Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. EU executive seeks to crack down on gender pay gap

The European Union's executive aims to introduce laws to combat gender pay gap across the bloc for the first time ever in a bid to fight inequality and boost the economy, according to a document seen by Reuters ahead of official publication. The European Commission will present on Thursday a list of steps to promote gender equality in the 27-nation bloc, and its strategy said women in the EU earn on average 16% less than men, perpetuating a pension disparity of 30% between the sexes. Coronavirus death toll jumps to 107 in Italy, all schools shut

Italy closed all schools and universities and took other emergency measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's worst-hit country as the death toll and number of cases jumped. The total number of dead in Italy rose to 107 after 28 people died of the highly contagious virus over the past 24 hours, the Civil Protection Agency said. U.S. carries out air strike on Taliban, calls for halt to 'needless attacks'

The United States on Wednesday carried out its first air strike on Taliban fighters in Afghanistan since the two sides signed a troop withdrawal agreement on Saturday. A U.S. forces spokesman confirmed the incident in southern Helmand province, hours after President Donald Trump spoke by phone with chief Taliban negotiator Mullah Baradar Akhund on Tuesday, the first known conversation between a U.S. leader and a top Taliban official. Stranded in southern Mexico, migrants struggle to make U.S. court dates

By the time the first hearing in Yesenia's case for asylum in the United States arrived last month, she was 1,300 miles from the courthouse. The 28-year-old Honduran woman and her family were stranded in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, where they were taken in a Mexican government busing program under what they say were false pretenses. Russia reinforces Syria before Putin-Erdogan talks - flight and shipping data

Russia is racing to reinforce its troops in Syria by sea and air before talks between the Russian and Turkish leaders in Moscow on Thursday, flight data and shipping movements show. The two presidents, Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to meet after a surge in tensions between their countries over fighting in Syria's Idlib province between Russian-backed Syrian government forces and rebels allied to Turkey. Double take as Brazil's Bolsonaro hams it up with impersonator

Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro sent out a trumpet-playing, banana-throwing impersonator to work a crowd in Brasilia on Wednesday, before joining him for a standup routine in one of the most surreal moments of his unorthodox presidency. Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who has vowed to kick-start Brazil's economy and end years of crime and graft, dodged questions on weak economic data during the bizarre scene, which was broadcast live on his Facebook page. Palestinians protest as Israeli bulldozers clear land

Palestinians have launched protests in the occupied West Bank after Israeli bulldozers began clearing land in what villagers fear is an attempt to confiscate it for future Jewish settlements. Scuffles intensified this week as Israeli voters voted in an election, with Palestininans saying settlers had been emboldened by U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East plan and Israeli election rhetoric about annexing settlements. Syria intercepts Israeli missiles over Quneitra countryside: state media

Syrian air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles over Quneitra province in the country's southwest, state media reported early on Thursday. "At 00:30 on Thursday our air defense monitored Israeli warplanes coming from northern occupied Palestine toward Saida, and several missiles were fired from Lebanese airspace toward the central area," state media quoted a military source as saying. 'I'd never felt so vulnerable': Mexican survivors recount attempted femicides

Five years ago, a Mexican woman woke up in a hospital one morning connected to an endotracheal tube and a catheter. She was in so much pain that she barely remembered being brutally beaten by her boyfriend. The woman has assumed the name of Becky Bios because after the attack she wanted to leave behind her old identity, she said. She withheld her legal name. 'Putin's cook' seeks to distance himself from U.S. election meddling

A Russian businessman dubbed "Putin's cook" for his close ties to Russia's president sought in a court filing on Wednesday to distance himself and his company from accusations by American prosecutors of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. The filing by Evgeny Prigozhin marked the first time any corporate representative for St. Petersburg-based Concord Management and Consulting LLC had responded directly to accusations by the U.S. prosecutors that it had unlawfully defied subpoenas in a criminal case against it.