Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Let's give Merkel coalition a chance, says incoming German SPD boss

The incoming leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) said on Friday she was skeptical that their ruling coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives would survive but she was ready to give it a chance. SPD members last Saturday chose two critics of the coalition with Merkel to co-head their party after months of turmoil and dismal performances in regional and European elections. Many party members want to quit government and rebuild in opposition. Labour leader makes Brexit offensive ahead of UK election showdown

British opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn went on the Brexit offensive on Friday, seeking to hit back at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's main campaign message as they both prepared for a final TV showdown ahead of next week's election. Polls show Johnson's Conservative Party is well ahead of Labour six days before Britons vote in an election which could finally resolve the impasse over Britain's departure from the European Union, three years after a divisive referendum. Indian police kill four men suspected of rape, murder, drawing applause and concern

Indian police shot dead four men on Friday who were suspected of raping and killing a 27-year-old veterinarian near Hyderabad city, an action applauded by her family and many citizens outraged over sexual violence against women. However, some rights groups and politicians criticized the killings, saying they were concerned the judicial process had been sidestepped. With sorrow and anger, clans mourn kin gunned down on bridge in southern Iraq

A short distance from a bridge in southern Nassiriya where Iraqi security forces gunned down their friends, young women and men set out rows of mock coffins, each draped in an Iraqi flag with pictures of the slain protesters taped on. Murtadha Jodeh, a 25-year-old demonstrator who witnessed the killings that took place before dawn on Thursday last week, walked between more than 40 coffins laid out in three lines on the tarmac. The Lady and The Hague: Myanmar leader Suu Kyi courts home audience

The last time Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi traveled to western Europe, she was feted as the freshly elected civilian ruler of a fledgling democracy who had brought an end to half a century of military dictatorship. When the Nobel peace prize laureate returns next week, her first trip to the region since a 2017 military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar, it will be to face accusations of genocide, alongside the army she spent much of her life battling. Activist Thunberg completes intercontinental dash to Madrid climate summit

Greeted by a group of singing young activists and the massed ranks of the world's media, Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg arrived at the U.N. climate summit in Madrid on Friday, having taken a catamaran, train and electric car to reach the venue. The quietly spoken 16-year-old, who has become the global face of public anger over climate change, has already emerged as the star of the two-week talks, even before addressing the gathering. Hong Kong police chief calls for peaceful weekend protest

Hong Kong's police chief urged people to demonstrate peacefully on Sunday, when organizers expect a large turnout for a pro-democracy march intended to show the movement still has strong momentum. Police have given a rare green light to the demonstration, organized by the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the group that called the largely peaceful million-strong marches in the summer. Lebanon appeals for import aid; France to hold meeting

Lebanon said on Friday it had asked friendly states to help finance imports of essential goods, as sources said France is planning an international meeting to mobilize support for its former colony's deep economic crisis. Caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said that his office had sent an appeal for assistance in securing credit for imports of food and raw materials for manufacturing. Swedish Academy member to boycott Nobel week over Handke prize

A member of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel literature prize, said on Friday he would boycott this year's celebrations in protest at the award being given to Austrian writer Peter Handke, a supporter of Serbia's late president. The Academy has been criticized for its choice of Handke over his support for Slobodan Milosevic, who died while in detention awaiting trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague for his role in Balkan wars of the 1990s. French strike against Macron reforms enters day two

A strike that crippled public transport and closed schools across France entered a second day on Friday, with trade unions saying they planned to keep going until President Emmanuel Macron backs down from a planned reform of pensions. The strike pits Macron, a 41-year-old former investment banker who came to power in 2017 on a promise to open up France's highly regulated economy, against powerful trade unions who say he is set on dismantling worker protections.