Reuters World News Summary

As Afghanistan peace talks stutter, U.S. says violence levels too high The level of violence in Afghanistan is unacceptably high and the United States expects further setbacks during talks, the Special Representative for Afghanistan said on Tuesday, as the Afghan government and Taliban remained far apart on even basic issues 10 days into talks meant to end two decades of war.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Rouhani says U.S. can impose neither negotiations nor war on Iran

Iran's president told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the United States could impose "neither negotiations nor war" on the Islamic Republic amid heightened tension between the longtime foes over Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers. "Iran is not a bargaining chip in U.S. elections and domestic policy ... Any U.S. administration after the upcoming (U.S.) elections will have no choice but to surrender to the resilience of the Iranian nation," Hassan Rouhani told the annual U.N. gathering in a video message. Turkey's Erdogan, France's Macron discuss Eastern Mediterranean tensions

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and France's Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday they had held their first conversation in months following a standoff between the two NATO allies over mounting tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. In a statement after a call between the two leaders, the Turkish presidency said Erdogan emphasized the need for using diplomatic opportunities to de-escalate the situation and achieve sustainable negotiations. Saudi Arabia says any nuclear deal with Iran must preserve non-proliferation

Saudi Arabia said that any nuclear deal with Iran has to preserve non-proliferation and continue efforts aimed at making the Middle East a zone free of mass destruction weapons, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday. The agreement "has to address Iran's destabilising behaviours and its sponsorship of terrorism in the region to prevent it from any provocative actions in the future" it said in a statement issued after weekly cabinet meeting. Mexican soldiers may be arrested in infamous missing students case: sources

Mexican authorities are preparing arrest warrants that could for the first time target soldiers in the investigation into the 2014 abduction and presumed massacre of 43 students, according to three sources briefed on the new developments. The unsolved kidnapping of the young men who were training to be teachers convulsed the country and garnered international condemnation as one of the darkest examples of the government's longstanding difficulty preventing violence or convicting those responsible. As Afghanistan peace talks stutter, U.S. says violence levels too high

The level of violence in Afghanistan is unacceptably high and the United States expects further setbacks during talks, the Special Representative for Afghanistan said on Tuesday, as the Afghan government and Taliban remained far apart on even basic issues 10 days into talks meant to end two decades of war. "By any measure, current levels of violence are too high," special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told a House of Representatives hearing. Woman suspected of mailing ricin letter to Trump ordered to stay in U.S. custody

A Canadian woman arrested on suspicion of mailing ricin-filled letters to President Donald Trump and six people in Texas made her first court appearance on Tuesday in Buffalo, New York, and was ordered to remain in federal custody. The suspect, identified in court documents as Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 53, a resident of Canada's Quebec province, is charged with making threats against the president of the United States. At U.N., Trump demands action against China over virus, Xi urges cooperation

U.S. President Donald Trump used the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to attack China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the world body "must hold China accountable" for its actions related to the outbreak. By contrast, China's President Xi Jinping struck a conciliatory tone in his pre-recorded virtual address to the General Assembly, calling for enhanced cooperation over the pandemic and stressing that China had no intention of fighting "either a Cold War or a hot one" with any other country. 'Unacceptable' if Mexicans subjected to medical abuse in U.S. custody, minister says

Mexico is interviewing at least six women who may have been subject to improper medical procedures, including hysterectomies, at a U.S. immigration detention center in Georgia, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday. If the improper procedures are confirmed, measures would have to be taken, Ebrard said, without giving details. He called the abuse described in a whistleblower's complaint "unacceptable." COVID 'firepower': Britain imposes six-month curbs against second wave

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the British people on Tuesday to work from home where possible and ordered restaurants and bars to close early to tackle a fast-spreading second wave of COVID-19, with new restrictions lasting probably six months. After scientific warnings that deaths could soar without urgent action, Johnson stopped short of imposing another full lockdown, as he did in March, but warned that further measures could come if the disease was not suppressed. UK PM Johnson wins over rebels on Brexit treaty-busting powers

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday moved a step closer to getting parliamentary approval for new powers to break the Withdrawal Agreement struck with the European Union last year as lawmakers backed changes to the Internal Market Bill . The bill aims to ensure Britain's four nations can trade freely with each other after Brexit. Ministers say that will require breaking the EU exit treaty to protect Northern Ireland unless stalled talks with Brussels make a breakthrough.

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