Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

At evangelical conference, concerns about Syria but cheers for Trump

Prominent evangelical leaders have sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump over his decision to pull American military forces out of Syria, saying he was endangering tens of thousands of Christians in the Muslim-dominated region. But the response was more muted at an annual conference of religious conservatives on Friday in Washington, where some Christian activists were concerned about the Syria move but willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt.

Abandoning diplomat's discretion, ex-Ukraine ambassador takes Trump to task

The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine abandoned diplomatic discretion and accused the Trump administration of recalling her based on false claims and of eviscerating the State Department, an act that may end her career but drew praise for her courage. Three-time ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who was abruptly recalled from Kiev in May, gave a closed-door deposition on Friday to three congressional committees investigating whether there are grounds to impeach President Donald Trump.

Turkey intensifies Syria campaign as Islamic State strikes Kurds

Turkey intensified its air and artillery strikes in northeast Syria on Friday in an offensive against Kurdish militia that has raised the prospect of a humanitarian disaster and questions about U.S. President Donald Trump's policy in the region. The Kurds, who recaptured swathes of northeastern Syria from Islamic State with the backing of the United States, say the Turkish assault could allow the jihadist group to re-emerge as some of its followers were escaping from prisons.

Exclusive: U.S. migrant policy sends thousands of children, including babies, back to Mexico

Since January, the U.S. government has ordered 16,000 migrants under 18, including nearly 500 infants, to wait with their families in Mexico for U.S. immigration court hearings, a Reuters analysis of government data found. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, babies and toddlers are living in high-crime cities - often in crowded shelters and tents or on the streets - for the weeks or months it takes to get a U.S. asylum hearing.

Journalist's killing fuels ire of Haiti protesters

The killing of a journalist who had closely covered Haiti's political and economic crisis fueled the anger of protesters on Friday, as they clashed with police and pressed calls for the president of the impoverished nation to resign. Nehemie Joseph was found dead in his car with several gunshot wounds to the head late on Thursday, according to his media outlet Radio Mega.

U.S. company supplying tear gas to Hong Kong police faces mounting criticism

Another U.S. senator has joined a chorus against Pennsylvania-based NonLethal Technologies Inc for selling riot gear to Hong Kong that is being used against pro-democracy protesters. The privately held company, which makes and exports a wide range of riot and crowd control equipment for military and law enforcement agencies, has been in the spotlight ever since it was discovered that Hong Kong police are employing its tear gas canisters to disperse anti-government demonstrations.

Amazonian tribes in Ecuador join anti-austerity protests

Indigenous tribe representatives from the Amazon in Ecuador joined an anti-austerity demonstration in Quito on Friday, as hopes for talks between protest leaders and the government dimmed following more than a week of unrest. Thousands of protesters, many wearing the traditional bowler hats of highland Indians or the face paint of lowland tribes, marched through the streets of the capital to demand President Lenin Moreno repeal a law that ended a four-decade fuel subsidy.

Iranian oil tanker hit off Saudi coast, may have been missiles: Iranian media reports

An Iranian-owned oil tanker was struck, probably by missiles, in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia's coast on Friday, Iranian media said, an incident that if confirmed will stoke tension in a region rattled by attacks on tankers and oil sites since May. The Sabiti was hit in the morning about 60 miles (96 km) from the Saudi port of Jeddah, Iranian media reported. The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said the ship was damaged but now heading to the Gulf, denying reports it was set ablaze.

U.S. says deploying more forces to Saudi Arabia to counter Iran threat

The United States announced the deployment of additional American military forces to Saudi Arabia on Friday to bolster the kingdom's defenses after the Sept. 14 attack on its oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran. The large deployment, which was first reported by Reuters, includes fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing and air defense personnel, the Pentagon said. Together with the 200 forces to Saudi Arabia announced last month, the deployment totaled about 3,000 troops, it said.

Germany's Merkel successor hopeful Kramp-Karrenbauer dealt setback by young conservatives

The youth wing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives voted on Friday in favor of a members' ballot on who should be the bloc's next chancellor candidate, dealing a setback to front-runner Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The vote by the Junge Union could force Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) to discuss the possibility of such a ballot when they meet at a party congress in November, potentially disrupting Merkel's efforts to stage manage an orderly handover.