World News Roundup: Taliban attacks kill 30, Afghan leader unhurt as bomb hits rally

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Top court to rule on British PM Johnson's suspension of parliament

Britain's top court met on Tuesday to consider whether a decision by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to suspend parliament until shortly before the date for Brexit was illegal. Scottish judges ruled last week the suspension was unlawful and supporters of the legal challenge in the Supreme Court want parliament recalled immediately if it rules against Johnson's decision. Critics say he should quit if judges rule against him.

Iran rules out talks as Trump links Tehran to Saudi oil attack

Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday ruled out talks with Washington after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for an attack on Saudi oil facilities that knocked out half the kingdom's output. Trump said on Monday that it looked like Iran was behind the weekend strike at the heart of the Saudi oil industry, which cut 5% of global production, but stressed he did not want to go to war. Iran denied it was to blame.

Hong Kong leader to hold dialogue aimed at easing tensions

Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, said on Tuesday she and her team would begin dialogue sessions with the community next week, while reiterating that violence that has roiled the city over three months of protests must end. Lam, who is under pressure from Beijing to defuse the public anger stirring the protests, said the dialogue sessions would be as open as possible, with members of the public able to sign up to attend.

Russian celebrities demand release of actor jailed over protest

Many Russian celebrities took to social media on Tuesday to condemn what they said was the brazenly unjust jailing of a novice actor over an opposition protest and demanded that the authorities release him from prison. Pavel Ustinov, 23, was sentenced on Monday to three and a half years in jail for dislocating a police officer's shoulder when he was arrested during an Aug. 3 rally in Moscow. He denied the charges and said he had not even taken part in the protest.

Russia detains two North Korean vessels after attack: TASS

Russian border guards detained two North Korean racketeering vessels in Russian territorial waters in the Sea of Japan after one of them attacked a Russian patrol ship, the TASS news agency cited the FSB security service as saying on Tuesday. "The crew of a North Korean schooner (more than 45 people) carried out an armed attack on a border patrol ship's inspection team. Three military personnel were injured," the TASS news agency cited the Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying.

Warning of election 'disaster', Israel's Netanyahu battles for survival

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu battled for his political survival in the final hours of a close-run election on Tuesday, urging voters to support him to avert a "disaster". His voice hoarse from weeks of campaigning, the veteran leader took to the streets and social media, at one point using a megaphone in Jerusalem's bus station, to urge voters to extend his unbroken decade in power.

Merkel urges return to Iran nuclear deal to defuse Middle East tensions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday called for a return to an international deal curbing Iran's nuclear activities as the only way to defuse tensions in the Middle East. "We believe that the deal to stop Iran from acquiring military nuclear capabilities is a building block we need to get back to," Merkel said during a news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah.

Thai PM defends police monitoring of Muslim university students

Thailand's prime minister on Tuesday defended police for requesting information about minority Muslim students from universities around the country, after criticism of the move as discriminatory and illegal. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said the police request, which follows a series of bomb blasts in Bangkok in August that was blamed on Muslim suspects, was needed to build a national security database.

Taliban attacks kill 30, Afghan leader unhurt as bomb hits rally

Taliban suicide attackers killed at least 30 people in Afghanistan on Tuesday, their deadliest bombing taking place near an election rally by President Ashraf Ghani, although he was unhurt. The attacks happened 11 days before Afghanistan's presidential elections, which Taliban commanders have vowed to violently disrupt, and follow collapsed peace talks between the United States and the insurgent group.

Lagarde wins EU lawmakers' approval to lead ECB

The European Parliament backed Christine Lagarde on Tuesday as the next president of the European Central Bank, paving the way for her to become the first woman to hold the post. Lawmakers voted 394 in favor, 206 against and with 49 abstentions in the parliament's plenary in Strasbourg.

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