World News Roundup: Merkel visited Kremlin critic Navalny in hospital; Paris knife attack suspect wanted to avenge Prophet cartoons and more

Senior Chinese diplomat says China will keep opening up Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Monday the country will keep pursuing a higher level of opening up across the board, and will strengthen its commitment to build an open world economy.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

The pandemic, a deadly cancer and my 14-year-old daughter

Strangely, I can't clearly picture the face of the surgeon who changed my family's life. I'm not sure I'd recognize him if I bumped into him in the street. And yet I can vividly recall his face turning pale the instant he looked at the X-rays of my 14-year-old daughter's shoulder. Her chronic pain had first been diagnosed as a likely inflammation, and then possibly some problem in the muscle that could be fixed with a few physiotherapy sessions. But on that day, October 31, 2019, we found out that it was Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare and extremely aggressive form of bone cancer. The cancer had started deep in the sponge bone of her humerus and then broke out through the bone surface, causing excruciating pain, then metastasizing to several other parts of her body.

Senior Chinese diplomat says China will keep opening up

Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Monday the country will keep pursuing a higher level of opening up across the board, and will strengthen its commitment to build an open world economy. China will also deliver its promise of making Chinese vaccines a global public good, Wang said in a forum hosted by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

U.S., Greece call for peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in east Mediterranean

The United States and Greece called on Monday for a peaceful resolution of maritime disputes in the east Mediterranean as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a two-day trip to Greece amid increased regional tension over energy resources. NATO allies Greece and Turkey, at loggerheads on a range of issues, have agreed to resume exploratory talks over contested maritime claims following weeks of tensions.

Britain, EU start key week of Brexit talks with 'better mood music'

The European Union and Britain start a decisive week of talks on Monday on a new trade deal and implementing their divorce agreement before national leaders assess progress or the risk of a no-deal split on Thursday and Friday. Negotiations this year have stumbled over fisheries, fair competition and settling disputes, and Brexit talks descended into new chaos this month when London proposed draft laws that would undermine its earlier EU divorce bill.

Turkey prepares second indictment of six Khashoggi murder suspects: media

Turkish prosecutors have prepared a second indictment in connection with the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, naming six new Saudi nationals as suspects, broadcaster CNN Turk and other media said on Monday. Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen at the Saudi consulate on Oct. 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding. Turkish officials believe his body was dismembered and removed from the building, while his remains have not been found.

Paris knife attack suspect wanted to avenge Prophet cartoons: video

French police are studying a video in which the man suspected of attacking people with a meat cleaver on Friday says he will commit an act of "resistance" after the republication of cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohammad in a satirical magazine. The suspect, who is from Pakistan, was arrested soon after two people were wounded in front of the old offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine. Officials said his clothes were spattered in blood.

Merkel visited Kremlin critic Navalny in hospital

German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a personal visit to Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny while he was undergoing treatment in a Berlin hospital for poisoning, her spokesman said on Monday. News of the meeting is likely to annoy Moscow, which rejects the finding of German, French and Swedish experts that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent in Russia last month. Russia has repeatedly criticised Germany over what it says is a failure to share information on the case.

Armenian, Azeri forces battle again, at least 21 reported killed

At least 21 people were killed on Monday in a second day of heavy clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh that reportedly involved air power, missiles and heavy armour. The fiercest fighting in years between the two former Soviet republics has revived concern over stability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets.

Threat to evacuate U.S. diplomats from Iraq raises fear of war

Washington has made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq after warning Baghdad it could shut its embassy, two Iraqi officials and two Western diplomats said, a step Iraqis fear could turn their country into a battle zone. Any move by the United States to scale down its diplomatic presence in a country where it has up to 5,000 troops would be widely seen in the region as an escalation of its confrontation with Iran, which Washington blames for missile and bomb attacks.

Ban upheld for leader of Spain's Catalonia, vote looms

Spain's Supreme Court upheld on Monday an 18-month ban from public office for Catalonia's regional leader on charges of disobedience, a move likely to trigger a regional election. The case stems from Quim Torra's refusal, during a national election campaign in 2019, to follow orders from Spain's electoral committee to remove a banner supporting jailed separatists from the main facade of his government palace.

(With inputs from agencies.)