Reuters World News Summary

Pakistan helicopter crash kills Norwegian, Philippine ambassadors

A Pakistan military helicopter carrying diplomats to inspect a tourism project crashed on Friday killing seven people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines and the wives of the Malaysian and Indonesian ambassadors. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was traveling to the mountainous northern region of Gilgit on a separate aircraft when the accident happened. He returned to Islamabad, his office said.

Twin bombings outside Shi'ite mosque kill 17 in eastern Iraq

Twin bombings outside a Shi'ite place of worship in eastern Iraq killed at least 17 people as they filed out after Friday prayers, police and hospital sources said. A parked car laden with explosives blew up near the exit of the mosque in Balad Ruz, and when bystanders gathered to evacuate the wounded, a suicide bomber detonated himself among them.

Saudi-led coalition bombs Houthis in north Yemen, offers five-day truce

Saudi-led warplanes bombed targets in Yemen's Saada province, a bastion of Iranian-allied Houthi rebels, on Friday and Riyadh then announced a five-day humanitarian ceasefire to begin on May 12, conditioned on Houthis agreeing to the pause. Hours before, Saudi authorities warned all civilians to leave the northwestern Saada region, which borders on Saudi Arabia, by sunset on Friday after threatening a harsh response to Houthi shelling of Saudi frontier towns earlier this week.

United Kingdom votes in most unpredictable election in decades

British voters get to decide on Thursday who they want to rule the world's fifth-largest economy in a tight election that could yield weak government, propel the United Kingdom towards a vote on EU membership and stoke Scottish desire for secession. Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and Ed Miliband's opposition Labour Party have been neck and neck in opinion polls for months, indicating neither will win enough seats for an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament.

One policeman shot dead in Saudi capital: state agency

A policeman was shot dead on Friday evening in a southern district of the capital of Riyadh, the official Saudi news agency SPA said. Policeman Maged al-Ghamdy was patrolling the area at 7:30 p.m. local time when he was shot from an unidentified car, the agency said.

EU, U.S. close to data sharing deal for security cases: sources

The European Union and the United States are close to completing negotiations on a deal protecting personal data shared for law enforcement purposes such as terrorism investigations, three people familiar with the matter said. The two sides have been negotiating since 2011 over the so-called "umbrella agreement" that would protect personal data exchanged between police and judicial authorities in the course of investigations, as well as between companies and law enforcement authorities.

Greek PM forecasts 'happy end'; Eurogroup chief cites progress in talks

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras forecast a happy end soon to fraught negotiations with creditors on a cash-for-reform deal, and the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said talks were making progress, though not enough for a deal next Monday. However, with Greece's cash reserves dwindling, EU officials said there was no breakthrough in talks with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank on sticking points such as pension and labor market reforms and budget targets.

U.S. urges probe of U.N. handling of Central Africa abuse charges

The United States on Friday described as horrifying accusations of sexual abuse of children by French and African troops in Central African Republic, and called for a separate inquiry into how the United Nations handled the allegations. An internal U.N. report detailed the alleged abuse by troops from France, Chad and Equatorial Guinea between December 2013 and June 2014 at a center for displaced people at M'Poko airport in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui.

Georgia government survives confidence vote, appoints first female defense minister

Georgia's government won a confidence vote in parliament on Friday, called after Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili was forced to reshuffle his cabinet following a series of resignations over the past year. The new cabinet includes the former Soviet republic's first female defense minister, Tina Khidasheli, 41, a former lawmaker from the ruling coalition and the third minister to hold the portfolio since July.

Guatemala vice president resigns amid customs corruption scandal

Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti is resigning her position in order to face investigation over her alleged involvement in a customs corruption racket purportedly led by her personal secretary, the country's president said on Friday. President Otto Perez Molina announced the decision after reports linked Baldetti to a ring accused of taking bribes to avoid levying customs taxes. Baldetti has denied any wrongdoing.