Reuters World News Summary

Taiwan, a democratically governed island that is claimed by China, has complained for more than a year of repeated missions near it by China's air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. U.S. charges Canadian man, alleging he's an Islamic State fighter, propagandist U.S. prosecutors on Saturday said they charged a Saudi-born Canadian man for aiding the Islamic State militant group, alleging he tossed grenades in battle and worked with propagandists who publicized the beheading of hostages including U.S. journalist James Foley.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Big nations urged to heed climate activists' demands for bolder action

The world's major economies must do more at the upcoming U.N. COP26 climate summit in Scotland to show they are serious about wanting to tackle global warming and heed the warnings of young activists, policymakers said on Saturday. COP26 President Alok Sharma said there was renewed urgency in the climate debate following preparatory talks in Milan where thousands of youth activists, including Greta Thunberg, urged governments to match words with action and stump up billions of dollars to wean the world off fossil fuels.

Philippines' Duterte says daughter running for president in 2022 elections - media

Philippine President Rodrigo's daughter would run for president in next year's election and her father's long-time aide, who filed his vice presidential candidacy, would be her running mate, broadcasting firm ABS-CBN news reported late on Saturday. Sara Duterte-Carpio is currently mayor of Davao, the Philippines' third-largest city, and filed on Saturday to run for mayor again. She has previously said she would not run for national office next year.

Iran asked U.S. to unfreeze $10 billion to show good will, Iran official says

Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday that U.S. officials tried to discuss restarting nuclear talks last month, but he insisted Washington must first release $10 billion of Tehran's frozen funds as a sign of good will. Iran has rejected direct talks with the United States, and indirect talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear accord aimed at keeping Iran from being able to develop a nuclear weapon stopped in June.

Global COVID-19 deaths hit 5 million as Delta variant sweeps the world

Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain. The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations.

U.S. envoy presses Sudan to move toward civilian rule

The United States warned Sudan this week that failure to make progress on a transition to civilian rule could put at risk political and economic support from Washington, a State Department spokesperson said on Saturday. U.S. envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman visited Sudan from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, one week after an attempted coup raised tensions between the civilian and military groups that share power in the country.

At 39 aircraft, China sets new high for Taiwan defence zone incursion

A total of 39 Chinese air force aircraft entered Taiwan's air defence zone on Saturday, the defence ministry in Taipei said, setting a new high for missions which have infuriated the island's government and further raised tensions with Beijing. Taiwan, a democratically governed island that is claimed by China, has complained for over a year of repeated missions near it by China's air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

Facing crises, UK PM Johnson says he will take "bold decisions"

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will promise on Sunday to take "big, bold decisions" to transform post-COVID Britain, hoping to set the tone of the governing Conservative Party's conference already buffeted by fuel, gas and Christmas food crises. Johnson had wanted to use the conference this week to turn the page on more than 18 months of COVID-19 and to refocus on his 2019 election pledges to tackle regional inequality, crime and social care.

Taiwan angered by Chinese air force's largest ever incursion

Taiwan sharply criticised China on Saturday after Beijing marked the founding of the People's Republic of China with the largest ever incursion by the Chinese air force into the island's air defence zone. Taiwan, a democratically governed island that is claimed by China, has complained for more than a year of repeated missions near it by China's air force, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

U.S. charges Canadian man, alleging he's an Islamic State fighter, propagandist

U.S. prosecutors on Saturday said they charged a Saudi-born Canadian man for aiding the Islamic State militant group, alleging he tossed grenades in battle and worked with propagandists who publicized the beheading of hostages including U.S. journalist James Foley. The Department of Justice described the man, identified as Mohammed Khalifa, as a "leading figure" in the English-language media unit of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS.

Brazilians demonstrate against Bolsonaro

Brazilian demonstrators gathered in several state capitals on Saturday to protest against the federal government and call for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro. Presidential hopeful Ciro Gomes took part in the protest in Rio de Janeiro and was also expected at the demonstration in São Paulo, according to local media.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)