World News Roundup: Signs of progress as EU leaders meet to haggle over climate target; Russia appeals to Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire and more

Europe urged to avoid no-deal Brexit on top of COVID A deal between the European Union and Britain for smooth post-Brexit trade is still possible before the year-end deadline and even more essential given the economic havoc of the coronavirus crisis, Ireland said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia appeals to Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire

Russia made a new appeal to Armenia and Azerbaijan to stop fighting in and around the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh after the warring sides accused each other of fresh ceasefire violations on Wednesday. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the appeal by telephone to the Azeri and Armenian defence ministers, urging the countries to "fully meet the commitments" made under the fraying humanitarian ceasefire brokered by Moscow on Saturday.

Yemen's warring parties start swap of 1,000 prisoners

Planes carrying prisoners exchanged by the warring parties in Yemen took off from three airports on Thursday in an operation to return about 1,000 men home across the front lines, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. The Saudi-led military coalition and Yemen's Houthi movement agreed last month in Switzerland to exchange 1,081 prisoners, including 15 Saudis, in the largest swap since peace talks in December 2018 that have since stalled.

'Exhausted' French healthcare workers tell Macron to hire more medics

French healthcare workers protested against exhausting working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday and demanded the government hire more personnel. In the Riviera city of Nice, doctors and nurses gathered in front of a post office to send postcards detailing their grievances to President Emmanuel Macron, part of a day of nationwide protests planned by trade unions.

Turkey clears way to test Russian S-400 defence system this week

Turkey has issued notices restricting air space and waters off its Black Sea coast to allow firing tests apparently on Friday involving its Russian-made S-400 missile defence units, a week after they were transported to the area. While Turkey already tested the surface-to-air weapons last year, further exercises could stoke tensions with NATO ally the United States, which sharply opposed the purchase from Moscow on grounds the S-400s compromise NATO defence systems.

China defends Tibet labour program, urges against overdoing religion

Top officials in Chinese-administered Tibet on Thursday defended a vocational training program that some critics have called coercive, and urged Tibetans not to "overdo" religion, during a briefing with foreign journalists on a rare visit to the region. The transfer program, which involves government-set quotas for labourers and includes a focus on ideological training, has riled rights groups and Tibetan activists outside China, who say it is coercive - an assertion China rejects.

Iran says hackers attacked two of its key institutions

Hackers launched large-scale attacks on two Iranian government institutions this week, a senior official said on Thursday, without giving details on the targets or the suspected perpetrators. Some government bodies had since temporarily shut down internet services as a precaution, Abolghasem Sadeghi, from the government's Information Technology Organization, told state TV.

Kyrgyzstan president Jeenbekov resigns after unrest

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov resigned on Thursday, saying he wanted to prevent clashes between security forces and protesters demanding his removal from office. Jeenbekov's allies had dominated the Oct. 4 parliamentary election, but subsequent protests toppled the government and forced the authorities to annul it.

Europe urged to avoid no-deal Brexit on top of COVID

A deal between the European Union and Britain for smooth post-Brexit trade is still possible before the year-end deadline and even more essential given the economic havoc of the coronavirus crisis, Ireland said on Thursday. Ireland is the EU member most exposed to a chaotic rupture with Britain if months of talks fail to produce a new framework for about a trillion euros of annual commerce between the world's sixth largest economy and biggest trading bloc.

Trump tweet gave Taliban upper hand in negotiations: Afghan peace official tells Financial Times

A tweet by President Donald Trump calling for U.S. troops to be home by Christmas has given the insurgent Taliban the upper hand in negotiations, the top Afghanistan peace official told the Financial Times newspaper. Trump posted the tweet last week, hours after his national security adviser said Washington would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year. The Taliban has welcomed the announcement.

Signs of progress as EU leaders meet to haggle over climate target

Signs of progress towards agreeing a new European Union climate target emerged ahead of a summit on Thursday, as leaders drafted a plan to bring Poland on board and the Czech Republic said it could consider the new goal under certain conditions. The leaders' discussion in Brussels will be their first talks on upgrading the existing EU target of a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Their two-day summit is not expected to yield a deal, likely pushing a decision to December.