Reuters World News Summary

Making his first public comments on Iran as the chief U.S. diplomat, Blinken reiterated President Joe Biden's policy "that if Iran comes back into full compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA, the United States would do the same thing." New Zealand, Taiwan top COVID performance ranking, U.S., UK languish New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan rank the top three in a COVID Performance Index of almost 100 countries for their successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Britain and America near the bottom of the pile.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Exclusive: Do we need to sanction each other? German minister asks after Blinken call

Germany's foreign minister questioned whether transatlantic sanctions are appropriate even if Washington and Berlin have policy differences following a constructive first phone call with new U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. Last week, in the final days of the Trump administration, the United States imposed sanctions on a ship involved in building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to take Russian natural gas to Europe. Security forces clash with protesters in locked-down Lebanon

Lebanese security forces clashed for the third night with protesters in Tripoli angry about a coronavirus lockdown, with witnesses and local media reporting that riot police fired live bullets as protesters tried to storm the city's government building. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who threw stones, hurled Molotov cocktails and lit a car on fire, a witness and police said. Dozens were wounded. New U.S. secretary of state stands by demand Iran return to nuclear deal before U.S. does

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday stuck to his stance that Tehran must resume complying with the Iran nuclear deal before Washington, which abandoned the pact under former President Donald Trump, would do so. Making his first public comments on Iran as the chief U.S. diplomat, Blinken reiterated President Joe Biden's policy "that if Iran comes back into full compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA, the United States would do the same thing." New Zealand, Taiwan top COVID performance ranking, U.S., UK languish

New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan rank the top three in a COVID Performance Index of almost 100 countries for their successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with Britain and America near the bottom of the pile. The Lowy Institute said its index published on Thursday excludes China, where the first cases were identified in December 2019, due to lack of publicly available data. Poland puts into effect new restrictions on abortion

Poland's government put into effect on Wednesday a constitutional court decision banning terminations of pregnancies with foetal defects, as conservative policies increasingly take root in one of Europe's most devout Catholic countries. The Oct. 22 ruling had led to weeks of massive protests, forcing the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government to delay its implementation. EU demands AstraZeneca plan to break vaccine deadlock

The European Union failed to make a breakthrough in crisis talks with AstraZeneca on Wednesday and demanded the drugmaker spell out how it would supply the bloc with reserved doses of COVID-19 vaccine from plants in Europe and Britain. The EU is making more comprehensive checks on vaccines before approval, which means a slower rollout of shots than former EU member Britain and growing public frustration. UK plans tough new border measures to combat coronavirus

Britain will announce new tougher border measures on Wednesday to stop new variants of COVID-19 getting into the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he promised to deliver a roadmap out of lockdowns that have shuttered much of the economy. The government is expected to bring in quarantine hotels for those coming to Britain from high-risk countries where new strains of the coronavirus have emerged - so-called red list nations - such as South Africa and those in South America. New Pentagon chief praises Germany for hosting U.S. troops, reversing Trump's tack

New U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin praised Germany for hosting U.S. troops in a call with his German counterpart on Wednesday, fueling speculation that President Joe Biden could overturn a drawdown ordered by his predecessor Donald Trump. Austin plans to carry out a global review of U.S. troop positioning, which would include Trump's order last year to eventually withdraw about a third of the 34,000-strong U.S. troop contingent in Germany. Renzi or bust? Italian parties' options narrow in government crisis

Italy's ruling parties are reluctantly coming to terms with the prospect of having to forge a new deal with the centrist Italia Viva party which quit the government and forced this week's resignation of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, political sources said on Wednesday. The government crisis could hardly come at a worse time, with Italy in its steepest recession since the end of World War Two and having registered 86,000 deaths from COVID-19. Police detain brother of jailed Kremlin critic and search properties, say Navalny allies

Police in Moscow detained Oleg Navalny, the brother of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and searched the homes of the opposition politician's associates and other properties linked to him, his allies said. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to demand that the Kremlin release Alexei Navalny from jail, where he is serving a 30-day stint for alleged parole violations, which he denies.

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