Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Philippines bans two U.S. senators, mulls new visa rules for Americans

The Philippines has banned two U.S. lawmakers from visiting and will introduce tighter entry restrictions for U.S. citizens should Washington enforce sanctions over the detention of a top government critic, the president's spokesman said on Friday. President Rodrigo Duterte will impose a requirement on U.S. nationals to get visas should any Philippine officials involved in the incarceration of Senator Leila de Lima be denied entry to the United States, as sought by U.S. senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy. Thai navy SEAL who took part in cave rescue dies after year-long infection

A Thai navy SEAL who took part in the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand last year has died from a blood infection he contracted during the operation, the Royal Thai Navy said on Friday. Petty Officer Beiret Bureerak had been receiving treatment, but his condition worsened, the navy said in a statement. Timeline: Vladimir Putin - 20 tumultuous years as Russian president or PM

Vladimir Putin was named acting president on Dec. 31, 1999, by then-president Boris Yeltsin. He has been in office as president or prime minister ever since, a period spanning two decades. Here are some highlights of Putin's 20 years in power: Plane crashes after takeoff in Kazakhstan, 12 dead, dozens injured

A passenger plane carrying nearly 100 people crashed soon after take-off near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Friday, slamming into a house in an accident that killed 12 people and injured dozens. The Fokker 100 aircraft, operated by Bek Air, got into trouble shortly after departing from Almaty, the Central Asian country's commercial center, on a pre-dawn flight to the capital Nur-Sultan. Bosnia jails ex-Islamic State fighter for four years

A Bosnian Muslim who pleaded guilty to terrorism charges was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for organizing a terrorist group and fighting for Islamic State (IS) in Syria, a Bosnian court said. Ibro Cufurovic, from the northwestern town of Velika Kladusa, has been in custody since his extradition from Syria in April. He had previously been detained for about two years by a Kurdish militia in Syria. Netanyahu wins party vote in boost ahead of Israeli election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu easily won a vote to keep the Likud party helm, the party said on Friday, in a boost ahead of what is likely to be a hard-fought general election in March. Netanyahu won 72.5% of votes in Thursday's party ballot, against 27.5% for challenger Gideon Saar, who conceded, tweeting that he would now back the incumbent "for the sake of a Likud victory in the (general) election". India security clampdown keeps citizenship law protests under control

India deployed thousands of police and shut down mobile internet services across many cities on Friday to control protests against a new citizenship law, with flashpoint Friday prayers passing largely peacefully. Security was particularly tight in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where 19 people have been killed since the protests began on Dec. 12, out of at least 25 deaths nationwide. Pakistan seizes five suspected al Qaeda militants

Pakistan has arrested five suspected al Qaeda militants planning an attack on security personnel, authorities in the eastern state of Punjab said on Friday. The raid in Gujranwala city hit an important media cell and financing network for the jihadists, Punjab's counter-terrorism department said. Laptops with encrypted data, cell phones, a printing press, explosives, five Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition and cash were found. Exclusive: FBI investigates Briton, others for Epstein links - sources

The FBI is investigating British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and several other people linked to U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. They said a principal focus of the FBI's investigation is Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, and other "people who facilitated" Epstein's allegedly illegal behavior. Russia, China, Iran start joint naval drills in Indian Ocean

Iran, China and Russia began joint naval drills on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, in what Moscow said was an unprecedented exercise in naval cooperation and training. Waters around Iran have become a focus for international tensions, with the United States exerting pressure for Iranian crude oil sales and other trade ties to be cut off.