World News Roundup: Pope calls for dialogue, justice to end unrest in Kazakhstan; Kazakhstan says situation stabilised, president firmly in charge after unrest and more

But with Omicron infections surging, parliament is debating legislation that will drop the test option. UK still ready to trigger Article 16 in EU-N.Ireland row, Truss says The United Kingdom is ready to take unilateral action that would suspend customs checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland, foreign minister Liz Truss said ahead of talks with the European Union.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Pope calls for dialogue, justice to end unrest in Kazakhstan

Pope Francis called on Sunday for dialogue and justice to put an end to violent unrest in Kazakhstan, adding he was saddened by news about deaths occurred in the country. "I have learned with sorrow that there have been victims during the protests that have broken out in recent days in Kazakhstan," the pope told hundreds of people in St. Peter's Square for his noon blessing and address.

Kazakhstan says situation stabilised, president firmly in charge after unrest

Kazakhstan authorities said on Sunday they had stabilised the situation across the country after the deadliest outbreak of violence in 30 years of independence, and troops from a Russian-led military alliance were guarding "strategic facilities". Security and intelligence officials briefed President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev that they were continuing "clean-up" actions in what he has called a huge counter-terrorism operation across the oil-producing former Soviet republic that borders Russia and China.

Vaccine pass better than a mandatory order, says French govt spokesman

A mandatory order would not be the most efficient way to encourage those not vaccinated against COVID-19 to get the shot and that plans to toughen health pass conditions were already yielding results, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. People in France already have to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter restaurants and bars and use inter-regional trains. But with Omicron infections surging, parliament is debating legislation that will drop the test option.

UK still ready to trigger Article 16 in EU-N.Ireland row, Truss says

The United Kingdom is ready to take unilateral action that would suspend customs checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland, foreign minister Liz Truss said ahead of talks with the European Union. Truss is due to hold talks with EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic this week to resolve disagreements over post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom which shares a land border with EU member Ireland.

Stay away in event of accident with Olympics vehicle, Beijing police warn

People should stay away from the special vehicles used to ferry people to and from the Winter Olympic venues in the event of a traffic incident, Beijing's traffic management authority warned on Sunday. Personnel involved in the Winter Olympics will be kept in a "closed loop" operation and should avoid contact with people outside it, the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said in a post on its Twitter-like Weibo account.

Ex-Austria Chancellor Kurz made co-chairman of anti-racism group

Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who quit his post last year after corruption allegations against him, has been appointed co-chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), the non-governmental organisation said on Sunday. The ECTR describes itself as a group of former leaders and other decision-makers committed to fighting extremism, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is also chairman.

Australia's New South Wales marks its highest COVID-19 death count

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths on Saturday as the Omicron variant sweeps the country and lawmakers face pressure to close widening supply chain gaps. The home to Sydney and a third of Australia's 25 million people reported 16 deaths from the coronavirus in the previous day. New South Wales reported 30,062 new infections, near record levels.

Cyprus foreign minister quits in presidential succession battle

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday he had tendered his resignation, in an internal power struggle within the ruling right-wing conservatives on their candidate for presidential elections in 2023. Christodoulides, appointed in March 2018, has long been viewed as harbouring presidential ambitions, causing friction within his own Democratic Rally party. On Friday party leader Averof Neohytou, who is seeking his party's nomination in the presidential race, urged Christodoulides to clarify his intentions.

Russia strikes tough, pessimistic line on chances for talks with U.S.

Russia said on Sunday it would not make any concessions under U.S. pressure at talks this week on the Ukraine crisis and its demands for Western security guarantees, and that there was a risk they might end quickly. Talks are due in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna but the state-owned RIA news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying it was entirely possible that diplomacy could end abruptly after a single meeting.

China's Tianjin begins city-wide testing after at least two local Omicron cases detected

The northern coastal city of Tianjin began testing its population of around 14 million on Sunday after at least two local cases of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant were detected, state media reported. Residents in four districts would be tested over the next 24 hours while other districts would be tested the next day, the Tianjin government said.