Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Turkey's Erdogan asks Russia's Putin to step aside in Syria

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he had asked President Vladimir Putin for Russia to step aside in Syria and leave Turkey to deal with Syrian government forces alone. After the death of its soldiers in a Syrian government air strike on Thursday, Turkey said it would allow migrants it hosts to freely pass to Europe.

Greece pushes back migrants after Turkish border 'onslaught'

Greek police fired teargas to push back hundreds of stone-throwing migrants trying to cross the border from Turkey on Saturday, as a crisis over Syria shifted onto the European Union's doorstep. Greece, which has tense relations with Turkey, accused Ankara of sending the migrants to the border post in an organized "onslaught" and said it would keep them out.

Schools, universities to stay shut as Italy coronavirus death toll rises

Schools and universities will stay closed for a second consecutive week in three northern Italian regions in an effort to contain Europe's worst outbreak of coronavirus, dashing any hopes of a swift return to normality. The decision was taken as the death toll from the contagion rose by eight during the day to 29, while the total number of cases jumped by 240 to 1,128 -- the vast majority in the wealthy regions of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna.

Johnson's baby power: British PM and his girlfriend are expecting first child

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds announced on Saturday they are expecting their first child together and are engaged to be married. The couple have been living together in Downing Street since Johnson became prime minister in July, with Symonds the first unmarried partner to live openly with a British leader in recent history.

New coronavirus case confirmed at Tenerife hotel on lockdown

An Italian national staying at a hotel in Tenerife which has been placed on lockdown after four cases of the coronavirus were detected has tested positive for the virus, regional health authorities confirmed on Saturday. The Italian national, part of the same group as the four original cases at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel, has been in isolation in a hotel room since Feb. 24 and will be taken to hospital, the Canary Islands' regional health authorities said, adding the Italian was "in good state of health".

Greece confirms three new cases of coronavirus, brings total to seven

Greece has confirmed three new cases of coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections in the country to seven. The latest cases involve a woman and a man, who are related to previously confirmed cases in Greece, and a man who had recently traveled to Italy, Europe's worst-hit country by the virus, the ministry said.

Afghans hope for peace as U.S.-Taliban gear up for troop withdrawal deal

Millions of Afghans are anticipating that America's longest war fought in their country will end on Saturday as U.S. and Taliban negotiators are expected to sign a deal to allow a U.S. troop reduction and a permanent ceasefire. If the U.S-Taliban agreement gets signed, then Afghanistan, which has been at war since American bombings began in response to the Sept.11, 2001 attacks, will witness the potential end of violence that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Britain ready to reject EU demands on human rights laws: Sunday Telegraph

Britain is preparing to reject EU demands to guarantee that the country will continue to be bound by European human rights laws once the UK becomes fully independent, the Sunday Telegraph reported. British negotiators will refuse to accept proposed clauses in a post-Brexit trade agreement that would require Britain remain signed up to the European Convention of Human Rights, leaving the door open to break away from the treaty as soon as next year, the Sunday Telegraph said.

Slovak opposition party OLANO takes wide lead in election: exit poll

Slovak opposition movement Ordinary People (OLANO) took a strong lead in the EU country's parliamentary election, an exit poll released by TV Markiza showed on Saturday. The poll was in line with forecasts that voters in the central European country were poised to oust the ruling center-left Smer party, which has dominated Slovakia's political landscape for more than a decade, amid growing anger over high-level graft and the murder of an investigative journalist.

Sinn Fein would easily win repeat Irish election: poll

The pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein party would easily win a repeat Irish election if ongoing government talks fail, with an opinion poll on Saturday showing it has almost twice as much support as its two nearest rivals. The left wing party's support jumped to 35%, ahead of Fianna Fail on 20% and acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael on 18% in a Sunday Times/Behaviour & Attitudes poll that may influence early talks between the two centre-right rivals.