World News Roundup: Russia deploys troops to Nagorno-Karabakh after ceasefire deal announced; Turkey says it expects issues poisoning ties with U.S. to be addressed and more

UK expects countries to recognise need for Brexit measures, says PM's spokesman Britain expects other countries to recognise that the government must stop its internal market being undermined, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday, defending legislation that undercuts its Brexit deal.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

EU seeks 'new transatlantic agenda' with Biden: EU chief executive

The United States and the European Union need to forge a new transatlantic alliance in areas such as climate change and the digital economy under president-elect Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Europe, she said, should take the initiative, with an offer to work with the new U.S. administration, stressing it would not mean a return to the agenda of five years ago.

UK expects countries to recognise need for Brexit measures, says PM's spokesman

Britain expects other countries to recognise that the government must stop its internal market being undermined, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday, defending legislation that undercuts its Brexit deal. Asked whether the prime minister agreed with some in Britain's upper chamber, which voted to strip contentious clauses introduced to the Internal Market Bill, that passing the legislation would undermine Britain's reputation, the spokesman told reporters: Spain starts trial of suspects linked to deadly 2017 van attack

The trial of three men suspected of belonging to an Islamist militant cell behind a van rampage on Barcelona's central Las Ramblas boulevard in 2017 started on Tuesday in Spain's High Court, amid heightened security measures. Two defendants, a Spaniard and a Moroccan, face charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation, manufacturing and storing explosives, and attempting to cause widespread destruction, according to court documents.

Vienna attacker seems to have acted alone, police chief says

At the moment there is no sign the jihadist who killed four people last week in a shooting rampage in central Vienna had help in carrying out his attack, Vienna's police chief said on Tuesday. "So far there are no indications that we need to depart from the lone perpetrator theory. The exact route from (his) home to the crime scene or from somewhere else to the crime scene is the subject of investigations," Vienna police chief Gerhard Puerstl said in an interview with ORF radio.

UK abuse inquiry says Catholic Church prioritised reputation over children

The Roman Catholic Church in Britain prioritised its own reputation over the welfare of vulnerable children for decades, with its moral purpose betrayed by those who sexually abused children, an independent inquiry said on Tuesday. The Catholic Church received more than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 instances of child sex abuse in England and Wales between 1970 and 2015, and there have been more than 100 reported allegations a year since 2016.

Ethiopia PM not rebuffing international calls for calm amid conflict, says spokeswoman

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is not rebuffing international calls for calm amid an escalating conflict in the country's restive Tigray region that many fear is sliding toward civil war, his office's spokeswoman said on Tuesday. "There is no rebuffing of anyone by the Prime Minister. He had acknowledged and given gratitude for the concerns shown. Nevertheless, Ethiopia is a sovereign nation and its government will ultimately make decisions in the long term interest of the country and its people," said Billene Seyoum in an emailed response to a request for comment on a diplomat's account that Abiy "is not listening to anyone".

Russia deploys troops to Nagorno-Karabakh after ceasefire deal announced

Russian peacekeeping troops deployed to the war-ravaged enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in the early hours of Tuesday as part of a ceasefire deal President Vladimir Putin said should pave the way for a lasting political settlement of the conflict there. The deal, agreed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, ushered in a full ceasefire from midnight Moscow time on Nov. 10, freezing a conflict that has killed thousands, displaced many more and threatened to plunge the wider region into war.

Turkey says it expects issues poisoning ties with U.S. to be addressed

Turkey expects issues poisoning ties with the United States to be addressed, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, adding the search for solutions to conflicts in Syria and Libya were presenting new opportunities to improve ties. Ankara has been at odds with its NATO ally Washington over issues including policy differences in Syria and its purchase of Russian missile defences. As a result, the United States removed Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet programme, saying the Russian systems put the jets in jeopardy.

Taliban call on Biden to stick to U.S. troop withdrawal deal

Afghanistan's insurgent Taliban on Tuesday called on the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to stick to the February agreement to withdraw U.S. troops. The United States has been pulling out troops under the deal which envisages the withdrawal to be complete by May, subject to certain security guarantees, while the Taliban holds peace talks with the Afghan government in Doha.

Palestinian negotiator Erekat dies after contracting COVID-19

Saeb Erekat, one of the most experienced and high-profile advocates for the Palestinian cause over decades of dispute with Israel, died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19. He was 65. Having sat down with Israeli and U.S. leaders in the 1990s and 2000s, in recent years Erekat was the principal face of a war of words with President Donald Trump's administration over a Middle East plan that envisaged leaving Israel in control of Jewish settlements and large parts of the occupied West Bank.