Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
U.S. says 34 troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after Iran strike
The Pentagon said on Friday that 34 service members had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury following missile strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq earlier this month, a number higher than the military had previously announced. President Donald Trump and other top officials initially said Iran's attack had not killed or injured any U.S. service members.
'No, No America': Iraq protesters demand expulsion of U.S. troops
Tens of thousands of Iraqis rallied in central Baghdad on Friday calling for the expulsion of U.S. troops, but the protest mostly dissipated after a few hours despite a cleric's call for a "million strong" turnout. Populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr convened the march after the U.S. killing of an Iranian general and an Iraqi paramilitary chief in Baghdad this month.
Trump speaks with British PM Johnson about telecoms security: White House
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday discussed the security of telecommunications networks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the White House said, as Britain nears a decision on Huawei's role in the country's future 5G network. "The two leaders discussed important regional and bilateral issues, including working together to ensure the security of our telecommunications networks," the White House said in a statement about the phone call.
Powerful earthquake jolts eastern Turkey, killing 18
A powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 18 people and collapsing buildings in affected towns near the centre of the tremor, which was felt in several neighboring countries. The magnitude 6.8 quake shook Elazig province, about 550 km (340 miles) east of the capital Ankara, and was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
Good Friday Agreement architect Seamus Mallon dies at 83
Former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon, one of the architects of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement, died on Friday aged 83, drawing tributes from across a political divide he helped to bridge. Mallon was a major political figure in Northern Ireland during the three decades of violence between Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland and Protestant unionists wanting Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Salvadoran general admits army carried out infamous 1981 massacre
A retired Salvadoran general on Friday acknowledged for the first time that the armed forces were responsible for a notorious 1981 massacre of more than 1,000 people during the country's civil war. Juan Rafael Bustillo, a former commander of the Air Force, told a court the elite Atlacatl Battalion carried out the El Mozote massacre in eastern El Salvador in which unarmed villagers, most of them women and children, were slaughtered.
Trump's peace plan may polarize the Middle East it seeks to calm
As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to host Israeli leaders in Washington to reveal details of his long-delayed Middle East peace plan, Palestinians warned on Friday that no deal could work without them on board. Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival centrist former general Benny Gantz to the White House next week, saying he would unveil the plan before his Tuesday meeting with Netanyahu.
Man, 26, shoots parents and family in German pub: police
A 26-year-old man shot his parents and four other members of his family dead with a semi-automatic weapon in southwest Germany before calling the police and waiting for them to arrest him, authorities said on Friday. The man, a German citizen who had a sport shooting license, was in detention and would be questioned once his lawyer arrived, local police chief Reiner Moeller said.
Furor in Spain over minister's airport meeting with Maduro aide
Opposition parties rebuked Spain's government on Friday over an encounter at Madrid's international airport between a minister and a senior aide to Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro subject to a European Union (EU) travel ban. Spain, along with most EU nations, does not view Maduro's leftist government as legitimate, instead recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as president of Venezuela.
China heads into Lunar New Year on shutdown as virus spreads to Europe
A new coronavirus that has killed 26 people in China was confirmed in Europe for the first time on Friday as it spreads despite Chinese attempts to quarantine the city at the heart of the outbreak. China closed Shanghai Disneyland and part of the Great Wall and suspended public transportation in 10 cities as it rushed to contain the virus, stranding millions of people at the start of the country's Lunar New Year holiday.
