World News Summary: Updates on Syria's Idlib; Israel downs military plane and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Syria's Idlib spared attack, Turkey to send in more troops

Turkey will send more troops into Syria's Idlib province after striking a deal with Russia that has averted a government offensive and delighted rebels who say it keeps the area out of President Bashar al-Assad's hands. The deal unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday will create a new demilitarized zone from which "radical" rebels must withdraw by the middle of next month.

Israel indirectly to blame for downing of plane over Syria, Russia says

Russia accused Israel on Tuesday of indirectly causing a Russian military plane to be shot down near Syria's Mediterranean coast, and threatened to retaliate against Israel for what it described as a hostile act. Russia's Defence Ministry said the Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft, with 15 Russian service personnel on board, was brought down by anti-aircraft batteries of Moscow's ally, Syria, in a friendly fire incident.

North Korea's Kim says summit with Trump stabilized region, sees more progress

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Tuesday his "historic" summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore stabilized regional security, and that he expected further progress at an inter-Korean summit aimed at reviving stalled nuclear diplomacy. Kim thanked South Korea's President Moon Jae-in for bringing about the Singapore meeting in June as the two leaders began their third round of talks in Pyongyang.

Brexiteers start 'chuck Chequers' campaign against UK PM May's plans

Brexiteers who support a clean break with the European Union have launched a nation-wide advertising campaign in an attempt to force Prime Minister Theresa May to ditch her Brexit proposals. The United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on March 29 yet still riven by disagreements over Brexit: supporters of EU membership are calling for another referendum while many Brexit supporters say May is being far too weak in divorce talks.

Anti-Kremlin activist was probably poisoned: Berlin doctor

An anti-Kremlin activist who is in Berlin for treatment was probably poisoned with a substance that has affected his nervous system, his doctors said on Tuesday. Pyotr Verzilov, publisher of a Russian online news outlet and affiliated with the anti-Kremlin band Pussy Riot, temporarily lost his sight, hearing and ability to walk, but is doing better since he arrived in Germany on Saturday.

U.N. refugee agency gives Trump's latest cuts a weary shrug

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR declined to criticize U.S. President Donald Trump's cut in refugee resettlement places on Tuesday, saying it was up to the United States to decide on its policy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. would be capped at 30,000 for fiscal year 2019, a sharp drop from a limit of 45,000 set for 2018.

Italy's 5-Star vows no favors to Berlusconi on TV ad ceilings

Italy's ruling coalition of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and far right League party will pay no regard toward ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's influential media empire, a 5-Star minister said on Tuesday. The League governs with 5-Star but remains part of a center-right alliance with Berlusconi at the regional level, giving rise to widespread speculation that Salvini will do nothing to offend his long-standing ally.

German court releases Iraqi suspect in Chemnitz stabbing: lawyer

A German court on Tuesday released an Iraqi asylum seeker detained last month over the fatal stabbing of a Cuban-German man that set off violent protests by far-right radicals, his lawyer said in an online statement. The fate of a Syrian asylum seeker who was also detained over the stabbing of the 35-year-old German carpenter was not immediately clear.

Ahead of Yom Kippur, ultra-Orthodox Jews cast out sins with chickens and water

Waving chickens above their heads, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel performed the ritual of "kaparot" ahead of Yom Kippur, the most sacred day of the Jewish calendar, which begins at sundown on Tuesday. In the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem and in other cities around Israel, religious Jews said prayers as they performed the traditional rite with the birds, which then go to slaughter.

Democratic transition in Myanmar 'at standstill': U.N. rights panel

Myanmar's democratic transition has ground to a standstill as authorities seek to silence critics while allowing hate speech, particularly against Muslim Rohingya, the head of the U.N. human rights mission said on Tuesday. Marzuki Darusman, chair of the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, denounced what he called "the extreme brutality of the military" known as the Tatmadaw as he presented a report that Myanmar's envoy dismissed as one-sided.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)