Reuters World News Summary

A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry, instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students immediately, in accordance with a Cabinet decision. Taliban release two Americans detained in Afghanistan - State Department Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Tuesday released two American nationals in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who indicated that the militants were holding other U.S. citizens.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Zelenskiy could visit Biden, U.S. Congress on Wednesday -sources

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could travel to Washington, meet U.S. President Joe Biden and visit Congress on Wednesday, sources familiar with the situation said, in what would be Zelenskiy's first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in late February. Biden was expected to meet Zelenskiy at the White House, a source said. The visit by the Ukrainian leader would coincide with Biden's intent to send the Kyiv government Patriot missiles, CNN reported, to protect it from heavy Russian bombardment.

New Zealand announces changes to agricultural emissions scheme to help farmers

The New Zealand government said on Wednesday that having listened to concerns raised by farm groups it was making changes to its proposed plans to price agricultural long-lived gases and biogenic methane that mainly comes from cow and sheep burps. The government said in a statement it had made a number of changes to the original proposal including allowing for farmers to use on-farm forestry to offset their carbon emissions and a commitment to keep emissions pricing as low as possible.

Peruvian electoral jury gives provisional OK for late 2023 elections

The head of Peru's electoral jury on Tuesday gave Congress the provisional green light to bring forward a general election to the end of 2023, amid deadly protests over the impeachment of former President Pedro Castillo. The opposition-controlled Congress is set to debate a proposal to hold early elections later today, after initially rejecting the possibility last week, but most left-wing lawmakers oppose the proposal for new elections.

Potential China wave is 'wild card' for ending COVID emergency - WHO advisors

It may be too early to declare the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency phase because of a potentially devastating wave to come in China, several leading scientists and World Health Organization advisors told Reuters. Their views represent a shift since China began to dismantle its zero-COVID policy last week, following a spike in infections and unprecedented public protests. Projections have suggested the world's second largest economy could now face an explosion of cases and more than a million deaths next year after the abrupt change in course.

Ecuador's President Lasso floats reelection bid

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso will seek reelection in 2025 in a bid to implement social and economic policies he says have benefited the South American country's inhabitants, he said on Tuesday. Lasso, a conservative former banker who took over as president in May 2021, recently managed to conclude a financing agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and says he has boosted public investment and helped restore jobs.

Ukrainian groups to get new UN funds as winter looms

Ukrainians shivering under bombs, frost and power outages will soon get more help from a fund that funnels money to volunteers, community groups and civil society organizations, a United Nations humanitarian leader said Tuesday. "They are in the front line, taking risks to make sure people whose lives have been torn apart by months of war receive support for their daily needs: water, food, medicines, shelter when their houses have been damaged," Denise Brown, the top U.N. official in Ukraine, said in a statement.

EU tells Iran to halt repression, support for Russia

The EU foreign policy chief told Iran's foreign minister that Tehran should immediately halt military support for Russia and its repression of protesters at home, reflecting diplomatic tensions with efforts to revive a nuclear deal at a standstill. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said his meeting on Tuesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Jordan, where both were attending a regional conference, was necessary "amidst deteriorating Iran-EU relations".

Frustration among migrants at U.S.-Mexico border as COVID restrictions remain

When Vladimir Castellanos learned that COVID-19 restrictions blocking him and other migrants from claiming asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico may not be terminated this week, he said he felt deceived. Castellanos and his brother are Venezuelans, and they were among dozens of migrants gathered on both sides of the Rio Grande on Monday night in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, with some lighting small fires to keep warm as temperatures dropped toward freezing.

Taliban-led Afghan administration suspends women from universities

Afghanistan's Taliban-run higher education ministry on Tuesday suspended access to universities by female students until further notice, drawing strong condemnation from the United States, Britain and the United Nations. A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry, instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students immediately, in accordance with a Cabinet decision.

Taliban release two Americans detained in Afghanistan - State Department

Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Tuesday released two American nationals in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who indicated that the militants were holding other U.S. citizens. Price declined to identify the freed Americans, and he said they were not released as "part of any swap of prisoners or detainees. There was no money that changed hands."

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