World News Roundup: Japan wants to take lead for G7 statement on Hong Kong: Abe; For virus-tamer Merkel, global alliances trumped nationalism and more

Japan wants to take lead for G7 statement on Hong Kong: AbeJapan wants to take the lead among Group of Seven nations on issuing a statement about the situation in Hong Kong, where China is imposing a new security law, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

India, China hold talks to defuse border standoff, thin out some forces

Indian and Chinese military commanders made progress in talks on Wednesday to defuse a standoff along their disputed border in the western Himalayas after pulling back some troops in confidence-building gestures, Indian government officials said. Hundreds of soldiers have been ranged against each other in the remote snow desert of Ladakh since April in the most serious border flare-ups for years after Chinese patrols advanced into what India deems its side of the de facto border, Indian officials say. China claims the territory to be its own and has objected to the Indian construction of roads in the area.

A Peruvian driver delivers ashes of the dead as coronavirus toll mounts

Héctor Orellanqui, 65, wearing a white overcoat and mask, has a painful duty to carry out: delivering the ashes of those who have died from COVID-19 to families who can in most cases no longer carry out traditional funerals for their loved ones. In the last few months, Orellanqui has delivered around 200 marble urns with cremated remains as cases from the novel coronavirus have climbed in Peru to above 200,000, the eighth highest in the world. The death toll stands at over 5,700.

North Korean leader's sister emerges as policymaker in spat with South Korea

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is taking a leading role in a new, more hard-line pressure campaign against South Korea, highlighting what analysts say is a substantive policy role that goes beyond being her brother's assistant. Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo Jong is the only close relative of the North Korean leader to play a public role in politics.

Hong Kong police arrest 53 pro-democracy activists, more rallies planned

Hong Kong police arrested 53 people during protests on Tuesday evening that saw hundreds of activists take to the streets, at times blocking roads in the heart of the global financial hub, before police fired pepper spray to disperse crowds. The protests, called to mark a year of sometimes violent pro-democracy rallies in the former British colony, also came amid heightened tensions due to a proposed national security bill backed by the central government in Beijing.

Iran urges Russia, China to resist U.S. push to extend arms embargo

Iran on Wednesday called on Russia and China to resist a push by Washington to extend a U.N.-imposed arms embargo due to expire in October under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with six powers. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been taking a harder line with the United Nations to extend and strengthen the embargo on Iran, warning that its lifting would let Tehran acquire weapons that could fuel conflicts in the Middle East.

For virus-tamer Merkel, global alliances trumped nationalism

Travelling in convoy through the Chinese city of Wuhan last September, Angela Merkel called a halt. As her party crossed a bridge over the Yangtze river, the German Chancellor wanted to hear about a grand gesture by revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. She posed for a picture on the bridge over the river where, in 1966, Mao joined an annual swim down the river in a symbolic demonstration of his vigour and leadership. It was only a quick photo opportunity, but Merkel and her delegation were visiting what was to become ground zero of a pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 worldwide.

Japan wants to take lead for G7 statement on Hong Kong: Abe

Japan wants to take the lead among Group of Seven nations on issuing a statement about the situation in Hong Kong, where China is imposing a new security law, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday. "Obviously, we acknowledge the G7 has a mission to lead the global public opinion and Japan wants to take a lead in issuing a statement based on 'one nation, two systems' in Hong Kong," Abe told parliament.

Ukraine investigators probe former president in intelligence case

Ukraine's state investigation bureau said on Wednesday it suspected Petro Poroshenko of issuing an illegal decree in 2018 related to his dealings with the foreign intelligence service. Poroshenko, who became a lawmaker after losing the presidential election last year, said the case related to the appointment of a deputy head of the foreign intelligence service and described the accusation as politically motivated.

U.S. aircraft intercept Russian nuclear-capable bombers near Alaska: RIA

U.S. fighter jets intercepted and escorted four Russian nuclear-capable bombers during a routine flight over neutral waters near the United States, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry. Russia said the 11-hour flight, carried out by its Tupolev Tu-95MS bombers, complied with international law and that U.S. F-22 Raptor tactical fighters had accompanied its planes during some stages of their flight.

Swedish police investigating shots fired in suspected robbery at shopping mall

Swedish police said on Wednesday they were investigating reports of gunshots having been fired at a shopping mall in the Stockholm suburb of Kista in what they believed was an attempted robbery. Police said it was responding to calls that shots had been fired in a shopping complex in the northern suburb home to the headquarters of telecom heavyweight Ericsson and that it had opened a preliminary investigation into suspected robbery.