World News Roundup: Pompeo on North Korea talks; Hong Kong leader calls for dialogue and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pompeo says North Korea talks have not resumed as quickly as hoped: CBS

The United States has not returned to the negotiation table with North Korea as quickly as it had hoped, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, but he added that Washington knew there would be 'bumps on the road' in the denuclearization talks. Speaking in an interview with CBS, Pompeo said Washington was concerned about North Korea's firing of short-range missiles. "I wish they would not," he said, referring to the tests.

Hong Kong leader says dialogue and 'mutual respect' offer way out of chaos

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she hoped a peaceful weekend anti-government protest was the start of efforts to restore calm and that talks with non-violent protesters would provide "a way out" for the Chinese-ruled city. Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied peacefully in torrential rain on Sunday in the eleventh week of what have been often violent demonstrations.

Polish PM seeks explanations over report minister sought to discredit judges

Poland's prime minister demanded explanations on Tuesday about accusations that a deputy minister sought to discredit judges critical of the government's judicial reforms by planting media rumors about their private lives. It was the latest in a series of scandals to hit Poland's ruling nationalists - who have come under European Union fire over moves to increase political controls over the judiciary - ahead of elections in October.

Exclusive: EU contests Johnson letter, says backstop only way to keep Irish border open - document

The European Union "contests" British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for the Brexit backstop to be dropped and regrets his bid to scrap a "necessary, legally operative solution" to avoid erecting an Irish border, a document seen by Reuters says. The note sets out the agreed joint position of the 27 EU states staying on together after Brexit, after the bloc's top institutions in Brussels had already rebuffed Johnson's push to change Britain's divorce terms.

U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo says ISIS strong in some areas: CBS

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Tuesday that Islamic State militants are gaining strength in some areas but said the militant group's capacity to conduct attacks has been greatly diminished. "It's complicated. There are certainly places where ISIS is more powerful today than they were three or four years ago," Pompeo said in an interview with CBS "This Morning." But he said the group's self-proclaimed caliphate is gone and its attack capability has been made much more difficult.

Italy's Di Maio signals imminent end of government, thanks Conte

Luigi Di Maio, head of the ruling 5-Star Movement, signaled the imminent demise of Italy's coalition government on Tuesday by thanking Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte for his time in office. "Whatever happens, I wanted to tell you that it was an honor to work together in this government," said Di Maio, who serves as deputy prime minister in the cabinet.

Shots fired after man in Brazil hijacks bus, takes dozens of hostages

An armed man hijacked a bus in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, taking 37 commuters hostage before freeing six of them, officials and local media said. Globo News, citing witnesses and police sources, reported that shots were fired and that the hostage-taker had apparently been killed, but there was no official confirmation of this.

Russia to nuclear test ban monitor: Test accident not your business

Russia told an agency that verifies a ban on nuclear tests that a military test accident in the country's north this month was none of its business and that handing it any radiation data was voluntary, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday. The Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said on Monday that two Russian monitoring sites closest to the mysterious explosion went offline days after the blast, soon followed by two more, fuelling suspicions that Russia tampered with them.

More than 10 jump overboard from migrant ship stranded off Italy

More than 10 of the migrants on a rescue ship stranded off southern Italy jumped overboard and tried to swim ashore on Tuesday as the Spanish charity operating the vessel remained in a stand-off with the Italian government over the migrants' fate. The ship Open Arms, at sea for 19 days with almost 100 migrants onboard, has been waiting just off the port of Lampedusa, asking to bring the mostly African migrants ashore despite an Italian ban on private rescue ships docking.

Greece says has had no request from Iranian oil tanker to dock

Greece said on Tuesday it had not had a request for an oil tanker at the center of a row between Iran and the U.S. to dock at one of its ports, as Washington warned Greece against helping the vessel. The Adrian Darya 1 -- formerly the Grace 1 -- left Gibraltar on Aug 18. Ship-tracking data on Tuesday showed the vessel was heading towards the Greek port of Kalamata on the southern coast of the Peloponnese and was scheduled to arrive on Aug. 26.