Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Trump's criticism of U.S.-Japan security pact could be headache for Abe

President Donald Trump's call for changes to the decades-old U.S.-Japan security treaty could complicate Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to revise Japan's pacifist constitution. Trump told a news conference on Saturday after a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan that the 1960 treaty - the linchpin of Japan's defense policies - was "unfair" and should be changed. He added he was not thinking of withdrawing from the pact.

Hong Kong protests descend into chaos in direct challenge to China

Hong Kong protesters stormed the legislature on the anniversary of the city's 1997 return to Chinese rule on Monday in a direct challenge to Beijing, amid widespread anger over laws that would allow extraditions to China. A small group of mostly students wearing hard hats and masks used a metal trolley, poles and pieces of scaffolding to charge again and again at the compound's reinforced glass doors, which finally gave.

Errant missile from Syria-Israel clash lands on Cyprus

An errant missile struck Cyprus early on Monday, skimming the densely populated capital Nicosia and crashing on a mountainside in what authorities described as a spillover from strikes between Israel and Syria. The explosion occurred around 1 a.m. (2200 GMT Sunday) in the region of Tashkent, also known as Vouno, some 20 kms (12 miles) northeast of Nicosia, with the impact starting a fire and heard for miles around.

German armed forces helicopter has crashed in northern Germany: media

A German armed forces helicopter has crashed in northern Germany, several media reported on Monday, with Bild newspaper saying at least one person was dead. The incident comes after one pilot was killed and another managed to parachute to safety after two unarmed German Eurofighter jets collided over northeastern Germany last Monday.

EU leaders suspend talks without deal on top jobs, Macron fumes

EU leaders suspended a summit on Monday after 20 hours of talks failed to produce a deal on who should get the bloc's top jobs, prompting anger from French President Emmanuel Macron who said Europe's indecision was hurting its image abroad. Their inability to find consensus candidates during marathon negotiations that ran through the night reflected the fragmented state of the bloc's parliament, and underlined the problems in reaching a common position on issues from migration to climate change that have grown as the bloc has expanded.

Iran says it has breached 2015 nuclear deal's stockpile limit

Iran has breached the limit of its enriched uranium stockpile set in a 2015 deal with major powers, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday, according to the ISNA news agency, defying a warning by European co-signatories to stick to the deal despite U.S. sanctions. Zarif confirmed that Iran had exceeded the relevant limit of 300 kg of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), but Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran's steps to decrease its commitments to the nuclear deal were "reversible".

In new talks, U.S. and North Korea to face old disagreements

When nuclear talks resume after Sunday's off-the-cuff meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the inter-Korean border, negotiators will be revisiting old disagreements that have scuttled previous talks. Trump and Kim agreed to set up teams to hold working-level talks, which have stalled since a second summit in February in Vietnamese capital Hanoi failed to agree on U.S. calls for denuclearisation and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

Gun battle rages in Afghan capital after Taliban blast injures 100

Afghan security forces on Monday were battling Taliban gunmen who stormed a building in the capital, Kabul, after a bomb-laden truck exploded near the defense ministry at rush hour, injuring at least 100 people, including 51 children, officials said. Sporadic gunfire and explosions could be heard in the area where at least three gunman had entered a building near the defense ministry, a security official said.

Israeli spymaster says "one-time" chance for peace with Arabs sharing Iran worries

Israel and U.S.-aligned Arab countries have what might be a unique chance to forge a regional peace deal given their shared worries about Iran, the chief of Israel's Mossad spy service said on Monday. In a rare public appearance, Joseph (Yossi) Cohen said his agency had formed a task force designed to spot peacemaking opportunities in a region where only two Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, have full ties with Israel.

North Korea upbeat on Trump-Kim surprise meeting as a chance to push nuclear talks

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed at their meeting on Sunday to push forward dialogue for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, North Korean state media said on Monday. Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea on Sunday when he met Kim in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks.