World Roundup: Rohingya detained; Battle to Brexit; US to oppose UN resolution

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Myanmar holds 106 Rohingya aboard a boat to Malaysia, official says

Myanmar immigration authorities detained 106 Rohingya Muslims aboard a boat off Yangon on Friday, officials said, raising fears of a fresh wave of dangerous voyages after a 2015 crackdown on people smugglers. The boat was bound for Malaysia when authorities stopped it in the early morning some 30 km (20 miles) south of Myanmar's largest city, Kyaw Htay, an immigration officer from Kyauktan township, told Reuters by phone.

UK PM May battles to sell Brexit deal amid rumours of no-confidence vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting for survival on Friday after a draft divorce deal with the European Union provoked the resignations of senior ministers and calls for a vote of no confidence in her leadership. More than two years after the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, it is still unclear how, on what terms or even if it will leave the EU as planned on March 29, 2019.

U.S. prosecutors get an indictment against Wikileaks founder Assange: a court document

American prosecutors have obtained a sealed indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, whose website published thousands of classified U.S. government documents, a U.S. federal court document showed on Thursday. The document, which prosecutors say was filed by mistake, asks a judge to seal documents in a criminal case unrelated to Assange and carries markings indicating it was originally filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia in August.

U.S. to oppose U.N. Golan resolution wins Israeli praise

The United States said it would oppose on Friday for the first time an annual resolution at the United Nations calling on Israel to rescind its authority in the occupied Golan Heights, drawing praise from Israeli officials. The Golan Heights form a buffer between Israel and Syria of about 1,200 square km (460 square miles). Israel captured most of it from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognized internationally.

North Korea's Kim inspects newly developed 'tactical' weapon, releases U.S. prisoner

North Korea's leader publicly inspected a new weapon for the first time in nearly a year, state media reported on Friday, while it also decided to release a U.S. prisoner, sending conflicting signals at a time of sensitive negotiations. Kim Jong Un's visit to the test site of a new "tactical weapon" threatened to sour the diplomatic atmosphere as negotiations between his country and the United States appear to have stalled.

Turkish police detain 12 in probe of rights activist: media

Turkish police detained 12 people, including two prominent academics, on Friday as part of an investigation into leading rights activist and businessman Osman Kavala and his cultural organization, state media said. Pro-government media said they were arrested over the mass protests against Tayyip Erdogan's government which erupted at Istanbul's Gezi Park in May 2013 and spread across Turkey, in what was a major challenge to the new president's rule.

Pence says the South China Sea doesn't belong to any one nation

The South China Sea does not belong to any one nation and the United States will continue to sail and fly wherever international law allows, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday, in a challenge to China which claims the waterway. The United States has conducted a series of "freedom of navigation" exercises in the contested South China Sea, angering China, which says the patrols threaten its sovereignty.

China's Xi makes push into Pacific; scores 'own goal' with a block on media

President Xi Jinping made a push to expand China's influence in the Pacific on Friday, holding a forum with leaders of eight small island countries in Papua New Guinea. But Chinese officials barred most media, including reporters from the Pacific, from the forum at which Xi met leaders from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, as well as Papua New Guinea, in its capital Port Moresby ahead of an APEC summit this weekend.

U.S. peace envoy seeks to reassure Kabul it won't be blocked from talks

The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan is trying to reassure the U.S.-backed government in Kabul that it will not be shut out of a peace process with the Taliban after it complained of being sidelined from talks, officials said on Friday. The U.S. envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, wants representatives of Afghan society to join talks aimed at ending the 17-year war between the Western-backed government and the Islamist Taliban, who were ousted from power by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

Trump's summit no-show draws Asian nations closer together

U.S. President Donald Trump didn't make it to this week's summit of Asian nations in Singapore, but his influence was still keenly felt among the leaders who gathered in the city. One prime minister warned that the trade war between Washington and Beijing could trigger a "domino effect" of protectionist steps by other countries. Another fretted that the international order could splinter into rival blocs.