Reuters World News Summary

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Wednesday, has said the United States will rejoin the pact, which includes restrictions on Iran's nuclear work, if Tehran resumes strict compliance. Britain says working to release Zaghari-Ratcliffe, other dual nationals in Iran Britain is working "virtually around the clock" to secure the release of British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other dual nationals held in Tehran, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. UK PM Johnson says some fishermen have faced post-Brexit barriers

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that some fishermen had experienced problems exporting fish to the European Union, an issue he said had been compounded by a decline in fish eating across Europe due to restaurant closures. "It is, it is absolutely true that some British fishermen have faced barriers at the present time owing to complications over form filling," Johnson told parliament.

Germany says no concrete preparations for coronavirus border checks The German government is not making concrete preparations for border checks and is hoping they can be prevented, an interior ministry spokesman said on Thursday. Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Tuesday that her country, which is part of Europe’s Schengen free travel zone, may need to consider curbs if other European countries do not act to halt the spread of the coronavirus and particularly its more transmissible variants.

Iran's Rouhani says "ball in U.S. court" over nuclear dispute Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the incoming U.S. administration on Wednesday to return to a 2015 nuclear agreement and lift sanctions on Tehran, while welcoming the end of "tyrant" President Donald Trump's era. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Wednesday, has said the United States will rejoin the pact, which includes restrictions on Iran's nuclear work, if Tehran resumes strict compliance.

Britain says working to release Zaghari-Ratcliffe, other dual nationals in Iran Britain is working "virtually around the clock" to secure the release of British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other dual nationals held in Tehran, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday. "We're working virtually around the clock to secure the release of all the dual nationals that concern us in Tehran ... We're doing everything we can to secure the (end to) what we regard as the completely unjustified detention in Tehran of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe," he told parliament.

Biden begins presidency as Trump ended his - with a sharp focus on immigration Within hours of being sworn in as president on Wednesday, Joe Biden will announce an immigration bill that would open a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country unlawfully, a sharp contrast to the policies of outgoing Republican President Donald Trump. Biden, a Democrat, will also sign 15 executive actions on Wednesday, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. At least six of those will deal with immigration, according to a memo, making it a major focus of Biden's first day in office.

Indian villagers celebrate inauguration of Kamala Harris Residents of the ancestral Indian village of Kamala Harris celebrated her inauguration as U.S. vice president on Wednesday by setting off firecrackers and distributing food. Thulasendrapuram, a leafy village about 320 km (200 miles) south of the city of Chennai, is where Harris’s maternal grandfather was born more than a century ago.

China takes parting shot at 'lying and cheating' Pompeo With hours left in Donald Trump's presidency, China's foreign ministry took aim at its chief U.S. antagonist, "lying and cheating" Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and said it would seek cooperation with the incoming administration of Joe Biden. Pompeo, who has unleashed a barrage of measures against China in his final weeks in office, delivered his own parting shot on Tuesday when he announced that the Trump administration had determined that China has committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” by repressing Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

How world leaders are reacting to Joe Biden's inauguration Here's how world leaders are reacting to Democrat Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. Biden is to be sworn in as U.S. president soon after noon (1700 GMT), taking over from Republican Donald Trump. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON, SPEAKING IN PARLIAMENT

Japanese Trump supporters rally in Tokyo ahead of Biden's inauguration A small group of Japanese fans of Donald Trump took to the streets of Tokyo on Wednesday, shouting support for the outgoing United States president hours before his successor Joe Biden is sworn into office. About 120 people joined the march in central Tokyo, with participants waving American and Japanese flags and holding banners claiming Trump was "the true winner" of the Nov. 3 election.

Thai govt files royal insult complaint after criticism of its vaccine strategy Thailand's government on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint of defaming the monarchy against a banned opposition politician after he criticised the country's COVID-19 vaccine strategy. The move could mark the highest-profile lese majeste case since a wave of anti-government protests emerged last year and extended to criticism of King Maha Vajiralongkorn over accusations of meddling in politics and taking too much power.