Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

EU's Borrell says Iran nuclear talks moving to crucial stage

Negotiations in Vienna between world powers and Iran are moving into a crucial stage and the next few weeks will be critical to saving their 2015 nuclear deal, the European Union's top diplomat said on Monday. U.S. officials returned to Vienna last week for a fourth round of indirect talks with Iran on how to resume compliance with the deal, which former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, prompting Iran to begin violating its limits on uranium enrichment about a year later.

U.S. welcomes Taliban announcement of 3-day ceasefire -spokesman

The United States welcomed the Taliban's announcement of a three-day ceasefire over this week's Eid holiday and urged it to extend the ceasefire as U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday. The United States condemned an attack on a girls school in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday, but was still looking into who was responsible for an attack, Price said, adding that Islamic State had been responsible for similar attacks.

U.S. military ship fires 30 warning shots after encounter with Iranian vessels

A U.S. Coast Guard ship fired about 30 warning shots after 13 vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came close to it and other American Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon said on Monday. This is the second time within the last month that U.S. military vessels have had to fire warning shots because of what they said was unsafe behavior by Iranian vessels in the region, after a relative lull in such interactions over the past year.

Queen Elizabeth to set out UK government's post-pandemic agenda

Britain's Queen Elizabeth will present Prime Minister Boris Johnson's post-pandemic agenda on Tuesday in a speech written by the government that will set out the new laws that ministers intend to pass in the coming year. The grand 'State Opening of Parliament', a heavily choreographed and costumed ceremony led by the 95-year-old monarch, will this year involve face masks, social distancing, and fewer guests.

India COVID cases hold close to record highs as calls widen for national lockdown

Indian coronavirus infections and deaths held close to record daily highs on Monday, increasing calls for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lock down the world's second-most populous country. The 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths reported by the health ministry were off a little from recent peaks, taking India's tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths as hospitals run out of oxygen and beds and morgues and crematoria overflow. (Graphic on global cases and deaths: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/)

East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah becomes emblem of Palestinian struggle

A putrid stench hangs over Sheikh Jarrah, a tiny neighbourhood of East Jerusalem where protesters are trying to prevent Israel evicting eight Palestinian families and letting Jews move in. Over the past week, Israeli police have repeatedly fired a foul-smelling liquid known as skunk water that lingers through the night to try to disperse the demonstrators.

France pledges tougher jail terms for police assailants

France plans tougher sentences for violent attacks on police, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Monday, as the government responds to public outrage over two recent officers' killings. Anyone receiving a life sentence for a serious crime against law enforcement will serve a 30-year mandatory jail term before any eligibility for parole, under the proposals unveiled after a meeting between Castex and police unions.

Israel airstrikes kill 20 in Gaza, Palestinians say, after militants fire rockets at Jerusalem

Violent clashes over Jerusalem escalated dramatically on Monday with Gaza health officials saying at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed by Israeli air strikes launched after Palestinian militant groups fired rockets close to Jerusalem Israel's military said it carried out strikes against armed groups, rocket launchers and military posts in Gaza after militants there crossed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a "red line" by firing on the Jerusalem area for the first time since a 2014 war.

Saudi civil defense reports some damage after a Houthi projectile hits Jazan

Saudi Arabia's civil defense said on Twitter early on Tuesday that a Houthi projectile had fallen in a border village in Jazan in the south of the kingdom, resulting in some damage to a house and cars but causing no injuries. On Monday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi forces in Yemen said that it had intercepted an explosives-laden boat south of the Red Sea and destroyed an explosive drone that was fired at Abha's airport.

Colombian armed group captured 8 Venezuelan soldiers -NGO

A Venezuelan non-governmental organization said on Monday eight soldiers from the OPEC nation were being held by a faction of a Colombian rebel group that had issued a statement naming the officers, after fighting broke out along the countries' shared border zone. Javier Tarazona, director of the NGO Fundaredes, showed photos of two pages of a supposed communique from the 10th front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombian (FARC) rebels in which they gave the names of the soldiers calling them "prisoners of war." The document is undated and is addressed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

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