Reuters World News Summary

"We're just not at a point now where talks seem to be a fruitful avenue to approach right now," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. U.S. diplomat says China protests had effect in easing COVID curbs Protests in China against the world's toughest COVID-19 restrictions are dying down because they have had an effect, a top U.S. diplomat said on Friday, as Beijing further eased testing and quarantine rules.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Julian Assange appeals to European court over U.S. extradition

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, who is battling extradition from Britain to the United States where he is wanted on criminal charges, has submitted an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the court confirmed on Friday. Assange, 51, is wanted by U.S. authorities on 18 counts, including one under a spying act, relating to WikiLeaks' release of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which Washington said had put lives in danger.

U.S. designates Iran, China as countries of concern over religious freedom

The United States on Friday designated China, Iran and Russia, among others, as countries of particular concern under the Religious Freedom Act over severe violations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Blinken in a statement said those designated as countries of particular concern - which also include North Korea and Myanmar - engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

China's Xi told EU less lethal Omicron opens way for fewer COVID restrictions

Chinese President Xi Jinping blamed mass protests in Chinese cities on youth frustrated by years of the COVID-19 pandemic, but said the now dominant Omicron variant of the virus paved the way for fewer restrictions, European Union officials said. The senior EU officials, who asked not to be named, recounted the main points of a visit to Beijing by European Council President Charles Michel, who met Xi along with other senior EU officials on Thursday.

G7 coalition agrees $60 per barrel price cap for Russian oil

The Group of Seven (G7) nations and Australia on Friday said they had agreed a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil after European Union members overcame resistance from Poland and hammered out a political agreement earlier in the day. The EU agreed the price after holdout Poland gave its support, paving the way for formal approval over the weekend.

U.S. says it remains ready to meet with Russia over nuclear treaty talks

The United States remains ready to meet Russia for talks over a nuclear treaty despite Moscow having accused Washington of toxic anti-Russian behavior that it cited to pull out of the negotiations earlier this week, the State Department said. Russia withdrew from the New START nuclear treaty talks with U.S. officials in Cairo this week. As the last surviving arms pact of its kind between the world's two biggest nuclear powers, New START limits the number of atomic warheads that each side can deploy and has symbolic as well as practical significance.

Biden not intending to speak to Putin until conditions for talks exist

U.S. President Joe Biden does not intend to speak to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, about ending the war in Ukraine as conditions for such discussions currently do not exist, the White House said on Friday. "We're just not at a point now where talks seem to be a fruitful avenue to approach right now," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

U.S. diplomat says China protests had effect in easing COVID curbs

Protests in China against the world's toughest COVID-19 restrictions are dying down because they have had an effect, a top U.S. diplomat said on Friday, as Beijing further eased testing and quarantine rules. Anger over the curbs had fueled dozens of protests in more than 20 cities in recent days in a show of civil disobedience unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.

WHO says still doesn't have full access to Ethiopia's Tigray

The World Health Organization said on Friday it still does not have the unfettered access to Ethiopia's northern Tigray region stipulated in a truce signed a month ago. The Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed on Nov. 2 to cease hostilities, a dramatic diplomatic breakthrough two years into a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands facing famine.

Top Iran Sunni cleric says protesters should not face death sentences

A prominent Sunni cleric said on Friday it was wrong to charge protesters with capital offences as renewed demonstrations shook Iran's restive southeast in the third month of protests despite a violent state clampdown. Videos posted by the Iran Human Rights group showed minority ethnic Baluch women chanting "I will kill whoever killed my brother", and police shooting what it said was birdshot and teargas at demonstrators. Another unverified video showed injured protesters treated at a makeshift clinic in a mosque.

Ukrainian embassies receive 'bloody packages' containing animal eyes - Kyiv

Ukraine's embassy in Madrid received a parcel containing animal eyes on Friday, the latest in a series of similar "bloody packages" sent to its diplomatic missions across Europe, Ukrainian and Spanish officials said. Police cordoned off the compound in the Spanish capital and started searching the area with sniffer dogs.