Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Amnesty urges Hong Kong to probe bloody attack on pro-democracy leader

Rights group Amnesty International has urged Hong Kong authorities to urgently investigate a bloody attack on the leader of one of the biggest pro-democracy groups in the Chinese-ruled city, ahead of a march planned for the weekend. It was the second such attack on Jimmy Sham, head of the Civil Human Rights Front, since protests escalated in the Asian financial hub in mid-June and which, photographs on social media showed, left him in a pool of blood on the street. Britain clinches Brexit deal, Johnson now faces parliament hurdle

Britain clinched an eleventh-hour Brexit deal with the EU on Thursday, more than three years after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the bloc, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson still faces a knife-edge vote in parliament to get it approved. "Where there is a will there is a deal - we have one! It's a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is a testament to our commitment to find solutions," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a tweet a few hours before the start of an EU summit in Brussels. The North Korean history behind Kim Jong Un's mountain horse ride

Whatever westerners thought about images of Kim Jong Un trekking through mountain snows astride a white stallion, the subliminal message sent to North Koreans was to instill confidence that they have a man of strength and destiny holding the reins of power. The Internet was flooded with online jokes and memes after North Korea's state media released the photographs. But for North Koreans steeped in years of tightly controlled messaging from the government, the imagery would have been familiar and full of cultural and political cues. Swedish Academy defends choice for 2019 Nobel literature prize

The Swedish Academy has defended its decision to award the 2019 Nobel Prize for Literature to Austrian writer Peter Handke, saying he had made provocative comments but had not supported bloodshed. Handke's prize has attracted criticism, including from survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre who have called for the academy to revoke the 9 million Swedish crown ($930,000) award it announced last week. Catalan regional chief calls for independence vote after night of violence

Catalonia should hold a new vote on independence from Spain within two years, the head of the region's government said on Thursday in a fresh challenge to Madrid following days of unrest by pro-separatist protesters. Nearly 100 people were injured across the northeastern region on Wednesday in a third day of violence after Spain's Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan leaders to lengthy jail terms over their failed effort to secure independence, with a referendum Madrid ruled was illegal, in 2017. Thai royal barge procession put off 'due to water and weather conditions'

Thailand's royal barge procession in honor of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's coronation this year has been postponed by seven weeks to Dec. 12, a senior government official said on Thursday. The king had been scheduled take part on Oct. 24 in a procession of 52 golden barges shaped like swans and other mythical creatures, along 3.4 km (two miles) of the Chao Phraya river, which winds through the old quarter of the Thai capital, Bangkok. Pence to urge Turkey to halt Syria offensive as threat of further sanctions loom

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will urge Turkey on Thursday to halt its offensive against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria, a day after President Donald Trump threatened heavy sanctions over the operation. Turkey's week-long assault has created a new humanitarian crisis in Syria with 160,000 civilians taking flight, a security alert over thousands of Islamic State fighters abandoned in Kurdish jails, and a political maelstrom at home for Trump. Bangladesh border forces kill Indian guard, wound another, India says

Bangladeshi border forces shot and killed an Indian border guard and wounded another on Thursday after detaining an Indian fisherman, Indian officials said, in a rare reported clash between the two sides. Three Indian fishermen were caught by Bangladeshi officers and two were later released, India's Border Security Force (BSF) said in a statement. Malaysia, Goldman discuss dropping 1MDB charges: top prosecutor to Nikkei

Malaysia is open to more talks with Goldman Sachs after having two rounds of discussions to drop criminal charges against three units of the bank over the 1MDB scandal, the country's top prosecutor told the Nikkei Asian Review. Malaysian and U.S. investigators say about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the now-defunct state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, set up in 2009 by former prime minister Najib Razak. Exclusive: Satellite images reveal China's aircraft carrier 'factory,' analysts say

High-resolution satellite images show that the construction of China's first full-sized aircraft carrier is progressing steadily alongside expansive infrastructure work that analysts say suggests the ship will be the first of several large vessels produced at the site. The images of the Jiangnan shipyard outside Shanghai were taken last month and provided to Reuters by the non-partisan Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), building on satellite photos it obtained in April and September last year.

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