World News Roundup: U.S. and Iranian envoys talk on nuclear deal; Lebanon PM-designate, won't be under Hezbollah sway and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

In rare move, U.S. and Iranian envoys talk after U.N. meeting on nuclear deal

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations made a rare compassionate public gesture toward her Iranian counterpart in the Security Council chamber on Thursday, expressing condolences over the death of an Iranian toddler. Since Washington pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, tensions between the United States and Tehran have risen.

Lebanon PM-designate says wants government soon, won't be under Hezbollah sway

Lebanon's prime minister-designate said he would work to form a government within six weeks to help pull the country out of a deepening economic crisis, dismissing accusations he would be dominated by the powerful Iranian backed-Hezbollah movement. Hassan Diab, an academic and former education minister, was designated on Thursday as the country's next prime minister with the support of the heavily armed Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, Lebanon's most influential group, and its allies.

UK on track for Jan. 31 Brexit as PM Johnson wins vote on deal

Prime Minister Boris Johnson won approval for his Brexit deal in parliament on Friday, the first step toward fulfilling his election pledge to deliver Britain's departure from the European Union by Jan. 31 after his landslide victory. Lawmakers voted by 358 to 234 to pass the second reading of the legislation, underlining Johnson's large majority in parliament that should ensure smooth ratification of the divorce deal to implement Britain's biggest policy shift in more than 40 years.

Australia's NSW braces for catastrophic fire conditions

Firefighters in the Australian state of New South Wales were bracing for "catastrophic" fire conditions on Saturday as temperatures well above 40C (104F) and strong winds were set to fuel more than 100 fires burning across the state. Authorities asked people to delay travel, at the start of what is normally a busy Christmas holiday period, warning of the unpredictability of the fires as winds of up to 70 kph (44 mph) were set to fan flames through the middle of the day.

U.S. conservative activist, Venezuelan pastor team up on aid effort

A conservative U.S. activist has teamed up with a prominent Venezuelan evangelical pastor to bring a $500,000 humanitarian aid shipment to the crisis-stricken country, the two men said in interviews this week. Randy Brinson, an Alabama-based gastroenterologist who also runs a voter-registration nonprofit, said the delivery of two shipping containers filled with medicine and ready-to-eat meals would arrive in January thanks to a deal brokered by the pastor, Javier Bertucci, with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government.

World leaders have given an F on climate as Thunberg joins Swedish school strikers

Greta Thunberg joined other young climate activists protesting outside the Swedish parliament on Friday for the first time since she embarked on a four-month overseas voyage to attend climate conferences in New York City and Madrid. At the protest, taking place at the end of the school term in Sweden, activists presented a report card giving politicians an F for "failed" in tackling climate change at UN-led summits over the past decade and the verdict "Needs to try harder!".

Wikileaks' Assange appears in court in Spain spying investigation

Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in a Madrid court via videolink from Britain on Friday as part of an investigation into his allegations that a Spanish firm spied on him while he lived inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The case, led by Spanish judge Jose de la Mata, focuses on allegations that first cameras and then microphones were installed in the embassy between June 2017 and early 2018 by Spanish private security firm Undercover Global S.L.

UK prosecutors to charge U.S. diplomat's wife over fatal car crash

British prosecutors said on Friday they had decided to charge the wife of a U.S. diplomat over a fatal car crash in England and to seek her extradition, a decision that "disappointed" Washington. Harry Dunn, 19, died after his motorcycle was in a collision with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas near RAF Croughton, an air force base in the English county of Northamptonshire that is used by the U.S. military.

In phone call with Trump, China's Xi says U.S. interfering in internal affairs

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and claimed progress on issues from trade to North Korea and Hong Kong, but China said Xi accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs. The two leaders spoke a week after their envoys sealed a "Phase 1" agreement aimed at ending an 18-month trade war that has rattled markets and raised tensions.

Russia, backed by China, casts 14th U.N. veto on Syria to block cross-border aid

Russia, backed by China, on Friday cast its 14th U.N. Security Council veto since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 to block cross-border aid deliveries from Turkey and Iraq to millions of Syrian civilians. The resolution, drafted by Belgium, Kuwait, and Germany, would have allowed cross-border humanitarian deliveries for a further 12 months from two points in Turkey and one in Iraq. But Syrian ally Russia only wanted to approve the two Turkish crossings for six months and had proposed its own draft text.