Reuters World News Summary

"It is clear that we are just a few weeks behind what we're seeing elsewhere in Europe." Iran says it is ready to swap all prisoners with U.S. Iran is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a virtual address to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday, amid heightened tension between the longtime foes.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Palestinians arrest supporters of Abbas rival based in UAE

Palestinian security forces arrested over half a dozen supporters of an exiled Palestinian politician who some have accused of involvement in the United Arab Emirates deal to forge ties with Israel, a spokesman for his faction said. Mohammed Dahlan has lived in the UAE since being driven out of the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 2011 after a bitter row with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his political party Fatah, of which Dahlan is a member. UK Labour leader Starmer urges voters to 'take another look' at his party

British opposition leader Keir Starmer will appeal on Tuesday to former supporters of his Labour Party to return to the fold with the message that it is now under "new leadership" and shares their patriotic values. Labour suffered heavy losses at last year's election, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives won over many voters in the party's heartlands with a promise to "get Brexit done" and by tapping discontent with ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn. U.S. imposes Iran sanctions, says U.N. penalties resume despite skepticism

The United States on Monday slapped new sanctions on Iran's defense ministry and others involved in its nuclear and weapons program to support the U.S. assertion that all U.N. sanctions against Tehran are now restored, which key European allies as well as Russia and China reject. Iran said the new U.S. sanctions, which targeted 27 Iranian entities and people in the nuclear, missile and conventional arms sectors, would have no effect and accused the United States of seeking publicity. UK at critical COVID-19 moment as trend goes in wrong direction

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pondering additional COVID-19 restrictions as Britain is at a critical moment in the novel coronavirus outbreak with the trend going in the wrong direction. "We're certainly at a very critical moment this morning," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky. "It is clear that we are just a few weeks behind what we're seeing elsewhere in Europe." Iran says it is ready to swap all prisoners with U.S.

Iran is ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a virtual address to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Monday, amid heightened tension between the longtime foes. Washington has long demanded that Iran release U.S. citizens including Iranian-American father and son Baquer and Siamak Namazi, who it says are political prisoners. Australia's Victoria state reports slight rise in new COVID-19 cases

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria reported on Tuesday three deaths from the new coronavirus and 28 cases, compared with two deaths and 11 cases a day earlier. Average cases over the last two weeks in Melbourne, the epicentre of country's second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, fell below 33, state health authorities said. Belarus opposition appeal to EU fails to unblock sanctions

European Union foreign ministers failed to agree sanctions against Belarusian officials on Monday, despite an appeal by the country's main opposition leader. After a sixth straight weekend of huge protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya travelled to Brussels to try to convince the EU to follow through on a sanctions threat it announced last month. Canada police say six ricin-laced letters sent to U.S., including White House

Canadian police on Monday searched an apartment in a Montreal suburb linked to the woman arrested for sending a ricin-filled envelope to the White House and to five other addresses in Texas, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said. U.S. authorities arrested a woman at the U.S.-Canada border near Buffalo, New York, on Sunday on suspicion that she sent the deadly poison by mail, addressed to the White House. The woman has joint Canadian and French citizenship, two sources said on Monday. UK PM Johnson to urge Britons to go back to working from home: The Telegraph

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will encourage Britons on Tuesday to go back to working from home if they can to contain the spread of coronavirus, The Telegraph reported late on Monday. Johnson also warned MPs that by "taking action now we may not have to take drastic action later on", The Telegraph's chief political correspondent said in a tweet, citing sources. Navalny demands Russia returns his clothes for Novichok investigation

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny told Russia on Monday to hand over the clothes he was wearing when he fell into a coma last month and accused Moscow of withholding an important piece of evidence in his case. The outspoken opponent of President Vladimir Putin said his clothes were taken away from him before he was flown to Germany for treatment from Siberia after he became violently ill on a domestic flight.

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