Reuters World News Summary

Two people who arrived in Australia from southern Africa tested positive on Sunday for the newly identified Omicron variant as officials ordered 14-day quarantines for citizens returning from nine African countries and banned entry from those nations for non-citizens. High turnout boosts opposition hopes as polls close in Honduras Hondurans voting in what electoral officials said were "massive" numbers on Sunday boosted opposition hopes of ending a dozen years of National Party rule and possibly paving the way for leftist Xiomara Castro to win the presidency.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

WHO reaches draft consensus on future pandemic treaty

Member states of the World Health Organization have reached a tentative consensus to negotiate a future agreement on preventing pandemics, bridging the gap between sides led by the European Union and United States, diplomats said on Sunday. The draft resolution, hammered out in negotiations over the weekend, will be presented for adoption to health ministers at the WHO's three-day special assembly that opens on Monday, they said.

France says it will not be held hostage by British politics on migration

France is ready for a serious discussion with Britain on issues relating to illegal migration, but will not be held hostage to London's domestic politics, the country's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. The two countries are already at loggerheads over post-Brexit trading rules and fishing rights and last week relations soured further after 27 people died trying to cross the Channel.

Australia's reopening plans in doubt after Omicron cases

Australia will review its plans to reopen borders to skilled migrants and students from Dec. 1, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, after the country reported its first cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant over the weekend. Two people who arrived in Australia from southern Africa tested positive on Sunday for the newly identified Omicron variant as officials ordered 14-day quarantines for citizens returning from nine African countries and banned entry from those nations for non-citizens.

High turnout boosts opposition hopes as polls close in Honduras

Hondurans voting in what electoral officials said were "massive" numbers on Sunday boosted opposition hopes of ending a dozen years of National Party rule and possibly paving the way for leftist Xiomara Castro to win the presidency. If she wins, opposition standard-bearer Castro would become the first female president https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/sundays-election-xiomara-castro-could-end-two-party-rule-honduras-2021-11-25 in Honduras and mark the left's return to power for the first time since her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, was deposed in a 2009 coup.

Explainer-What remains of the Iran nuclear deal as talks resume?

Talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are to resume in Vienna on Monday, with Iran's atomic advances raising doubt https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/low-expectations-nuclear-talks-iran-creates-facts-grounds-2021-11-28 as to whether a breakthrough can be made to bring Tehran and the United States back into full compliance with the accord. Since the United States under then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, Iran has breached many of its deal's restrictions designed to lengthen the time it would need to generate enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb to at least a year from 2-3 months - the so-called "breakout time".

As Barbados heads toward a republic, some wonder why it matters

As Barbados prepares to form a republic and remove the British queen as its sovereign, some residents in the capital Bridgetown on Sunday acknowledged they remained confused about what the change means and how it will affect them. The Caribbean island won independence from Britain in 1966 but has until now retained Queen Elizabeth as the titular head of state, as is the case in a number of former British colonies including Jamaica and Australia.

Venezuela President Maduro brands EU electoral observers 'spies'

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday denounced members of the European Union's (EU) electoral observation mission who monitored voting last weekend as "spies," and accused them of looking to "stain" the regional elections on their preliminary report. Local and regional elections enjoyed better conditions than during previous voting, the EU mission said on Tuesday, though they raised concerns about arbitrary bans on candidates for administrative reasons, delays in opening voting centers and "extended use of state resources in the campaign."

South African doctor says patients with Omicron variant have "very mild" symptoms

A South African doctor who was one of the first to suspect a different coronavirus strain among patients said on Sunday that symptoms of the Omicron variant were so far mild and could be treated at home. Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of South African Medical Association, told Reuters that on Nov. 18 she noticed seven patients at her clinic who had symptoms different from the dominant Delta variant, albeit "very mild".

Omicron variant detected in more countries as scientists race to find answers

The Omicron coronavirus variant spread around the world on Sunday, with new cases found in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia even as more countries imposed travel restriction to try to seal themselves off. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was not yet clear whether Omicron, first detected in Southern Africa, is more transmissible than other variants, or if it causes more severe disease.

UK, Israel to work together to stop Iran gaining nuclear weapons

Britain and Israel will "work night and day" in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power, the foreign ministers of the two countries wrote in a joint article. "The clock is ticking, which heightens the need for close cooperation with our partners and friends to thwart Tehran's ambitions," the UK's Liz Truss and her Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid wrote in the Telegraph newspaper on Sunday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)