Reuters World News Summary

The U.S. Department of Transportation cited the recent cancellation of 26 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines flights over COVID-19 cases. Spike in China tensions won't change U.S. Taiwan weapons policy, for now -sources China's aggressive military drills around Taiwan in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit put Washington on edge, but not enough to spur an immediate sharp increase in weapons sales to the island, sources told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Fighting flares for second day in northern Ethiopia -residents

Fighting flared for a second day in northern Ethiopia, residents said on Thursday, an outbreak of violence that has shattered hopes for fledgling peace talks between the government and forces from the Tigray region. "We are frequently hearing the sound of heavy weapons, more than the previous days," a farmer in Amhara's Kobo area who did not wish to be named told Reuters. "More troops including those from Ethiopian National Defence Force, local militias and Fanos (volunteer militia) are heading to the front."

Chile's Boric suffers first Cabinet resignation

Chilean President Gabriel Boric said on Thursday that he had accepted the resignation of his Cabinet's social development minister, the first shakeup of his young administration which began in March. Social Development Minister Jeanette Vega resigned following a news report that one of her advisers had contacted a radical Mapuche indigenous leader who had called for an armed struggled against the state and who was arrested on Wednesday.

U.S. suspends 26 Chinese flights, responding to China flight cancellations

The U.S. government said on Thursday it would suspend 26 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 cases. The decision will suspend 26 flights by Xiamen, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines starting Sept. 5 and running through Sept. 28. The U.S. Department of Transportation cited the recent cancellation of 26 American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines flights over COVID-19 cases.

Spike in China tensions won't change U.S. Taiwan weapons policy, for now -sources

China's aggressive military drills around Taiwan in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit put Washington on edge, but not enough to spur an immediate sharp increase in weapons sales to the island, sources told Reuters. President Joe Biden's administration and U.S. lawmakers stress their ongoing support for the government in Taipei, and there are items in the approval pipeline for Taiwan that could be announced in the coming weeks or months.

Ukraine nuclear plant escapes meltdown, Zelenskiy says; Moscow, Kyiv trade blame

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster as the last regular line supplying electricity to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was restored hours after being cut. Zelenskiy blamed shelling on Thursday by Russia's military for fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, from the power grid. He said back-up diesel generators ensured power supply and keep the plant safe.

France's Macron urges future with Algeria beyond 'painful' history

President Emmanuel Macron indicated France and Algeria should move beyond their "painful" shared history and look to the future on Thursday at the start of a three-day visit to the North African country. The trauma of French colonial rule in Algeria and the bitter independence war that ended it in 1962 has haunted relations between the two countries for decades and played into a diplomatic dispute that erupted last year.

U.S. report identifies 21 'filtration' locations run by Russia for processing Ukrainians

Russia and its proxy forces in Ukraine are operating 21 locations used to detain, interrogate and process prisoners of war and civilians, according to a new report https://hub.conflictobservatory.org/portal/apps/sites/#/home/pages/filtration-1 by Yale University researchers backed by the U.S. State Department as part of efforts to hold Moscow accountable. The report, seen by Reuters ahead of its publication on Thursday, cites commercial satellite imagery and open-source information to identify with "high confidence" the separate locations - including facilities that previously served as schools, markets and regular prisons. It also identifies possible graves at one prison complex.

Analysis-China's navy begins to erase imaginary Taiwan Strait median line

For nearly 70 years an imagined line running down the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China has helped keep the peace but the so-called median line is looking increasingly meaningless as China's modernised navy asserts its strength. China has never officially recognised the line that a U.S. general devised in 1954 at the height of Cold War hostility between Communist China and U.S.-backed Taiwan although the People's Liberation Army largely respected it.

Angola ruling party close to victory in divisive election

Angola's ruling party has a solid majority after nearly all votes were counted in a national election, the electoral commission said on Thursday, but the main opposition party has cast doubt on the results of the divisive poll. The MPLA's likely win would give President Joao Lourenco a second five-year term in the oil-producing southern African nation, and extend his party's continuous rule of nearly five decades since independence from Portugal in 1975.

U.S. senator arrives in Taiwan, defying angry Beijing

A U.S. lawmaker on the Senate Commerce and Armed Services committees arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on the third visit by a U.S. dignitary this month, defying pressure from Beijing to halt the trips. Senator Marsha Blackburn arrived in Taiwan's capital Taipei on board a U.S. military aircraft, live television footage from the downtown Songshan Airport showed. She was welcomed on the airport tarmac by Douglas Hsu, director general of Taiwan's foreign affairs ministry, Blackburn's office said.

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