chi Lop, 55, an ex-convict who formerly lived in Toronto and has moved between Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan in recent years, according to counter-narcotics officers from four countries as well as law enforcement documents reviewed by Reuters. Authorities have not publicly identified Tse as the boss of the drug trafficking group. As options narrow on Syria, Trump prepares to drop sanctions hammer on Turkey

President Donald Trump's administration is set to impose economic sanctions on Ankara, potentially as early as this week, for its incursion into northern Syria, one of the few levers the United States still has over NATO-ally Turkey. Using the U.S. military to stop the Turkish offensive on U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters was never an option, defense officials have said, and Trump asked the Pentagon on Sunday to begin a "deliberate" withdrawal of all U.S. troops from northern Syria. Libyan conflict leaves rubbish mounds smoldering in Tripoli's streets

Mabrouk Ahmed says he has to keep watch into the night to stop people dumping their rubbish on the wide street that runs in front of his home in the south of Libya's capital, Tripoli. A few hundred meters away, next to the concrete supports of an unfinished bridge, mounds of trash piled higher than the passing cars smolder by the roadside. Spain jails Catalan separatist leaders, sparks protests

Spain's Supreme Court on Monday sentenced nine Catalan separatist leaders to between nine and 13 years in prison for sedition over their role in a failed independence bid, triggering protests across the region. Three other defendants, who were also on trial for their involvement in the October 2017 referendum held in spite of a ban and a short-lived independence declaration, were found guilty only of disobedience and not sentenced to prison. Russia arrests four opposition protesters in new police violence case

Russian police have arrested four people on suspicion of assaulting police officers at opposition protests this summer and are looking for two more suspects, the Investigative Committee said on Monday. The opposition-led political protests over a local election in Moscow grew into the biggest sustained protest movement in the Russian capital in years, peaking at around 60,000 people before appearing to lose steam. Poland's nationalists win majority in parliament again, eye court reforms

Poland's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party secured a second term in power in Sunday's parliamentary election, partial results showed on Monday, but fell short of the landslide victory it needs to overhaul the constitution. After four years in power marked by judicial and media reforms that Poland's European partners criticized as subverting democratic norms, PiS campaigned on a promise to enshrine more Catholic and patriotic values in public life. Special Report: The hunt for Asia's El Chapo

He is Asia’s most-wanted man. He is protected by a guard of Thai kickboxers. He flies by private jet. And, police say, he once lost $66 million in a single night at a Macau casino. Tse Chi Lop, a Canadian national born in China, is suspected of leading a vast multinational drug trafficking syndicate formed out of an alliance of five of Asia’s triad groups, according to law enforcement officials. Its members call it simply “The Company.” Police, in a nod to one of Tse’s nicknames, have dubbed it Sam Gor, Cantonese for “Brother Number Three.” Saied supporters hail revival of Tunisia's 2011 revolution after poll

Supporters of retired law professor Kais Saied celebrated into Monday morning after exit polls indicated he won Tunisia's presidential election, a victory they hailed as a revival of the 2011 revolution that brought democracy. Formal results from Sunday's presidential election were expected to be released later on Monday. Saied's opponent, the media mogul Nabil Karoui who spent much of the election campaign period in detention, could launch an appeal if he loses. British pedophile who operated in Malaysia, Cambodia found dead in prison

One of Britain's most prolific child sex offenders, Richard Huckle, has died three years into a life sentence for abusing Malaysian and Cambodian children, Britain's Ministry of Justice said on Monday, with media saying he had been stabbed to death. Huckle, 33, who abused children and babies during a nine year period, was sentenced to life in prison in 2016 after pleading guilty to 71 offences.