Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Czechs pick Bell for $622 million army helicopter deal

The Czech Republic will buy 12 military helicopters from U.S. maker Bell in a deal priced at 14.5 billion crowns ($622 million), Defence Minister Lubomir Metnar said on Thursday. The Czech Republic, a NATO member, has pledged to raise defense spending to 1.4% of gross domestic product in 2021 and 2% by 2024, from 1.2% this year.

Italy's president wants quick deal on forging new government

Italy's head of state wants political parties to reach a deal to form a new coalition government in the next few days if they want to avoid snap elections, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The euro zone's third-largest economy is in political turmoil after its government, riven by months of infighting, collapsed this week, forcing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to resign just as Rome was to begin preparing the 2020 budget.

Bangladesh bid to repatriate Rohingya stalls as refugees refuse to return to Myanmar

An attempt to begin repatriating thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in camps in Bangladesh stalled on Thursday after nearly 300 refugee families refused to go back to Myanmar, almost a year after a similar effort failed amid protests. Last week, the neighbors said they had agreed Aug. 22 as the start date for the return of 3,450 people cleared by Myanmar, of more than 730,000 who fled a military crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017, and now shelter in the sprawling camps.

Slovenia erects more border fence to curb migrant inflow

Slovenia has begun work on an additional stretch of fence along its southern border with Croatia with which it aims to keep out a rising number of migrants entering the country illegally. Slovenia's police registered 7,415 illegal migrants in the first seven months of this year, a jump of 56% compared to the same period of 2018 as more people are try to reach wealthy Western states via the Balkans.

Iran ready to work on French nuclear deal proposals, does not want war: foreign minister

Iran is prepared to work on French proposals to salvage the international nuclear deal that Tehran signed with world powers in 2015 but it will not tolerate U.S. interference in the Gulf, its foreign minister said on Thursday. At a time of heightened friction between Tehran and Washington, Iran also on Thursday displayed what it described as a domestically built long-range, surface-to-air missile air defense system.

Immigration to Britain falls to five-year low ahead of Brexit: ONS

Net immigration to Britain sank to its lowest since 2013 during the year to the end of March, driven by a sustained fall in the number of immigrants from the European Union since 2016's Brexit referendum, official figures showed on Thursday. Rising immigration was a major public concern when Britain voted to leave the EU, though it has since dropped down people's list of worries. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government plans to introduce restrictions on EU migration as after Britain leaves the bloc on Oct. 31.

Syrian army opens corridor for people to leave rebel bastion: state media

Syrian government forces opened a corridor on Thursday for people who want to leave insurgent territory in northwest Syria, where an army offensive has gained ground, state media said. Ten of thousands of people have fled towards the Turkish border in recent days as air and ground attacks battered parts of Idlib and Hama in the northwest, the last big rebel stronghold.

Banks call for order in Hong Kong as jewelers warn of trade fair dud

Hong Kong banks published full-page newspaper ads calling for law and order in the Chinese-ruled city and international jewelers sought the rescheduling of a huge trade fair as weeks of pro-democracy protests showed no sign of let-up on Thursday. Thousands held a scrappy anti-government protest on Wednesday at a suburban subway station where demonstrators were attacked by a mob of white-shirted men last month.

South Korea to scrap intelligence-sharing pact with Japan amid history feud

South Korea said on Thursday it will scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, a decision that could escalate a dispute over history and trade and undercut security cooperation on North Korea. With the decision not to extend the pact, the political and trade disputes between South Korea and Japan now extend into some of the most sensitive national security issues in the region.

France's Macron tells Johnson: not enough time for a new Brexit deal

French President Emmanuel Macron firmly told Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday that there was not enough time to negotiate a wholly new Brexit divorce deal. On his first foreign trip since winning the premiership a month ago, Johnson warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Macron that they will face a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 unless the European Union does a new deal.