World News Roundup: Russia presses Germany for more detail on Navalny, urges 'transparency'; Hundreds of Thai students rally to demand school reform and more

Slovakia reports record spike in coronavirus cases Slovakia on Saturday reported a spike of 226 cases of the new coronavirus, the biggest one-day rise in the central European country since the start of the pandemic.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia presses Germany for more detail on Navalny, urges 'transparency'

The Kremlin said on Friday that it wanted dialogue with Germany over the case of opposition politician Alexei Navalny and that Russian doctors who treated him initially were much more transparent than the German doctors treating him now. Germany, where Navalny is in hospital, has said he was poisoned with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent and wants the perpetrators held to account. Russia has until now not opened a criminal investigation and said there is no evidence yet of a crime.

Japan braces for powerful Typhoon Haishen, possible record rainfall

Japan is bracing for powerful Typhoon Haishen as it bears down on the country's southwest, with weather forecasters warning of potential record rainfall, violent wind, high waves and tides. The Japan Meteorological Agency has urged residents of Okinawa and Kyushu to exercise maximum caution as Typhoon Haishen was on course to approach Okinawa by Sunday and the main southern island of Kyushu afterwards.

Rescuers search Beirut rubble for third day, with nation transfixed

Rescue workers continued to dig through the rubble of a Beirut building for a third day on Saturday, still hoping to find someone alive more than a month after a massive port explosion shattered Lebanon's capital. About 50 rescue workers and volunteers, including a specialist team from Chile, had yet to locate anyone after sensors on Thursday detected signs of breathing and heat. But they said they would continue while there was a small chance of finding a survivor, and had narrowed their search.

Hundreds of Thai students rally to demand school reform

Hundreds of high school students demonstrated in Bangkok on Saturday to demand reform of an education system they say is outdated in the latest of more than a month of anti-authority protests. Protests that began on Thai university campuses have taken place almost daily since mid-July in an increasing challenge to the government in the Southeast Asian country with some protesters also demanding change to the powerful monarchy.

Iran's friends should have defied U.S. sanctions during pandemic: President Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani bemoaned Iran’s friends on Saturday for not standing up to the United States and breaking crippling sanctions during the coronavirus pandemic. He also said that if the United States had a "bit of humanity or brain," it would have lifted sanctions on Iran for the duration of the health crisis.

India and China agree to ease tension on border

India and China said on Saturday they had agreed to work towards reducing tensions along their contested border, following a meeting of the defense ministers of the nuclear-armed Asian giants. Both sides deployed additional forces along the frontier running through the western Himalayas after a clash in June, during which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in hand-to-hand fighting. China has not released casualty figures for its troops.

Frenchman with incurable disease to livestream his death

A Frenchman suffering from a rare and incurable condition is livestreaming his death on social media as he refuses to take food, drink or medicine after President Emmanuel Macron turned down his request for euthanasia. Alain Cocq, 57, who has been suffering from a degenerative disease for 34 years, has said he would livestream his death on Facebook from Saturday morning.

Police drag Belarus students from university building, arrest five, rights group says

Belarusian police arrested five university students in the capital Minsk on Friday, human rights activists said, and videos posted on social media showed chaotic scenes of those detained being dragged away by officers through crowded corridors. The arrests took place in the building of Minsk State Linguistic Institute, which had warned students several days ago that it would call in the police unless they halted their protests against last month's disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Slovakia reports record spike in coronavirus cases

Slovakia on Saturday reported a spike of 226 cases of the new coronavirus, the biggest one-day rise in the central European country since the start of the pandemic. The jump comes as neighbours in the region have also seen record rises in virus cases after the summer holidays and as students return to school. Officials are seeking to avoid large-scale lockdowns similar to those seen at the start of the outbreak, which hammered economic activity.

Pope to travel outside Rome for first time since coronavirus pandemic

Pope Francis will next month visit the Italian town of Assisi, his first trip out of Rome since the coronavirus pandemic hit the country in February, and will sign a new encyclical, a spokesman for the Assisi Basilica said on Saturday. The encyclical, which is the highest form of papal writing, is expected to focus on what Francis believes the post-pandemic world should look like, and will be called "Brothers All...".

(With inputs from agencies.)