Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Myanmar president hails 'historic' visit as China's Xi arrives to fanfare

Chinese President Xi Jinping flew into Myanmar on Friday for two days of talks to shore up massive infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian nation isolated by the West over its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority. State counselor Aung San Suu Kyi greeted him with a handshake on the steps of the presidential palace after a ceremonial welcome by the president and a military marching band, on the first day of a two-day visit, Xi's first as leader and the first of any Chinese president in 19 years.

German foreign ministry backtracks after sense of humor failure

Social media can be a minefield for the strait-laced world of diplomacy, as the German Foreign Office just found out, when it was forced to delete a tweet and apologize for its contribution to a mildly off-color Twitter meme. The meme was the hashtag #SeduceSomeonein4Words. Submissions on Thursday ranged from "You hungry? I'm cooking" to "Donald Trump Is Impeached". Then @GermanyDiplo, the foreign ministry's English-language channel, came up with "Your visa got approved".

Australia's bushfire-stricken east welcomes drenching rain

Intense thunderstorms with heavy rains dampened bushfires on Australia's east coast on Friday, to the relief of exhausted firefighters and farmers battling years of drought, and granting a reprieve to the organisers of next week's Australian Open. Australia, famous for its pristine beaches and wildlife, has been fighting bushfires since September, with fires killing 29 people and millions of animals, and destroying more than 2,500 homes while razing an area roughly a third the size of Germany.

Pain still acute as Hungary's Jews mark liberation of Budapest ghetto

Hungarian Jews on Friday marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Budapest ghetto and the end of the Holocaust, which killed more than 500,000 Jews and destroyed a once-vibrant Jewish culture across Hungary. "I lost 49 family members," survivor Eva Fahidi told a small crowd at the Holocaust Memorial Wall, part of the wall that once surrounded the ghetto in central Budapest. "I was 19 years old and suddenly so hated anything could be done to me."

U.S. ambassador becomes mustachioed face of South Korean discontent

The U.S. ambassador to South Korea drew criticism from the highest levels of government in Seoul on Friday for suggesting that Seoul consult with Washington about the possibility of reopening tourism with North Korea. U.S. ambassador Harry Harris has even been criticized by some local media and anti-U.S. activists over his moustache, which they have compared with those of officials in the Japanese colonial government that ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945.

Ukrainian PM offers to quit after tape suggests he criticized president

Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation on Friday after an audio recording suggested he had criticized the president, but then appeared to suggest that he might stay in his job. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would consider the resignation letter later on Friday, the president's office said.

Don't turn plane crash into political issue: Iran foreign ministry spokesman

All countries involved in the Ukrainian airliner crash in Iran should avoid turning it into a political issue, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday. "We request all sides not to make human issues, particularly this tragic accident, into an excuse for political gestures," Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iran can take fight beyond its borders, Khamenei says after U.S. strike, unrest

The Revolutionary Guards can take their fight beyond Iran's borders, the supreme leader said on Friday, responding to the U.S. killing of a top general and to unrest at home over the accidental downing of an airliner. In his first Friday prayers sermon in eight years, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also told thousands of Iranians who chanted "Death to America" that European states could not be trusted after they launched a nuclear agreement dispute mechanism.

U.S. warship transits Taiwan Strait less than week after election

A U.S. warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, the island's defense ministry said, less than a week after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election by a landslide on a platform of standing up to China which claims the island. The ship sailed in a northerly direction through the sensitive waterway and Taiwan's armed forces monitored it throughout, the ministry said in a brief statement on Friday, describing the sailing as an "ordinary mission".

Taliban open to 10-day ceasefire with U.S., talks with Afghan government: sources

The Taliban will implement a 10-day ceasefire with U.S. troops, a reduction in violence with Afghan forces and discussions with Afghan government officials if it reaches a deal with U.S. negotiators in talks in Doha, two sources have said. If an agreement is sealed, it could revive hopes for a long-term solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.