Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. May's Brexit deal, no-deal or delay? British PM offers lawmakers a choice

Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday offered lawmakers the chance to vote in two weeks for a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit or to delay Britain's exit from the European Union if her attempt to ratify a divorce agreement fails. Opening up the possibility of a delay and removing the immediate threat of a no-deal exit on March 29 marks one of the biggest turning points in the United Kingdom's labyrinthine Brexit crisis since the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU. South Korea seeks 'stakeholder' role as Kim, Trump eye deal to shape peninsula's fate

South Korean officials, wary of being left on the sidelines as the leaders of North Korea and the United States seek to clinch a deal that could shape the future of the Korean peninsula, are cautiously carving out a presence at the summit venue. In a bid to raise its profile, South Korea has dispatched at least two dozen officials to the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, opened its own press center, and even arranged for a South Korean bakery chain to offer free snacks to journalists covering the summit. U.S. Army estimates Russian capability will peak in 2028, China's in 2030

The U.S. Army estimates the Russian army's military capabilities will peak in 2028, closely followed by the Chinese around 2030, giving the United States almost a decade to prepare for those threats, a senior Pentagon official said in an interview on Monday. The top civilian at the U.S. Army, Secretary Mark Esper, said the Army will reduce, eliminate or delay nearly 200 weapons programs and refocus the funds on investing in capabilities to beat emergent Russian and Chinese militaries. Convicted of sexual abuse, Australian Cardinal Pell fronts sentence hearing

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic clergyman worldwide to be convicted for child sex offences, on Wednesday returned to court for a sentence plea hearing. Pell - a former top adviser to Pope Francis - was in December found guilty of five charges of child sexual offences committed more than two decades ago against 13-year-old boys. India launches air strike in Pakistan; Islamabad denies militant camp hit

India said its warplanes killed "a very large number" of fighters when they struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours, although Pakistan officials denied there had been casualties. Pakistan said it would respond at a time and place of its choice, with a military spokesman even alluding to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric from both two sides since a suicide bombing in Kashmir this month. Iraq PM says country could take non-Iraqi IS detainees from Syria

Iraq could help transfer non-Iraqi Islamic State detainees held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Tuesday. Iraq will either help repatriate those citizens to their home countries, or prosecute on its own those suspected of having committed crimes, he said at his weekly news conference. Trump, Kim bet big on personal relationship at second summit

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet on Wednesday for their second summit, betting that their personal relationship can break a stalemate over the North's nuclear weapons and end more than 70 years of hostility. Despite little progress toward his stated goal of ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons since first meeting Kim in Singapore last year, Trump has said he is fully committed to his personal diplomacy with Kim. Ex-Canada justice minister to testify about ethics allegations Wednesday

Former Canadian justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on Wednesday will publicly address ethics allegations fueling the biggest crisis of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's career, officials said on Tuesday. The Liberal government has been on the defensive since Feb. 7, when the Globe and Mail said senior officials pressured Wilson-Raybould last year to help SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoid a trial on charges of bribing Libyan officials and to pay a fine instead. Nigeria's Buhari wins second term as president: electoral commission results

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday won a second term at the helm of Africa's largest economy and top oil producer, a tally by Reuters based on electoral commission results showed. Buhari faces a daunting to-do list, including reviving an economy still struggling to recover from a 2016 recession and quelling a decade-old Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of people in the northeast, many of them civilians. Venezuela opposition's U.S. envoy asks Trump to step up pressure on Maduro

The Venezuelan opposition's envoy to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, met with U.S. President Donald Trump recently and asked him to increase pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro, Vecchio's office said in a statement on Tuesday. Vecchio wrote in a tweet that he met with Trump when the president made a speech in Florida. In the Feb. 18 speech, Trump warned members of Venezuela's military who remain loyal to Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country.