World News Summary: UK's Liberal Democrat leader sent suspicious package ahead of UK election: ITV

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. UK's Liberal Democrat leader sent suspicious package ahead of UK election: ITV

Britain's anti-Brexit Liberal Democrat party leader Jo Swinson was the recipient of a suspicious package delivered to her office in parliament ahead of the upcoming general election, ITV reported on Monday. Swinson has toughened her party's anti-Brexit stance since taking over as a leader in July, promising to cancel Brexit if the Liberal Democrats score an unlikely victory in a widely expected early election. Asia-wide trade pact on course despite India, Thailand says

Thailand said on Monday that Asian countries had held conclusive talks on what could be the world's biggest trade pact and there would be an announcement of success at a summit in Bangkok despite doubts raised by India. Spurred in part by the U.S.-China trade war, Southeast Asian countries hoped to announce at least a provisional agreement on the China-backed 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Monday. U.S. envoy decries Chinese 'intimidation' in the South China Sea

A U.S. envoy denounced Chinese "intimidation" in the South China Sea at a summit of Southeast Asian leaders on Monday and said they should not be bullied into giving up their resources by what he compared to a conquest. The raised rhetoric from White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Bangkok drew a rebuke from China, which lays claim to most of the busy waterway. Defying PM, thousands of Iraqis continue to flood Baghdad square

Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in central Baghdad on Monday, defying the prime minister's plea to end protests which he says are costing Iraq's economy billions of dollars and disrupting daily life. The protests have broken nearly two years of relative stability in Iraq since they started on Oct.1. More than 250 people have been killed. Turkey says it will send back Islamic State prisoners even if citizenships revoked

Turkey will send captured Islamic State members back to their countries even if their citizenships have been revoked, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Monday, criticizing the approach of European countries on the issue. Turkey launched an offensive into northeastern Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia last month following a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw troops from the region. The move prompted widespread concern over the fate of Islamic State prisoners in the region. Iran scales back nuclear pact compliance with new centrifuges move

Iran is launching a new array of 30 advanced IR-6 centrifuges on Monday, the country's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state television, scaling back Tehran's commitments under a nuclear agreement with major powers. "Today, we are witnessing the launch of the array of 30 IR-6 centrifuges," Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said. He added that the move would show Iran's "capacity and determination". North Korea, U.S. could resume talks in mid-November: South Korean MP

North Korea and the United States could hold another round of working-level talks as soon as mid-November to expedite progress before a year-end deadline set by the North, a member of South Korea's parliament said on Monday. North Korean and U.S. officials met last month in Stockholm, for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in June to reopen denuclearization talks that stalled after a failed summit in Vietnam in February. Hong Kong braces for protests as two critical after weekend clashes

Two people were in critical condition in Hong Kong, police said on Monday, after a weekend of chaotic clashes with anti-government protesters, as China called for a "tougher" stance to end months of unrest that have roiled the Asian financial hub. Riot police stormed several shopping malls on Sunday, including Cityplaza, packed with families and children in the eastern suburb of Taikoo Shing. In Lebanon's sweeping protests, hard-hit Tripoli sets the tempo

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri's resignation has failed to quell nationwide protests but nowhere have they proven more determined and more energetic than in the second biggest city, Tripoli, whose residents complain of decades of neglect. On Monday, after a period of relative calm, protesters blocked roads in Beirut and elsewhere to press their demands against the ruling elite that have plunged Lebanon into political turmoil at a time of economic crisis. Turkey's Erdogan may call off U.S. trip after Congress votes: officials

President Tayyip Erdogan may call off a visit to Washington next week in protest at votes in the House of Representatives to recognize mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide and to seek sanctions on Turkey, three Turkish officials said. Erdogan is due in Washington on Nov. 13 at President Donald Trump's invitation but said last week that the votes put a "question mark" over the plans.