Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo to visit Ukraine in new year

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he will be traveling to Ukraine and a few other countries in the new year to meet with counterparts there. "Excited to travel to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Cyprus in the new year to meet with counterparts and affirm U.S. priorities across Europe and South Central Asia", Pompeo said in a tweet http://bit.ly/2sxfHai. Merkel, Erdogan and Putin discuss diplomatic solution for Libya

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution for the Libyan conflict in separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose government intends to send troops to Libya, a government spokesman said on Monday. Turkey's foreign minister has warned that the Libyan conflict risks sliding into chaos and becoming the next Syria, as he sought to speed up domestic legislation to allow Ankara to send troops to the North African country. Battle to save Australian wildlife as bushfires rage

A possum severely burnt by bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains laps water from a bowl as her rescuer holds her gently in a towel, while at a nearby home a kangaroo with bandaged feet is rocked like a baby by another carer. As Australia battles wildfires that have razed more than 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) across five states, volunteers are trying to save wild animals caught in the inferno. Spain's state attorney calls for release of jailed Catalan leader

Spain's state attorney called on Monday for the release of Catalan separatist Oriol Junqueras from prison, in what was widely seen as a gesture of political goodwill as the Socialist Party seeks support to form a government. The state attorney's office asked the Spanish Supreme Court to let Junqueras go to Brussels to take his seat as a European MP. He was sentenced in October to 13 years in prison over his role in a failed 2017 bid for Catalan independence. North Korea's Kim stressed armaments, defense industry at key party meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed foreign affairs, armaments and the defense industry at a key ruling Workers' Party meeting on Sunday, state media KCNA said on Monday. Kim convened a meeting of top party officials on Saturday to pore over important policy matters ahead of a year-end deadline he has set for the United States to soften its stance in stalled denuclearization talks. Cyprus court finds 'gang rape' Briton guilty of lying

A Cyprus court on Monday found a British woman guilty of lying about being gang-raped by Israeli youths six months ago. In a case closely followed by rights groups, a district court in the town of Paralimni ruled that the woman, aged 19 at the time, had lied about being sexually abused by 12 Israeli teenagers. Sentencing was set for Jan. 7. Hong Kong to end year with multiple protests, kick off 2020 with big march

Hong Kong will end 2019 with multiple protests planned for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day aimed at disrupting festivities and shopping in the Asian financial hub, which has seen a rise in clashes between police and protesters since Christmas. Events dubbed "Suck the Eve" and "Shop With You" are set for New Year's Eve on Tuesday in areas including the party district of Lan Kwai Fong, the picturesque Victoria Harbour, and popular shopping malls, according to notices on social media. I wouldn't have wasted my time on Trump, says Greta Thunberg

Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg said on Monday that talking to U.S. President Donald Trump at a United Nations summit on global warming would have been a waste of time since he would not have paid any attention. In an interview with BBC radio's Today program, for which she was the guest editor on Monday, Thunberg also said she regarded personal attacks on her as funny and that she hoped to go back to having a normal life. Top Iraq militia chief warns of tough response to U.S. air strikes

A top Iraqi militia leader warned of a strong response against U.S. forces in Iraq following air strikes in Iraq and Syria overnight that hit several bases of his Iranian-backed group and killed at least 25 people. The U.S. military carried out air strikes on Sunday against the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group in response to the killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base, officials said. Turkey fast-tracks bill to deploy troops to Libya

The Turkish government is sending to parliament on Monday a bill mandating the deployment of troops to Libya, said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, accelerating a high-stakes plan that Ankara outlined last week. Last week, President Tayyip Erdogan said his government would seek parliamentary consent to deploy troops to Libya after Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) requested support. The GNA is fending off an offensive by Khalifa Haftar's forces in the east of the North African country.