World News Roundup: A picture and its story: Fleeing from Nagorno-Karabakh on the mountain road west; Putin meets Chechen leader Kadyrov after storm over prisoner beating comments and more

King arrived on a U.S. military flight, landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at about 0530 GMT, the official said. Karabakh Armenians dissolve breakaway government in capitulation to Azerbaijan Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh said on Thursday they were dissolving the breakaway statelet they had defended for three decades, where more than half the population has fled since Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

A picture and its story: Fleeing from Nagorno-Karabakh on the mountain road west

After a lightning operation by Azerbaijan's military to retake control of Nagorno-Karabakh, the stream of ethnic Armenians fleeing the region to Armenia quickly turned into a flood. The pictures for this photo essay were taken on Sept. 24 to 26 by Reuters freelance photographer David Ghahramanyan, who made the journey with his family. They travelled a clogged road through the Lachin corridor, which links Karabakh to Armenia.

Putin meets Chechen leader Kadyrov after storm over prisoner beating comments

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Thursday, a state television reporter said, three days after Kadyrov said he was proud of his 15-year-son for beating up a prisoner accused of burning the Koran. A short video clip posted by TV reporter Pavel Zarubin showed the two men exchanging opening remarks, with no reference to the beating episode that drew condemnation even from some pro-Kremlin hardliners.

Israel reopens Gaza crossings, lets Palestinians back to work after two weeks

Israel reopened crossing points with Gaza on Thursday, allowing thousands of Palestinian workers to get to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank, after nearly two weeks of closure prompted by violent protests along the border. Around 18,000 Gazans have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing an injection of cash amounting to some $2 million a day to the impoverished territory's economy.

French state faces landmark class action for police racial profiling

France's highest administrative court will on Friday consider its first class action against the state, alleging racial profiling by police - and may in the process shape future social activism. Six human rights organisations argue that the police systematically discriminate, especially against young Arab and Black men, when deciding who to stop on routine patrols.

Michael Gambon, British actor who played Dumbledore, dies aged 82

British-Irish actor Michael Gambon, best known to global audiences for playing the wise professor Albus Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" movie franchise and whose career was launched by his mentor Laurence Olivier, died aged 82 on Thursday. He died peacefully in hospital, PA Media reported citing a family statement.

US soldier Travis King arrives in Texas after release from North Korea

U.S. Army Private Travis King landed at a U.S. military base in Texas early on Thursday after being expelled from North Korea following his surprise dash across the heavily militarized border two months ago, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. King arrived on a U.S. military flight, landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at about 0530 GMT, the official said.

Karabakh Armenians dissolve breakaway government in capitulation to Azerbaijan

Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh said on Thursday they were dissolving the breakaway statelet they had defended for three decades, where more than half the population has fled since Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week. In a statement, they said their self-declared Republic of Artsakh would "cease to exist" by Jan. 1, in what amounted to a formal capitulation to Azerbaijan.

Taiwan reveals first domestically made submarine in defence milestone

Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday, a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island's defence and deterrence against the Chinese navy, though it won't enter service for another two years. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine programme a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.

US Senate, House hold procedural votes as partial government shutdown looms

With a partial shutdown of the U.S. government just three days away, the Democratic-controlled Senate plans a procedural vote on Thursday on a bipartisan short term spending measure that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has rejected. The House is set to continue voting on amendments to four appropriations bills that have no chance of becoming law, and would not alone prevent a shutdown even if they did.

EU governments thrash out how to make enlarged bloc work

The challenges of expanding the European Union by up to eight countries were being discussed by governments on Thursday, with significant changes to the bloc's decision-making, agriculture and regional aid budgets needed if it is to grow further. The talks among EU affairs ministers of the 27 current members states in the Spanish town of Murcia are to lay the groundwork for an EU summit on Oct 5-6.