World News Roundup: Israel, Bahrain agree to open embassies; Premature withdrawal from Afghanistan may hamper peace talks and more

Premature withdrawal from Afghanistan may hamper peace talks: Germany A premature troop withdrawal from Afghanistan may complicate peace talks between the government in Kabul and the Taliban, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday, commenting on U.S. plans to pull out 2,000 troops from the country.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israel, Bahrain agree to open embassies

Israel and Bahrain will open embassies soon, their foreign ministers said on Wednesday, as the two countries look to broaden cooperation that Washington has promoted as an anti-Iran alliance and potential economic bonanza. On a first official visit by Bahraini officials to Israel, the Gulf kingdom's foreign minister, Abdullatif Al-Zayani, said his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Asshkenazi, would visit Manama in December.

Premature withdrawal from Afghanistan may hamper peace talks: Germany

A premature troop withdrawal from Afghanistan may complicate peace talks between the government in Kabul and the Taliban, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday, commenting on U.S. plans to pull out 2,000 troops from the country. "It remains very important for us not to jeopardize what we have reached so far by taking any rash actions," Maas said.

German police clash with protesters angry at Merkel's coronavirus plans

German police unleashed water cannon on Wednesday in an effort to scatter thousands of protesters angry over plans to empower Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to enforce restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Protesters near Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate threw bottles at police and set off smoke bombs, witnesses reported. Riot police detained some protesters while firing volleys of water and urging crowds by loudspeaker to disperse.

Italian study suggesting COVID predates China outbreak sparks scepticism

An Italian study supporting the case that the novel coronavirus was circulating outside China earlier than thought has sparked doubts among some Western scientists who called for further tests. A paper published by the Italian Cancer Institute (INT) describes the presence of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in blood taken from healthy patients in Italy in October last year during a lung cancer screening trial.

Exclusive: Tigrayan peacekeepers in Somalia disarmed by Ethiopian colleagues, sources say

Ethiopian peacekeepers in Somalia have disarmed between 200 and 300 of their ethnic Tigrayan colleagues over the past week as conflict rages in the northern Ethiopian region, four security and diplomatic sources told Reuters. The soldiers' weapons were removed due to concerns over the their loyalty, the sources said, without detailing the process. They said they included bilateral and African Union troops.

Pole and Chinese citizen indicted in Warsaw for spying

A former Polish secret service agent and a Chinese citizen who worked for a telecommunications company were charged with spying for China, the spokesman of the minister coordinating Polish special services said on Wednesday. On Nov. 16, an indictment was submitted to the District Court in Warsaw against Piotr D. and Weijing W., the spokesman said in a statement published by state news agency PAP.

Ethiopia pushes for Tigray capital, denies 'ethnic bias'

Ethiopian forces pushed towards the capital of the rebel Tigray region on Wednesday, ignoring international appeals for talks to end the conflict and denying it was targeting any ethnic group. Federal troops are locked in a two-week conflict against Tigray's forces, which has killed hundreds on both sides, rocked the Horn of Africa, stirred ethnic frictions elsewhere in Ethiopia and sent 30,000 refugees fleeing into Sudan.

Storm Iota weakens in Central America, but flooding and death toll rise

Unleashing torrential floods even as it weakened, Storm Iota churned through Central America on Tuesday, causing swollen rivers to burst their banks, flipping roofs onto streets and killing at least nine people across the region. The strongest storm on record to reach Nicaragua, Iota struck the coast late on Monday, bringing winds of nearly 155 miles per hour (249 kph) and flooding villages still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Eta two weeks ago.

Analysis: Can first COVID-19 vaccines bring herd immunity? Experts have doubts

Governments and officials are voicing hopes that COVID-19 vaccines could bring "herd immunity", with some calculating that immunising just two-thirds of a population could halt the pandemic disease and help protect whole communities or nations. But the concept comes with caveats and big demands of what vaccines might be capable of preventing. Some experts say such expectations are misplaced.

'A catastrophic situation': COVID-19 threatens to overwhelm Canada's health system

In July, the Canadian province of Manitoba went two weeks without a single new case of COVID-19. Theaters and casinos reopened and children soon returned to school. By October, the 1.4 million people living in a province only slightly smaller geographically than Texas had Canada's highest rate of active cases - now 512 per 100,000 people, or nearly quadruple the national rate.