From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says an evacuation convoy has arrived in the embattled city of Aleppo.

The evacuations of civilians and fighters [was] were put in doubt Sunday when a number of buses were attacked and burned.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council plans to vote Monday on a compromise resolution aimed at helping people caught in the besieged areas of Aleppo.

France and Russia announced an agreement on a draft resolution Sunday. The resolution demands the U.N. chief consult with Syria and other parties concerning an immediate deployment of monitors to the area.

A suicide bomber killed at least 48 Yemeni soldiers Sunday in the city of Aden. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, Arab and Western diplomats met in neighboring Saudi Arabia to discuss the conflict in Yemen.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with King Salman and other officials.

"We think we've found a path that can move forward and we invite the parties - President Hadi, the Houthi and their supporters and - both sides - to take advantage of this moment and try to come to the table to frame an end to what every party says they want, which is an end to the war." :John Kerry.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is promising his new government will do all it can to shield the country from the war and terrorism in neighboring Syria.

After announcing the formation of a 30-member cabinet Sunday, Mr. Hariri told reporters his priority is to "preserve the stability that is prevailing in Lebanon."

He also said he will ask for international help in dealing with the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled from Syria into Lebanon.

This is VOA news.

Authorities say security forces have freed foreign tourists trapped inside a medieval castle in the central city of Karak following attacks Sunday by gunmen that left at least 14 people dead. At least 22 others including civilians and police were reported wounded.

The Jordan Times newspaper said a Canadian woman and at least five police were among the dead along with four people later identified by security sources as terrorists.

Residents of a settlement in the West Bank agreed to a plan Sunday to relocate their unauthorized outpost peacefully. They say they have accepted an Israeli government proposal to evacuate the Amona outpost.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier pressured outpost residents to accept the deal, saying we have done the maximum.

The next stage in the U.S. presidential election takes place Monday. That's when the Electoral College meets to officially choose the next U.S. president.

Chosen in the November election, the majority of electors are pledged to vote for Republican Donald Trump.

Because of the close and bitterly contested race and due to the continuing opposition to Trump's victory by many Democrats, thousands of Americans have swamped the 306 Republican electors with emails and phone calls demanding that they reject Trump.

But so-called faithless electors are rare and it is considered certain that Trump will end up with a majority.

The Electoral College ballots will be publicly counted by Congress early in January.

Iranian government websites indicate that Iran is asking the International Atomic Energy Agency for advice and assistance in developing a fleet of nuclear-powered ships.

The move is in apparent retaliation for U.S. Congressional action to authorize the renewal of sanctions if Iran breaks the recently concluded international nuclear agreement.

The websites say the request was made during an agreement monitoring visit to Tehran by IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano.

"Full implementation by Iran on this commitment is very important for the future of the JCPOA." :Yukiya Amano.

China says it will hand over an underwater U.S. drone it seized in international waters of the South China Sea.

China's Defense Ministry said one of its vessels sighted a piece of "unidentified equipment" in the water and retrieved it for the sake of navigational safety. The ministry said only later the object was discovered to be a U.S. drone.

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor died Sunday after suffering a reported heart attack. She was 99 years old.

From the VOA news center in Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.