World News Roundup: As Brexit talks resume, UK says: our red lines remain unchanged; Japan PM Suga says will work closely with IOC to host Tokyo Olympics

"Our red lines haven't changed and we're preparing for whatever the outcome is," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky. Japan PM Suga says will work closely with IOC to host Tokyo Olympics Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he looked forward to working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Tokyo Olympics next year, following a meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

As Brexit talks resume, UK says: our red lines remain unchanged

As Brexit talks were due to resume, Britain said on Monday its red lines remained unchanged but that it wanted to reach a trade deal with the European Union if the bloc chose to make progress. "Our red lines haven't changed and we're preparing for whatever the outcome is," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky.

Japan PM Suga says will work closely with IOC to host Tokyo Olympics

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he looked forward to working closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Tokyo Olympics next year, following a meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC. Bach is in Japan on a two-day visit to meet with Game organisers and discuss a variety of issues facing the event, which was postponed to next year due to the global pandemic.

Iota grows to category 2 hurricane as it nears Central America

Iota has strengthened into a category 2 hurricane as it barrels toward Central America, a region still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Eta, and experts predict this year's unprecedented storm season will force more people to migrate. As of 7 p.m. EST on Sunday (000 GMT on Monday), Hurricane Iota was about 255 miles (410 km) off the Nicaraguan-Honduran coast, packing maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (161 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

UK PM Johnson says he is well and will govern by Zoom after COVID-19 contact

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was perfectly well after coming into contact with someone with COVID-19 and will drive the government forward via Zoom while he self-isolates for two weeks in Downing Street. Johnson's latest brush with COVID comes after a tumultuous week in which his most senior adviser, arch Brexiteer Dominic Cummings, was ousted after clashing with a rival faction led by his fiancée and his new spokeswoman.

Polish cardinal accused of sexual abuse dies aged 97

A Polish cardinal who was accused of sexually abusing a minor has died at the age of 97, Poland's Roman Catholic Church said on Monday. Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, the former archbishop of Wroclaw, had been disciplined after an investigation into "allegations regarding the cardinal's past", the Vatican's nunciature (embassy) in Poland said earlier this month.

Seven-year-old Italian influencer challenges disability stereotypes

Sirio Persichetti can't speak and can't feed himself but the seven-year-old has taken the social media world by storm with his daily antics, proving that a disability is no barrier to inspiring others. Sirio has spastic tetraplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that affects the movement of three limbs.

Saint Pope John Paul II - a hasty halo?

During his 27-year pontificate, Pope John Paul II canonised so many people that some dubbed the Vatican "the saint factory". Now, the Polish pope's own legacy is under a shadow and some Catholics are asking if declaring him a saint in 2014, a record nine years after his death, may have been a hasty decision.

Ethiopia says Tigray town seized, war embroils Eritrea

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government said on Monday it had captured another town in the northern Tigray region after nearly two weeks of fighting in a conflict already spilling into Eritrea and destabilising the wider Horn of Africa. Hundreds have died, at least 20,000 refugees have fled to Sudan and there have been reports of atrocities since Abiy ordered air strikes and a ground offensive against Tigray's rulers for defying his authority.

Syria's top diplomat Moalem, soft-spoken defender of Assad, dies at 79

‮Syria's‬ long-time foreign minister Walid al-Moalem, an unyielding defender of Syrian President Bashar al Assad's bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters that sparked a decade old conflict, died on Monday, the government said. There were no details on the cause of death, but the 79-year old had been in poor health with heart problems. A source close to the government said it was expected his deputy, veteran diplomat Faisal Mekdad, would replace him as foreign minister.

EU says won't monitor Uganda election, limiting poll's international scrutiny

The European Union will not deploy an observer mission for Uganda's presidential election in January, an official said on Monday, after complaints that advice from previous observers to make the polls fair went unheeded. In the Jan. 14 vote, President Yoweri Museveni, 76, will face off against youthful pop star and lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known by his music moniker Bobi Wine and who is seen as the incumbent president's closest competitor.