Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. U.S., Russia to find ways to lift travel ban on Taliban leaders for peace talks

The United States and Russia have agreed to explore options on securing travel waivers for Taliban negotiators to participate in talks to end the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. peace envoy said ahead of a fresh round of peace talks scheduled on Monday. Lifting the travel ban imposed over Taliban leaders by the United Nations has been one of the key demands of the hardline Islamic group that started negotiations with U.S. officials in 2018 to end the 17-year-old war. Showdown looms as Venezuela opposition to confront border troops over aid

Venezuela's opposition and activists prepared on Saturday to confront troops stationed along the country's borders to block their plan to bring in food and medicine that authorities are calling a veiled U.S.-backed invasion. Opposition volunteers in neighboring Brazil and Colombia plan to arrive at the border to help carry humanitarian aid to a sick and hungry population suffering from an economic meltdown under President Nicolas Maduro. North Korea's Kim: I don't want my children to bear burden of nuclear arms - report

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told the U.S. secretary of state he did not want his children to live with the burden of nuclear weapons, a former CIA officer involved in high-level diplomacy over the North's weapons was quoted as saying on Saturday. Kim made the rare personal comments to Mike Pompeo during a visit to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, in April last year to lay the groundwork for the historic first summit between the North's leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in June in Singapore, former CIA official Andrew Kim said, South Korea's Yonhap news agency and the Wall Street Journal reported. Nigerian presidential rivals cast ballots in delayed election

President Muhammadu Buhari and his main challenger, businessman Atiku Abubakar, cast their ballots in Nigeria's presidential election on Saturday as voting began after a week's delay in Africa's biggest economic power. Analysts say the vote is too close to call, with the outcome set to hinge on which man voters most trust to revamp an economy still struggling to recover from a 2016 recession. Iran says it has many options to neutralize 'illegal' U.S. sanctions: Tasnim

Iran said on Saturday it had many options to neutralize the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, adding that Tehran's regional influence could not be curbed as demanded by Washington. "Apart from closing Strait of Hormuz, we have other options to stop oil flow if threatened," Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani told Tasnim. Bootleg liquor kills at least 84 in northeast India, 200 hospitalized

At least 84 people have died from drinking toxic bootleg liquor in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, and around 200 others have been hospitalized, a state government minister said on Saturday. The deaths come less than two weeks after more than 100 people died from drinking tainted alcohol in two northern Indian states, Uttarkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Catholic nun scolds bishops on abuse: 'This storm will not pass'

A Catholic nun told bishops on Saturday to acknowledge the church's hypocrisy in its handling of the sexual abuse crisis, and a cardinal admitted case files had been destroyed. Sister Veronica Openibo, a Nigerian who has worked in Africa, Europe and the United States, spoke with a soft voice but had a strong message for the prelates sitting before her, telling them: "This storm will not pass". North Korea's Kim sets off by train to Vietnam for summit with Trump - report

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set off by train for Vietnam on Saturday, for his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, Russia's TASS news agency reported. The report came hours after Vietnam announced that Kim would make an official visit in "coming days", as the Southeast Asian country prepares to host the summit with Trump on Wednesday and Thursday. 'I was like a prisoner': Saudi sisters trapped in Hong Kong recall beatings

Two sisters from Saudi Arabia who fled the conservative kingdom and have been hiding out in Hong Kong for nearly six months said they did so to escape beatings at the hands of their brothers and father. The pair, who say they have renounced their Muslim faith, arrived in the Chinese territory from Sri Lanka in September. They say they were prevented from boarding a connecting flight to Australia and were intercepted at the airport by diplomats from Saudi Arabia. Three UK ministers throw weight behind Brexit delay to stop no-deal

Three British cabinet ministers have publicly indicated they will back plans to delay Brexit if lawmakers vote down Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for a new deal with the European Union, writing a column in a national newspaper on Saturday. Business minister Greg Clark, work and pensions minister Amber Rudd, and justice minister David Gauke signaled in a Daily Mail column that they will side with rebels and opposition parties next week to stop Britain leaving without a divorce deal on March 29 if necessary, adding their weight to calls for May to rule out a no-deal departure.