Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Police recommend charging Israeli deputy minister in Australia extradition case

Police recommended on Tuesday indicting Israel's deputy health minister on suspicion he tried to bolster the case of a former Australian school principal pleading mental illness as an argument against extradition to face sexual assault charges. It will be up to state prosecutors to decide whether to accept the police findings and charge the deputy minister, Yaakov Litzman, who has denied any wrongdoing.

'We will make them pay': North Korea launches missiles, condemns U.S.-South Korea drills

North Korea fired missiles into the sea off its east coast for the fourth time in less than two weeks, South Korea said on Tuesday, as Pyongyang warned that hostile moves against it "have reached the danger line." The North, criticizing the U.S.-South Korean drills and their use of high-tech weapons, has fired a series of missiles and rockets since its leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed at a June 30 meeting to revive stalled denuclearization talks.

Erdogan says Trump will not allow ties to be held 'captive' to S-400 row

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that he believes U.S. President Donald Trump will not allow ties between the two NATO allies to become captive to a dispute over Ankara's purchase of a Russian S-400 defense system. Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over Turkey's purchase of the S-400s systems, which the United States says are not compatible with NATO defenses and pose a threat to its Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Second day of telecoms blackout in Kashmir after India scraps special status

A communications blackout in disputed Kashmir entered a second day on Tuesday, after India snapped television, telephone and internet links to deter protests over its scrapping of special constitutional status for the Himalayan region. Moving to tighten its grip on India's only Muslim-majority region, the government dropped a constitutional provision for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which has long been a flashpoint in ties with neighboring Pakistan, to make its own laws.

'Ready and willing' to do a Brexit deal, Britain tells EU

Britain is "ready and willing" to do a deal to leave the European Union if Brussels renegotiates the agreement, a senior government source said on Tuesday, denying that a no-deal Brexit was Prime Minister Boris Johnson's central plan. Johnson, who took over as prime minister two weeks ago, has taken a hard line with the EU, demanding that it show willingness to change the deal it agreed with his predecessor before negotiations can restart to secure Britain's smooth departure from the bloc.

China warns Hong Kong protesters not to 'play with fire'

Protesters in Hong Kong must not "play with fire" and mistake Beijing's restraint for weakness, China said on Tuesday in its sharpest rebuke yet of the "criminals" behind demonstrations in the city whom it vowed to bring to justice. Hong Kong has suffered weeks of sometimes violent protests that began with opposition to a now-suspended extradition law, which would have allowed suspects to be tried in mainland courts.

Trump freezes all Venezuelan government assets in bid to pressure Maduro

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a freeze on all Venezuelan government assets in the United States on Monday, sharply escalating an economic and diplomatic pressure campaign aimed at removing socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power. The executive order signed by Trump goes well beyond the sanctions imposed in recent months against Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA and the country's financial sector, as well as measures against dozens of Venezuelan officials and entities.

China might escort ships in Gulf under U.S. proposal: envoy

China might escort Chinese commercial vessels in Gulf waters under a U.S. proposal for a maritime coalition to secure oil shipping lanes following attacks on tankers, its envoy to the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday. "If there happens to be a very unsafe situation we will consider having our navy escort our commercial vessels," Ambassador Ni Jian told Reuters in Abu Dhabi.

Philippines' Duterte to meet China's Xi over South China Sea arbitration win

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping soon to discuss a 2016 arbitration case over the South China Sea, an aide said on Tuesday, as domestic pressure builds for the firebrand leader to stand up to Beijing. Duterte has a consistent approval rating of about 80 percent but the same surveys show people in the Philippines mistrust China and want the government to fight its perceived maritime bullying.

War with Iran is the mother of all wars: Iran president

War with Iran is the mother of all wars, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday in a speech broadcast live on state TV, warning once again that shipping might not be safe in the Strait of Hormuz oil waterway. Tensions have risen between Iran and the West since last year when the United States pulled out of an international agreement which curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions on Iran.