Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

As options narrow on Syria, Trump prepares to drop sanctions hammer on Turkey

President Donald Trump's administration is set to impose economic sanctions on Ankara, potentially as early as this week, for its incursion into northern Syria, one of the few levers the United States still has over NATO-ally Turkey. Using the U.S. military to stop the Turkish offensive on U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters was never an option, defense officials have said, and Trump asked the Pentagon on Sunday to begin a "deliberate" withdrawal of all U.S. troops from northern Syria.

UK PM Johnson to set out post-Brexit law and order drive in Queen's Speech

Queen Elizabeth will on Monday announce several new pieces of legislation to reform Britain's justice system, in a ceremonial speech setting out Prime Minister Boris Johnson's post-Brexit plans. The so-called Queen's Speech is the highlight of a day of elaborate pageantry in Westminster and is used to detail all the bills the government wants to enact in the coming year. It is written for the 93-year old monarch by the government.

Spain readies for landmark ruling on Catalan independence trial

Spain's Supreme Court is expected to announce on Monday its highly-anticipated verdict in the trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders over their role in the region's 2017 banned referendum and short-lived independence declaration. Much is at stake, both for Spain and for its wealthiest region in this trial over a failed independence bid that attracted worldwide attention, triggered Spain's biggest political crisis in decades and unnerved financial markets.

Poland's nationalists on course to stay in power for second term

Poland's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) was on course to keep its ruling majority after a general election on Sunday, an exit poll showed, a victory likely to stoke concern about democratic standards in the largest former Soviet European Union state. A second term for PiS will also bolster anti-immigration populists in the European Union are who keen to scale back the bloc's liberal agenda and who cheer Poland's chafing against Brussels over the rule of law.

Khamenei tells Iran's Guards to develop advanced, modern weapons

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards on Sunday to develop more advanced and modern weapons, amid increasingly tense disputes with the United States and Gulf Arab states. Tensions in the Gulf have risen to new highs since May 2018, when the Trump administration withdrew from a 2015 international nuclear accord with Tehran that put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions.

Ecuador clashes rage despite military-backed curfew

Ecuadorean police battled masked men who launched homemade projectiles at them in downtown Quito on Sunday, as protesters defied a curfew that was imposed by President Lenin Moreno in a bid to quell anti-austerity unrest. Parts of the highland city of nearly 3 million people resembled a war zone, with armored military vehicles patrolling some streets and sounds resembling explosions and shots ringing out. In the historic center, men took shelter behind makeshift barricades amid plumes of tear gas, according to Reuters witnesses.

Hong Kong protesters and police clash, metro and shops targeted

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and riot police clashed in chaotic scenes around the city on Sunday, with police in riot gear chasing protesters through crowds of lunchtime shoppers. Rallies in shopping malls on Hong Kong island and across the harbor in the Kowloon district began peacefully around midday with a few hundred people at each chanting "Free Hong Kong" and other slogans.

Canada's Trudeau vows to forge ahead with campaign after security threat

Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that he will not change the way he is campaigning ahead of the Oct. 21 federal election after a security threat forced him to wear a bulletproof vest at a campaign rally on Saturday. Trudeau arrived 90 minutes late to a rally outside of Toronto wearing the bulky protection under his shirt after he had received a security threat. No details have been provided by the Liberal Party or police.

Japan sends in troops after deadly typhoon floods towns, threatens more damage

Japan sent tens of thousands of troops and rescue workers on Sunday to save stranded residents and fight floods caused by one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in recent history. At least 30 people were killed in the typhoon that left vast sections of towns under water, public broadcaster NHK said. Another 15 were missing and 177 injured by Typhoon Hagibis, which paralyzed Tokyo on Saturday and dumped record levels of rain around Japan. About 100,000 homes were left without power.

U.S. to pull last troops from north Syria; Syrian army to redeploy on border

The United States said on Sunday it will withdraw its remaining 1,000 troops from northern Syria in the face of a Turkish offensive and Syria's army struck a deal with Kurdish forces to redeploy along its border with Turkey, both major victories for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The developments illustrate Washington's waning influence over events in Syria and the failure of the U.S. policy of keeping Assad from reasserting state authority over areas lost during the more than eight-year conflict with rebels trying to end his rule.