World News Roundup: Navalny needs at least a month to be fit, predicts activist; Trailblazing journalist Harold Evans dead at 92 and more

UK preparing Magnitsky sanctions over Belarus human rights violations: minister Britain is preparing Magnitsky sanctions against individuals in Belarus in coordination with the United States and Canada, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday, after pointedly criticising the country's recent election.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Britain's Labour accuses government of being too slow with business help

Britain's opposition Labour Party accused the government of being too slow to help businesses and employees struggling with the coronavirus crisis, saying many people had already lost their jobs. "We must be open and honest, that delay in introducing this new scheme will have impacted on businesses' confidence," Anneliese Dodds, Labour's finance policy chief, told parliament.

U.S., Chinese diplomats signal tricky road ahead for climate diplomacy

After several years of dismissing global action to fight climate change, U.S. leadership was formally challenged this week by China announcing bold new climate pledges. Former Vice President Joe Biden has pledged to reinvigorate U.S. climate leadership if he wins the Nov. 3 election against incumbent President Donald Trump.

Jailed Belarusian opposition leader tells protesters not to give up: news portal

Detained Belarusian opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova has urged protesters against long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko not to give up and mocked the security forces who arrested her, in a letter shared by the Tut.By news portal on Thursday. Kolesnikova, 38, was last seen in public on Sept. 7 being snatched off a Minsk street and shoved into a van by masked men.

Philippines says U.S. lawmaker's bid to halt security aid won't succeed

A U.S. lawmaker's push to block police and military aid to the Philippines over human rights concerns is unlikely to succeed, because of the friendship between the leaders of the two countries, a senior government official on Thursday. The Philippines is confident the United States will give more weight to its ties with the Philippines and President Rodrigo Duterte's personal friendship with counterpart Donald Trump, said Duterte's spokesman, Harry Roque.

Thai protesters rally as parliament considers constitution changes

More than a thousand Thai protesters rallied at parliament on Thursday as it debated amending the constitution, one of the demands behind nearly two months of almost daily demonstrations. The two-day special session of parliament was convened on Wednesday and was expected to vote late on Thursday on whether to accept a motion for constitutional changes.

UK preparing Magnitsky sanctions over Belarus human rights violations: minister

Britain is preparing Magnitsky sanctions against individuals in Belarus in coordination with the United States and Canada, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday, after pointedly criticising the country's recent election. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term after an election that the opposition and several foreign governments say was rigged.

North Korean troops killed missing South Korean official, burned body, Seoul says

North Korean troops shot dead a South Korean fisheries official who went missing earlier this week, before dousing his body in oil and setting it on fire in what was likely an effort to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, South Korea's military said on Thursday. South Korea's military said evidence suggested the man was attempting to defect to the North when he was reported missing from a fisheries boat on Monday about 10 km (6 miles) south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed demarcation of military control that acts as the de facto maritime boundary between the two Koreas.

Navalny needs at least a month to be fit, predicts activist

It will take Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny at least another month to regain fitness, said the activist who helped bring him to Germany for treatment, adding it was clear he planned to return to Russia and resume political activity. Navalny made his first public appearance on Wednesday after being discharged from a Berlin hospital where Germany said he was being treated for poisoning by a potentially deadly nerve agent.

Trailblazing journalist Harold Evans dead at 92

Sir Harold Evans, a British-American editor whose 70-year career as a hard-driving investigative journalist, magazine founder, book publisher and author made him one of the most influential media figures of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 92. Evans died of congestive heart failure in New York, according to his wife Tina Brown.

Could Egypt's #MeToo movement be the tinder for a 'feminist revolution'?

In just two months, Egypt's burgeoning #MeToo movement has exposed sexual assaults, spurred legal reform and emboldened hundreds of abuse victims including celebrities to speak out, sparking a long-overdue debate about gender inequality. Now, rights activists in the conservative country say keeping the social media campaign's momentum going hinges on taking the message offline to reach poorer women, especially in rural areas, and changing attitudes in the justice system.

(With inputs from agencies.)