Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Battered Trudeau gets brief reprieve amid Canada blackface scandal

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got his first day out of the spotlight on Saturday after being hammered for images showing him in blackface, which have threatened to derail his re-election campaign. Trudeau, 47, was in eastern Canada when pictures first emerged on Wednesday showing him in brown makeup at a 2001 "Arabian Nights" party when he was a 29-year-old teacher. He held a hasty press conference on his plane and apologized, ashen-faced, before traveling to other western cities where the scandal dominated questions.

UK Labour deputy leader says Brexit stance behind effort to oust him

The deputy leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party said on Saturday that his stance on Brexit, where he backs a second referendum before a parliamentary election, unlike leader Jeremy Corbyn, is behind efforts by some in the party to remove him. Jon Lansman, the founder of the left-wing grassroots movement Momentum, has proposed a motion to abolish the post of deputy leader, currently held by Tom Watson, according to two party officials.

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake rocks buildings in Albania

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 and an aftershock only slightly weaker shook the Albanian port town of Durres on Saturday, rocking buildings there and in the capital Tirana and sending residents rushing into the streets and parks for safety. The Defence Ministry said it was the most powerful quake in Albania in the last 30 years.

Hong Kong protests turn to violent clashes in multiple towns

Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protesters on Saturday after pro-China groups pulled down some of the "Lennon Walls" of anti-government messages posted in the Chinese-ruled city in more than three months of unrest. The first canisters were fired when protesters hurled petrol bombs toward an approaching police line in the new town of Tuen Mun, in the west of the New Territories, and again after night fell in nearby Yuen Long.

UK Conservatives hold significant lead over Labour: poll

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative party has a 15 percentage-point lead over the opposition Labour Party, according to a poll published on Saturday, ahead of a possible national election aimed at breaking the impasse over Brexit. The Conservatives garnered 37% in the Opinium poll for the center-left Observer newspaper, while Labour took 22%.

Iran says it will destroy any aggressor

Iran will pursue any aggressor, even it carries out a limited attack, and seek to destroy it, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday, after attacks on Saudi oil sites which Riyadh and U.S officials blamed on Tehran. "Be careful, a limited aggression will not remain limited. We will pursue any aggressor," the head of the Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said in remarks broadcast on state TV. "We are after punishment and we will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor."

Paris draws new climate rally; police vie with 'yellow vests', 'black blocs'

Climate protesters marched through Paris for a second day on Saturday in a rally that saw sporadic clashes between masked demonstrators and police who also broke up "yellow vest" groups trying to stage unauthorized gatherings in the capital. The climate protest drew some 16,000 participants, according to the police, a day after several thousand young people had turned out in Paris, as in other cities worldwide, to demand government action over climate change.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg, worldwide protest demands climate action

Millions of young people flooded the streets of cities around the world on Friday to demand political leaders take urgent steps to stop climate change, uniting in a worldwide protest inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Alarmed by images of the Greenland ice sheets melting and the Amazon rain forests burning, students and workers abandoned schools, shops and offices in nearly every corner of the globe, aiming to stop what they see as a looming environmental catastrophe.

Biden urges investigation into Trump Ukraine call

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, on Saturday called for an investigation into reports that President Donald Trump pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Biden and his son. "This appears to be an overwhelming abuse of power. To get on the phone with a foreign leader who is looking for help from the United States and ask about me and imply things … this is outrageous," a visibly angry Biden said while campaigning in Iowa.

Stacks of cash shown at trial of Sudan's toppled leader Bashir

Stacks of cash piled high were shown as evidence on Saturday against ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir at his trial on charges of possessing illicit foreign currency and corruption. Millions of euros and Sudanese pounds were found at Bashir's residence in April after he was overthrown and detained by the military following months of demonstrations against his rule.