World News Roundup: UK PM Johnson's no-deal Brexit gamble hammers sterling; Pakistani military plane crashes near garrison city, kills 17

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Trump wants forces reduced in Afghanistan by next U.S. election: Pompeo

U.S. President Donald Trump wants combat forces reduced in Afghanistan by the next U.S. presidential election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, in comments that underlined the growing pressure from Washington to cut troop numbers there. Trump's South Asia strategy, unveiled in August 2017, called for an open-ended deployment of U.S. forces with the goal of compelling the Taliban to negotiate peace with the Kabul government to end nearly 18 years of war.

Climate activist Thunberg to sail to U.N. summit in New York from Britain

Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg will sail to the United Nations climate summit in New York from Britain. The 16-year-old has inspired young climate protesters around the world, warning about the dangers of inaction and global warming.

Death toll in Brazil prison massacre rises to 57 with over a dozen decapitated

A bloody clash between two prison gangs on Monday left at least 57 inmates dead with 16 of them decapitated, authorities in the state of Para said, the latest deadly clash as Brazil's government struggles to control the country's overcrowded jails. State authorities said the riot began around 7 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) at a prison in the northern city of Altamira and involved rival gangs.

UK PM Johnson's no-deal Brexit gamble hammers sterling

The British pound tumbled on Tuesday as investors bet Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit brinkmanship with the European Union could trigger a messy divorce that would sow chaos through the world economy and financial markets. Sterling crashed through trading barriers, falling to an intraday low of $1.2120 in shallower overnight Asian trade, the lowest since March 2017. The pound has lost 3.6 cents since Johnson was named Britain's new prime minister a week ago.

China says most people in Xinjiang camps have 'returned to society'

Most people sent to mass detention centers in China's Xinjiang region have "returned to society", a senior official from the region said on Tuesday, but he declined to give an estimate of for many have been held in recent years. U.N. experts and activists say at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs, and members of other largely Muslim minority groups, have been detained in camps in the western region.

Russia says U.S. may be aiming to quit nuclear test ban treaty

The United States may be planning to blame Russian non-compliance as a pretext to pull out of the Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a Russian diplomat told the Conference on Disarmament, the world's main arms talks forum, on Tuesday. "It would appear that through propaganda around false claims about Russia's compliance there are attempts to prepare an international opinion for a U.S. exit from the CTBT and then to blame Russia again for everything," the Russian diplomat said.

Hong Kong protesters disrupt train services, cause commuter chaos

Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters blocked train services during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, causing commuter chaos in the latest anti-government campaign to roil the former British colony. What started three months ago as rallies against an extradition bill that would have allowed people in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial, has evolved into a wider backlash against the city's government and its political masters in Beijing.

Pakistani military plane crashes near garrison city, kills 17

A Pakistani military aircraft on a training flight crashed in a built-up area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi early on Tuesday killing all five crew members and 12 civilians and setting off a blaze that left a pile of smoking rubble. A statement from the Pakistani military said the aircraft was on a routine training flight when it crashed but there was no immediate word on the cause of the accident or the type of aircraft involved.

Russian court rejects Kremlin critic Navalny's early release appeal

A court in Moscow rejected jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny's appeal for early release on health grounds on Tuesday after he was suddenly taken ill in custody at the weekend and rushed to the hospital to be treated. Navalny was jailed for 30 days last week for urging people to take part in an unauthorized opposition protest. He was hospitalized on Sunday and discharged on Monday. He has said he may have been poisoned, a suspicion shared by his lawyer and personal doctor.

Rivals Iran and UAE to hold maritime security talks

Iran was to revive maritime security talks on Tuesday with officials from traditional foe the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid worsening frictions between the Islamic Republic and the West in the Gulf region, Iranian media reported. The talks had been off since 2013, but the UAE wants to help calm the crisis and guard its reputation as a safe business hub.

Also Read: UPDATE 1-Greta Thunberg to French MPs: you can ignore children, not scientists