Reuters World News Summary

are not very encouraging," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a French parliament committee, referring to the seventh round of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers that began on Nov. 29 and paused on Friday. U.S. imposes sanctions on people in Iran, Syria and Uganda, citing rights abuses The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on more than a dozen people and entities in Iran, Syria and Uganda, accusing them of being connected to serious human rights abuses and repressive acts.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-Up to 1 million COVID vaccines wasted in Nigeria last month

Up to one million COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have expired in Nigeria last month without being used, two sources told Reuters, one of the biggest single losses of doses that shows the difficulty African nations have getting shots in arms. Governments on the continent of over one billion people have been pushing for more vaccine deliveries as inoculation rates lag richer regions, increasing the risk of new variants such as the Omicron coronavirus now spreading across South Africa.

A suspected killer of Saudi journalist Khashoggi arrested in France -sources

One of the suspected killers of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was arrested at Roissy airport near Paris on Tuesday as he was about to board a flight to Riyadh, sources said, a move welcomed by his fiancee and a rights group as a potential breakthrough. A police source named the man as Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi, a former Royal Guard of Saudi Arabia, who is mentioned in U.S and British sanctions lists as one of the killers, and was also on wanted lists in France.

France's Martinique territory imposes new curfew as COVID infections surge

Authorities on the Caribbean island of Martinique ordered a new curfew on Tuesday, citing the worsening of the COVID-19 epidemic on the French territory. The curfew is set at 8 p.m. local time (0000 GMT) and will start from Wednesday, the local authorities said, adding all trips will have to be justified by health or professional reasons.

Renewed Iran nuclear talks seen Thursday, but France discouraged

Talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are expected to resume on Thursday, France's foreign minister said, although he added that he feared Iran was playing for time. "The elements... are not very encouraging," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a French parliament committee, referring to the seventh round of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers that began on Nov. 29 and paused on Friday.

U.S. imposes sanctions on people in Iran, Syria and Uganda, citing rights abuses

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on more than a dozen people and entities in Iran, Syria and Uganda, accusing them of being connected to serious human rights abuses and repressive acts. In an action marking the week of the U.S. Summit for Democracy, the Treasury Department said in a statement it was targeting repression and the undermining of democracy, designating individuals and entities tied to the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in Iran and deadly chemical weapons attacks against civilians in Syria, among others.

Belarus denies aggravating migrant situation at Polish border

Belarus on Tuesday said its security services did not aggravate the migrant situation at the border by throwing firecrackers or taking other actions as Poland claimed the previous day. The Belarus State Border Committee rejected the allegation by Polish Border Guard Captain Krystyna Jakimik-Jarosz and accused the Polish government of avoiding scrutiny of its own activities.

Kremlin says presidents agree to further U.S.-Russian talks on Ukraine

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden set out their opposing positions on Ukraine in a video call on Tuesday and agreed that Russia and the United States should keep talking, the Kremlin said. "It's hard to expect any sudden breakthroughs, but the presidents demonstrated their willingness to continue practical work and begin discussing sensitive issues that seriously concern Moscow," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after the two-hour talks.

Gunmen torch bus, kill 30 passengers in Nigeria's Sokoto state

At least 30 passengers on a bus in Nigeria's Sokoto state were burnt to death when gunmen torched it on Tuesday, police and residents said, in yet another reminder of growing insecurity in Africa's most populous country. Gunmen, known locally as bandits, have in the past year carried out violent attacks targeting villagers and commuters travelling on highways and kidnapped hundreds of school children for ransom in the north of the country.

Honduras begins election vote recount after fraud claims

Honduran electoral authorities on Tuesday began an unprecedented recount of some of the ballots from last month's congressional elections after allegations of fraud and inconsistencies at some of the ballot boxes. Leftist politician Xiomara Castro won the presidency in the general elections on Nov. 28 but her ability to implement sweeping social reforms will depend on the balance of power in Honduras' single-house National Congress.

Australian government officials will not attend Beijing Olympics, PM says

Australian government officials will not attend the Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing next year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday, joining the United States with a diplomatic boycott of the event. Morrison said the Chinese government has not yet made any attempts to respond to several issues raised by Australia including alleged human rights abuses.

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