World News Roundup: Catalan referendum anniversary, America's image after Trump

Chile's Catholic Church criticized over guidelines regarding sexual abuse

Chile's Roman Catholic Church was criticized by victims' groups on Monday as having "poor judgment" and being arrogant after it apologized for a manual published on the website of Santiago's archbishop instructing priests and other Church workers not to "touch the genitals of" or "sleep with" children. The document, posted last Thursday, provided guidelines for the interaction of church staff with the lay community and was signed by Santiago Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati, who is under investigation for allegedly covering-up abuse.

Police, protesters clash for Catalan referendum anniversary

Riot police charged in to break up a demonstration in front of Catalonia's regional parliament on Monday after thousands marched in Barcelona to mark the first anniversary of an ill-fated independence referendum to split from Spain. The Catalan police used batons to control protesters after some waving yellow, red and blue separatist flags and chanting 'October 1, no forgiving, no forgetting' surrounded the regional parliament and displayed posters reading "Republic under construction".

'Don't bully us', Britain takes new combative tone to Brexit talks

Britain cannot be bullied, Brexit minister Dominic Raab said on Monday, sharpening the government's criticism of the European Union for taunting Prime Minister Theresa May and souring difficult Brexit talks. May's ministers have come out one by one at their party's annual conference in the city of Birmingham to warn the EU that they will embrace leaving without a deal if the bloc fails to show "respect" in the talks to end Britain's membership.

Pentagon chief not expecting ties with China to worsen even as tensions rise

U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday he did not see relations between the United States and China worsening, a day after his trip to China was cancelled and tensions have started affecting military ties. The United States and China are embroiled in a trade war, sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's accusations that China has long sought to steal U.S. intellectual property, limit access to its own market and unfairly subsidize state-owned companies.

Brazil judge releases damaging Workers Party testimony days before a vote

A judge released fresh testimony on Monday alleging corrupt practices involving members of Brazil's leftist Workers Party (PT), whose candidate Fernando Haddad faces far-right lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro in this month's presidential election. Anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro unsealed the plea-bargain testimony of jailed former Finance Minister Antonio Palocci stating that PT founder and then-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ordered the collection of bribe money in 2010 to fund the campaign of his successor Dilma Rousseff.

North Korea says war's end can't be a bargaining chip for denuclearization: KCNA

North Korea said on Tuesday that declaring the end of the 1950-53 Korean War "can never be a bargaining chip" for getting North Korea denuclearised, and said the country "will not particularly hope for it" if the United States does not want the end of the war, according to state media KCNA. In a joint statement with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in their Pyongyang summit last month, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un expressed a willingness to "permanently dismantle" the Yongbyon nuclear complex if the United States takes the corresponding action.

America's image worsens under Trump

The image of the United States has deteriorated further among its traditional allies after a year in which President Donald Trump ratcheted up his verbal attacks on countries like Canada and Germany, a leading survey showed. The survey of 25 nations by the Pew Research Center also showed that respondents from across the globe have less confidence in Trump's ability to lead than they do in Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping.

UK PM May's Brexit is 'wilful economic vandalism': Scotland's Sturgeon

British Prime Minister Theresa May's plans to leave the European Union are damaging and inviable, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will say on Tuesday. Britain is due to leave the European Union in March next year, but May has said that talks with the European Union are at an impasse insisting that "no deal" is better than a bad deal.

The scale of Indonesian quake disaster emerges as rescuers fan out

The extent of the devastation caused by an earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi should become clearer on Tuesday, as rescuers push into remote areas that have been out of contact for more than three days. Officials fear the death toll will rise into the thousands. Indonesia has said it would accept offers of international aid, having shunned outside help earlier this year when an earthquake struck the island of Lombok.

Sierra Leone military truck flips over, killing 13

Thirteen people were killed and at least 30 more injured on Monday when a military transport truck flipped over on a major road in the Sierra Leone capital, a military spokesman said. The open-air truck was carrying more than 40 soldiers from their barracks to a funeral in Freetown when its brakes failed as it descended a steep hill. It toppled over and slid for more than 30 meters, Captain Yaya Brima said. Eight soldiers were among the dead.

(With inputs from Reuters)