Reuters World News Summary

U.S. should delay complete troop pullout in Afghanistan -report to Congress The United States should extend the May 1 deadline for pulling all its troops from Afghanistan, and make force cuts contingent on progress in peace talks as well as by the Taliban in reducing violence and containing al Qaeda, a bipartisan report to Congress said on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. U.S. should delay complete troop pullout in Afghanistan -report to Congress

The United States should extend the May 1 deadline for pulling all its troops from Afghanistan, and make force cuts contingent on progress in peace talks as well as by the Taliban in reducing violence and containing al Qaeda, a bipartisan report to Congress said on Wednesday. Washington should not abandon the Afghan peace process, the report said. But conditions for its success will not be met by a May 1 deadline set in a 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement. Withdrawing all U.S. troops then could lead to civil war, destabilizing the region and reviving the al Qaeda threat. White House calls for swift release of Americans detained in Russia

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki called on Wednesday for the swift release of Americans detained in Russia, after the two countries agreed to extend the New START arms control treaty. A Russian court sentenced Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine, to nine years in jail in July after convicting him of endangering the lives of two police officers. Another former Marine, Paul Whelan, was convicted in Russia in June of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in jail. In first for Europe, Iran envoy faces sentencing over bomb plot

An Iranian diplomat accused of planning to bomb a meeting of an exiled opposition group is to be sentenced on Thursday in the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in the European Union since Iran's 1979 revolution. After hearings last year, a court in Antwerp, Belgium will decide whether Vienna-based diplomat Assadolah Assadi and three others are guilty of attempted terrorism after a plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) near Paris in June 2018 was foiled by German, French and Belgian police. West increases pressure on Myanmar generals as charges filed against Suu Kyi

The United Nations said it would mobilize international pressure to ensure the failure of Monday's military coup in Myanmar, as Myanmar police filed charges against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment. Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi was detained on Monday, along with other civilian politicians. She is being held under house arrest in the capital, Naypyidaw, according to an official from her party. U.S. 'deeply disturbed' by reports of systematic rape of Muslims in China camps

The United States is "deeply disturbed" by reports of systematic rape and sexual abuse against women in internment camps for ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in China's Xinjiang region and there must be serious consequences for atrocities committed there, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. A BBC report earlier on Wednesday said women in the camps were subject to rape, sexual abuse and torture. The British broadcaster said "several former detainees and a guard have told the BBC they experienced or saw evidence of an organized system of mass rape, sexual abuse and torture." U.S. State Department says U.S. "one-China" policy has not changed

The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday its support of a "one-China" policy over Taiwan has not changed. A statement issued by the Biden administration on Jan. 23, its first Saturday in office, expressing strong support for Taiwan in the face of military pressure from China, made no mention of the long-held U.S. policy towards the island. On road to ending pandemic, more people vaccinated than total cases to date: data

More people are now vaccinated against COVID-19 than have been infected by the virus that has swept the globe over the past year, a milestone on the road to ending the pandemic, based on data reported on Wednesday. Despite the landmark data, it remains unclear how long it will take to vaccinate the world. Many of those vaccinated have received only one of two doses required. Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny's wife tells allies: we'll win anyway

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's wife told his supporters on Wednesday they would still triumph despite his jailing and thanked them for protesting in a case she said had made her life a stream of police stations, home searches and court hearings. A court on Tuesday sentenced Navalny, a prominent opponent of Vladimir Putin, to three and a half years for parole violations he said were trumped up to sideline him, ignoring calls from the West and protesters at home to release him. U.S. reaffirms support for Venezuela's Guaido, sees no talks with Maduro

The Biden administration on Wednesday reaffirmed U.S. recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president and ruled out negotiations anytime soon with President Nicolas Maduro, branding him a "dictator" and calling for free and fair elections. In the most extensive explanation of President Joe Biden’s Venezuela policy since he took office on Jan. 20, State Department spokesman Ned Price said one of the main thrusts would be "targeting regime officials and their cronies involved in corruption and human rights abuses." EU rebuffs UK demand to soften N.Ireland Brexit trade terms

The European Union on Wednesday rebuffed a British demand to extend a grace period for checks on goods going from Britain to Northern Ireland, saying the post-Brexit trade treaty gave London enough tools to solve the problems. But it agreed to "work intensively" with Britain to resolve difficulties that have already impeded deliveries of goods, notably food, from other parts of the United Kingdom and caused shortages in supermarkets, even with a grace period still in force.