Reuters World News Summary

Brigadier General Dan Goldfus urged politicians "on all sides" to reject extremism and unite, avoiding a return to status quo before the outbreak of the conflict in October - when political divisions and months of protests had left Israel deeply polarized. Putin's hawks say Ukraine was involved in deadly Moscow concert attack Two powerful allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that they believed Ukraine was involved in the attack on a concert hall just outside Moscow that killed at least 139 people and wounded 180 others.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-Russian investigators question Moscow attack suspects' families in Tajikistan, sources say

Russian investigators were in Tajikistan on Tuesday, questioning the families of four men charged with carrying out a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, three Tajik security sources told Reuters. The sources, who were not authorised to comment publicly, said Tajik security officials had brought the families to the capital Dushanbe from the towns of Vakhdat and Gissar, and from the Rudaki district.

US reporter Gershkovich's detention in Russia extended by three months

A Russian court on Tuesday extended by three months the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested almost a year ago on suspicion of espionage while on a reporting trip in the city of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich, 32, became the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29.

Six killed in suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan

A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing six people, police said, the third major attack on Chinese interests in the South Asian country in a week. The first two attacks hit an airbase and a strategic port in the southwest province of Balochistan where China is investing billions in infrastructure projects.

Julian Assange wins temporary reprieve from extradition to US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition to the United States from Britain was put on hold on Tuesday after London's High Court said the U.S. must provide assurances he would not face the death penalty. U.S. prosecutors are seeking to put Assange, 52, on trial on 18 counts, all bar one under the Espionage Act, over WikiLeaks' high-profile release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables.

Netanyahu coalition under strain after standoff with US over Gaza vote

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced growing strains on his divided coalition on Tuesday after an angry standoff with Washington worsened disagreements over proposals to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military. Israeli media reported that a cabinet meeting to discuss the planned changes to the conscription law had been called off, with only days left before the government has to present proposals to the Supreme Court. Asked about the reports, a Netanyahu aide said a cabinet session had yet to be scheduled.

As Israel's politicians squabble, some soldiers voice their anger

Standing in front of a tank on the edge of the Gaza Strip, an Israeli general interrupted his speech on the war against Hamas to deliver a televised rebuke to Israel's political leaders. Brigadier General Dan Goldfus urged politicians "on all sides" to reject extremism and unite, avoiding a return to status quo before the outbreak of the conflict in October - when political divisions and months of protests had left Israel deeply polarized.

Putin's hawks say Ukraine was involved in deadly Moscow concert attack

Two powerful allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that they believed Ukraine was involved in the attack on a concert hall just outside Moscow that killed at least 139 people and wounded 180 others. Ukraine has repeatedly denied any involvement and Islamic State, the militant group that once sought control over swathes of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Father and wife's illnesses focus attention on future king, Prince William

With both his father King Charles and his wife Kate absent from public duties as they undergo treatment for cancer, Britain's Prince William has come under the media and public spotlight like never before. As heir to the throne and as a son of the late Princess Diana, the 41-year-old is accustomed to the scrutiny that comes with being a British royal.

Baltimore bridge collision sends vehicles tumbling into water

A container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the U.S. port of Baltimore in darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below. Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.

Dozens killed in Israeli strikes on north and south of Gaza

Israeli air strikes killed dozens of Palestinians at both ends of the Gaza Strip overnight, hitting the area around Al Shifa hospital in the north and Rafah on the southern edge where more than a million people have sought shelter. In the north, where intense fighting has raged for more than a week around Al Shifa, members of the Haseera family told Reuters dozens had been killed in a strike that wiped out a family compound near Gaza's biggest hospital.