Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Race to succeed UK PM May centers on 'no deal' Brexit battle

The prospect of a "no deal" Brexit was fast becoming the central battle of the race to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday, as environment minister Michael Gove became the eighth candidate to declare. May said on Friday she was quitting over her failure to deliver Brexit, potentially opening the way for a new leader who could seek a more divisive split with the European Union and lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election.

Greek PM calls snap vote after drubbing for ruling Syriza

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called snap national elections after suffering a heavy defeat by the opposition conservatives in European Parliament elections on Sunday. With an unexpectedly severe pounding at the ballot box for his leftist Syriza party, Tsipras decided not to push through to a full term which expires in October.

Venezuela's opposition leader Guaido plays down prospects for Oslo mediation

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Sunday played down the prospects for success at a new round of mediation with the government to be hosted by Norway next week, saying protests would continue until President Nicolas Maduro resigned. Norway said on Saturday that representatives of Venezuela's government and opposition will return to Oslo next week following an initial round of preliminary talks about how to address a long-running political crisis.

Austrian Social Democrats say they will vote against Kurz in parliament

Austria's opposition Social Democrats will submit a parliamentary motion of no-confidence on Monday against Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his government, the party's leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner told broadcaster ORF on Sunday. Rendi-Wagner was speaking after a meeting of her party's leadership, which decided in favor of the motion and would recommend that its lawmakers express no confidence in the government, Rendi-Wagner said.

Ireland's main parties hold steady as Sinn Fein slumps in local vote

Ireland's two largest parties held their own in local elections on Sunday in a bad day for left-wing Sinn Fein, whose political ascent in the republic suffered its first major setback. With more than three quarters of the 949 seats announced, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael party rose to 24.9% from 24% five years ago. It still trailed fellow center-right party Fianna Fail, whose share rose to 26.9% from 25.5%.

Italy's League should now set government priorities: League parliamentary leader

Italy's far-right League should decide the government's priorities if EU election results confirm it has overtaken its coalition partner the 5-Star Movement, the League's parliamentary leader said on Sunday. "Deciding the priorities of the government will now be up to Matteo Salvini and the League," Riccardo Molinari told Italy's state broadcaster Rai following exit polls from the European parliamentary vote.

Pro-Europe vote fragments but limits nationalist gains in EU election

Parties committed to strengthening the European Union held on to two-thirds of seats in the EU parliament, official projections from the bloc's elections showed on Sunday, though far-right and nationalist opponents saw strong gains. France's Emmanuel Macron, who has staked his presidency on persuading Europeans that the EU is the answer to the challenges of an uncertain, globalizing world economy, took a personal hit when his centrist movement was edged into second place by Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-Brussels National Rally.

Trade beef aside, Trump and Abe bond over burgers, sumo and golf

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday played golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and presented a trophy to the winner of a sumo tournament, turning to personal diplomacy for the second day of a Japan visit shadowed by tough trade talk. Trump is unhappy with Japan's large trade surplus and is considering putting high tariffs on its auto exports if a bilateral trade agreement is not reached. The United States and China are also engaged in an expensive trade war that has pounded financial markets worldwide.

Houthi leader says drone attacks a response to spurned Yemen peace moves

A leader of Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Sunday it had resumed drone strikes deep inside Saudi Arabia this month in response to what he called the Saudi-led coalition's spurning of "peace initiatives" by his group. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi dismissed Saudi accusations that the attacks had been carried out on the orders on Iran - at a time of growing tension between Tehran and Riyadh alongside its Western and regional allies.

Iran will defend itself against any aggression, says foreign minister

Iran will defend itself against any military or economic aggression, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday, calling on European states to do more to preserve a nuclear agreement his country signed. Speaking at a Baghdad news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim, Zarif said Iran wanted to build balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbors and had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them.