Reuters World News Summary

U.S. seeks to widen nuclear arms deal with Russia The United States wants to broaden its main nuclear arms control agreement with Russia to include all their atomic weapons, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday after talks with Moscow on a new accord.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. China-India border clash stokes contrasting domestic responses

The skirmish between Chinese and Indian troops over a long-disputed border this month is being treated in New Delhi as the country's worst diplomatic crisis in decades even as it is downplayed by Beijing. China is already locked in diplomatic combat over a host of disputes, from the United States and Australia to Taiwan and Hong Kong, and its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. It is loath to engage on yet another front - especially one that could push New Delhi closer to Washington, some analysts say. U.S. seeks to widen nuclear arms deal with Russia

The United States wants to broaden its main nuclear arms control agreement with Russia to include all their atomic weapons, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday after talks with Moscow on a new accord. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea also said Washington would keep pressing China to join the talks on replacing the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) which expires in February. China proposes 'fast track' arrangements for people and goods with India, Russia

The Chinese government's top diplomat Wang Yi on Tuesday proposed a "fast track" arrangement for the movement of people and goods with India and Russia. Ministers from China, Russia and India should together discuss trade, energy, transport, education and health, Wang said in a statement on the foreign ministry's website. Russians throng river cruises as Moscow lockdown eases ahead of vote

Russians soaked up the sun on boat cruises on the river Moskva on Tuesday for the first time in three months after authorities lifted many of the city's last remaining restrictions aimed at halting the novel coronavirus. Officials in the city of 12.7 million, the epicentre of Russia's outbreak, say new infections have been falling from a peak in May and stood at just over 1,000 on Tuesday. Russia's national case load, the world's third highest, is nearly 600,000. Vexed by annexation: The battle inside the EU over Israel

Two months before Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan on Jan. 28, Luxembourg's foreign minister was certain the U.S. president would break with the European Union and recognise Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Jean Asselborn wrote to his EU colleagues on Dec. 1 to warn that a lasting, two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians was being "dismantled piece by piece, day after day", according to the letter, reviewed by Reuters. Pubs, restaurants and hotels to reopen as England eases social distancing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday pubs, restaurants and hotels could reopen in England early next month when the social distancing rule is relaxed, easing the coronavirus lockdown that has all but shut the economy. Johnson has been under pressure from businesses, especially in the hospitality sector, and from members of his governing Conservative Party to relax the lockdown, but until now he had resisted for fear of prompting a second wave. U.S. Republican lawmakers urge Trump to reconsider Germany troop reduction plan

A group of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to reconsider his decision to cut the number of U.S. troops in Germany, saying their presence is the backbone of NATO's deterrent against Russian aggression. The six lawmakers led by House Foreign Affairs Committee senior Republican Michael McCaul said in a letter that the U.S. military footprint in Germany served Washington's strategic interests beyond Europe and into the Middle East and Africa, which have seen the growing influence of Russia and China. Hundreds killed in further Taliban attacks with peace talks ahead

Increased Taliban attacks are jeopardising the peace process, the Afghan government said on Tuesday after hundreds of security force personnel were killed over the past week by the Islamist insurgents. The Taliban, fighting to reintroduce strict Islamic law after their 2001 ouster from power, signed a troop withdrawal agreement with the United States in February designed to pave the way for peace talks with the Afghan government. Ex-U.S. marine jailed by Russia on spying charges hopes for prisoner swap: Ifax

Former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, who was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison last week on spying charges, hopes to be freed as part of a prisoner swap with the United States, his lawyer said on Tuesday, Interfax news agency reported. Whelan will therefore not appeal his espionage conviction but will instead hold consultations with Western diplomats about the merits of asking President Vladimir Putin to pardon him, the lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, was quoted as saying. Saudi leadership pressures former intelligence official’s family, seeks access to documents

As Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved to tighten his grip on power over the past few years, detaining senior royals and opponents, one person has eluded him: a former top-ranking intelligence official who was close to a key rival to the throne. In recent months, the crown prince -- known by the initials MbS -- has increased pressure on relatives of Saad al-Jabri, including detaining his adult children, to try to force his return to the kingdom from exile in Canada, the former intelligence official’s family say. In the crown prince’s sights are documents Jabri has access to that contain sensitive information, according to four people with knowledge of the situation.