World News Roundup: Russia's speaker asks parliament to look at scrapping Norway sea treaty; Exclusive-Pope hopes China deal on bishops will be renewed soon and more

The strikes, reported by the region's local governor and the Russian military, followed Moscow's capture of the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk on Sunday, a move that handed it total control of the Luhansk region, one of its main war aims. U.S., Chinese foreign ministers to meet at G20 this week U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers in Bali this week, the State Department said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia's speaker asks parliament to look at scrapping Norway sea treaty

The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament asked a senior lawmaker on Tuesday to look into scrapping a treaty that establishes the country's maritime border with NATO member Norway. The treaty, which was signed in 2010, aimed to put an end to disputes between Russia and Norway in the Barents Sea, the part of the Arctic Ocean adjoining the northern coasts of Norway and Russia.

U.S. envoy: Iran adds demands in nuclear talks, makes alarming progress on enrichment

Iran added demands unrelated to discussions on its nuclear program during the latest talks and has made alarming progress on enriching uranium, the U.S. envoy for talks on reinstating a nuclear deal said on Tuesday. U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said that there was a proposal on the table for a timeline by which Iran could come back into compliance with the nuclear deal and Washington could ease sanctions on Tehran.

'It could have happened to us,' say worried hikers in Italy

Hikers in the Dolomites in northern Italy said they were frightened after a glacier collapsed at the weekend, killing at least seven people in a tragedy experts linked to rising temperatures. "Right now after what happened I feel a bit scared because two days ago we were about to walk just near the glacier. It could have happened to us," said Mikael Bouchard, a 29-year-old from Lyon.

Back from Europe, Biden turns to diplomatically delicate Saudi Arabia trip

U.S. President Joe Biden turns his attention this month to a sensitive trip to the Middle East that will test his ability to reset relations with Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince after Biden denounced him as a pariah. So far, Biden has been pointedly unclear on whether he will have face-to-face talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto leader who the U.S. intelligence community concluded was behind the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist and political opponent Jamal Khashoggi.

Exclusive-Pope hopes China deal on bishops will be renewed soon

Pope Francis said that while the Vatican's secret and contested agreement with China on the appointment of Roman Catholic bishops is not ideal, he hopes it can be renewed in October because the Church takes the long view. Relations with China was one of the many Church and international topics the 85-year-old pontiff discussed in an exclusive interview with Reuters in his Vatican residence on July 2.

Few civilians, charred buildings in Ukraine's Lysychansk after capture by Russia

Up-ended Ukrainian police cars, riddled with bullets, hulking local government buildings scorched and holed by shells and the damaged golden dome of an Orthodox church. A Reuters reporter in Lysychansk, captured on Sunday by Russia and its separatist allies, found few residents in a city that was once home to nearly 100,000 people and widespread destruction, testament to the ferocity of the battle to take it.

Russia shells Ukraine's Donetsk after seizing Luhansk region

Russian forces struck targets across Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday to prepare the path for an expected armoured thrust to try to take more territory as the five-month-old war entered a new phase. The strikes, reported by the region's local governor and the Russian military, followed Moscow's capture of the Ukrainian city of Lysychansk on Sunday, a move that handed it total control of the Luhansk region, one of its main war aims.

U.S., Chinese foreign ministers to meet at G20 this week

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers in Bali this week, the State Department said on Tuesday. The meeting, during Blinken's Wednesday through Monday Asia trip, would be the latest high-level contact between U.S. and Chinese officials as U.S. President Joe Biden weighs lifting U.S. tariffs on some Chinese goods to curb inflation.

Finland, Sweden sign to join NATO but need ratification

NATO's 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden on Tuesday, allowing them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once parliaments ratify the decision, the most significant expansion of the alliance since the 1990s. The signing at NATO headquarters follows a deal with Turkey at last week's NATO summit in Madrid, where Ankara lifted its veto on the Nordic membership bids following assurances that both countries would do more to fight terrorism.

China touts Afghan trade and investment plans after quake

China's ambassador touted trade and investment plans for Afghanistan on Tuesday, a public endorsement for doing business in the Taliban-controlled country after an earthquake drew attention to the humanitarian consequences of Western sanctions.

At a rare press conference alongside the Taliban administration's acting minister for disaster management, Ambassador Wang Yu announced $8 million in aid for relief from the June 22 earthquake that killed more than 1,000 people.

(With inputs from agencies.)