World News Roundup: US still aiming to cut Iran oil sales; Venezuelan migrants struggle abroad

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

The U.S. still aiming to cut Iran oil sales to zero, market well-supplied: U.S. envoy for Iran

The United States is still aiming to cut Iran's oil sales to zero and does not foresee the re-imposition of oil sanctions against Tehran on Nov. 4 as having a negative impact on the market as it is well-supplied and balanced, Washington's special envoy for Iran said on Monday. Speaking to reporters in a conference call, Brian Hook also said Iran's ballistic missile activities need to be deterred and that European efforts to create a special purpose vehicle for trade with Tehran would find no demand as more than 100 foreign firms had indicated they would be leaving the country.

Stalemate: Britain's May under mounting pressure to rethink Brexit plan

British Prime Minister Theresa May will face mounting pressure on Monday to rethink her plan for leaving the European Union after Brexit talks reached a stand-off at the weekend over the so-called Irish backstop. Less than six months before Britain leaves the bloc and days before May heads to Brussels for a summit on Wednesday when both sides hope to make progress, the Brexit talks were paused on Sunday after the two sides failed to agree on how to deal with the United Kingdom's only land border with the EU.

Fleeing hardship at home, Venezuelan migrants struggle abroad, too

Every few minutes, the reeds along the Tachira River rustle. Smugglers, in ever growing numbers, emerge with a ragtag group of Venezuelan migrants – men struggling under tattered suitcases, women hugging bundles in blankets and schoolchildren carrying backpacks. They step across rocks, wade into the muddy stream and cross illegally into Colombia.

UK's Prince Harry and wife Meghan expecting the first baby next year

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are expecting their first child in the spring of 2019, around a year after their glittering wedding injected Hollywood glamour into the British royal family. Harry, 34, younger son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, married the U.S. television star Meghan Markle in May at a ceremony that mixed traditional British pomp with a gospel choir and other nods to her American heritage.

Humiliating losses in Bavarian election shake Merkel's coalition

Germany woke up on Monday to the news that its crisis-prone government could become even more unstable after the parties ruling in a loveless coalition suffered humiliating results in an election in the southern state of Bavaria. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies slumped to their worst election results in almost 70 years and her junior coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), saw support in Bavaria halved.

German police suspect hostage has been taken in Cologne

A woman has probably been taken a hostage in the western German city of Cologne, police said on Monday, urging people to stay away from the area around the city's main train station. "We assume that a hostage has been taken, either at McDonald's or at a nearby pharmacy," a police spokeswoman said, adding: "A woman is probably being held but we don't have any further details."

Saudi king orders probe in Khashoggi case, Turkey to search consulate

Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Monday ordered an internal probe into the unexplained disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a joint Turkish-Saudi team was set to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where he was last seen on Oct. 2. A Turkish diplomatic source said investigators would inspect the consulate on Monday afternoon, following delays last week when the two countries agreed to work together to find out what happened to Khashoggi, a critic of the Kingdom's policies.

North, South Korea agree to reconnect roads, rail amid U.S. concern over easing sanctions

North and South Korea agreed on Monday to begin reconnecting rail and road links, another step in an improving relationship that has raised U.S. concern about the possible undermining of its bid to press the North to give up its nuclear program. The agreement on transport links came during talks in the border village of Panmunjom aimed at following up on the third summit this year between South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, last month.

A year after blogger's murder, many questions unanswered on Malta

A year since its most prominent journalist was murdered, the tiny state of Malta has still not solved the mystery behind her death, or overcome the bitter division left by her legacy. Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, who penned an anti-corruption blog, was killed on Oct. 16, 2017, when a bomb placed inside her car blew up as she left her home in the peaceful hamlet of Bidnija, near the capital Valletta.

Syrian FM: Idlib situation untenable if jihadists won't comply with the deal

Syria's foreign minister said on Monday the situation in Idlib cannot continue if jihadists do not comply with a Russian-Turkish agreement for the area, on the day of a critical deal deadline. "We cannot keep quiet about the continuation of the current situation in Idlib if the Nusra Front refuses to comply with this agreement," Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said at a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Damascus.