December 15, 2021 - a podcast by TRT World

*) US ready to lift 'inconsistent' JCPOA sanctions against Iran

The US says it is prepared to lift sanctions against Iran that are not related to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that sought to rein in Tehran's nuclear programme.

US envoy to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that if Iran approaches talks in Vienna "with urgency and good faith," the US can reach and implement an understanding on mutual return.

Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the battered deal started in April of this year but were paused in June.

*) France vacates troops from Mali's Timbuktu city after nine years

France has lowered its flag and handed over keys to a military base in Timbuktu to Mali's military.

The French military said that the Malian military maintains "a strong garrison in Timbuktu," as well as nearly 2,200 UN peacekeepers who are permanently deployed there.

The withdrawal comes amid heightened tensions with Mali's army-dominated government and growing local opposition to French presence in the region.

*) Scores burned alive in fuel truck explosion in Haiti

In Haiti, at least 60 people have died while trying to collect spilt fuel from an overturned truck.

Local reports suggest the truck driver lost control as he swerved to avoid a motorbike, causing the tanker to flip over.

Witnesses say people nearby were rushing to collect the leaking fuel when the tanker exploded.

*) Afghans facing 'avalanche of hunger and destitution'

An estimated 98 percent of Afghans are not eating enough – with seven in 10 families resorting to borrowing food, pushing them deeper into poverty.

That’s according to the United Nations' World Food Programme which describes the situation in the country as “an avalanche of hunger and destitution”.

Poverty and hunger have pushed civilians into taking desperate measures, including child labour, early marriage and "even the sale of children", the WFP said.

And finally …

*) NASA probe 'touches' Sun for first time

A NASA spacecraft has officially "touched" the Sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona.

The Parker Solar Probe actually flew through the corona in April during the spacecraft's eighth close approach to the Sun.

Scientists said it took a few months to get the data back and then several more months to confirm.

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