Reuters World News Summary

The Australian state of Victoria recorded just two new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, health authorities said on Friday, in the lowest daily increase since early June. Brazil registers another 713 coronavirus deaths on Thursday Brazil has registered 713 additional coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 28,523 new cases, the nation's Health Ministry said on Thursday evening.

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. COVID upsets EU summit as European Commission chief self-isolates

The coronavirus upset a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels on Thursday as one of the key participants, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, had to quit the meeting minutes after it began to go into precautionary self-isolation. Planned meetings of the 27 EU nations' leaders have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic since the spring. Some have been postponed and some held by video-conference, but they returned to in-person summits over the summer as infection rates eased. China denies 'coercive' diplomacy with Canada, urges release of Huawei executive

China on Thursday denied it had taken two Canadian men hostage, and repeated a call for the release of a Huawei Technologies Co Ltd executive held in Canada who faces extradition to the United States amid a long-running diplomatic dispute. Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in Vancouver in late 2018 on a bank fraud warrant issued by U.S. authorities. Tanzania deploys helicopter to boost fight to douse Kilimanjaro fires

Tanzania said on Thursday it had deployed a helicopter to bolster its efforts to put out a blaze that has been burning on Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, in the East African country's north. "In order to increase efficiency in containing the fire, we have started using a helicopter since this afternoon," Hamisi Kigwangalla, minister for natural resources and tourism, said in a statement late on Thursday. 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. 'I want freedom': Thais mass to defy protest ban

From shops, offices and schools they spilled onto a Bangkok street in their tens of thousands, voicing shock and anger and above all defiance. Thailand's government had announced emergency measures to ban gatherings of five or more people to try to end three months of protests. The response was one of the biggest demonstrations so far, in the heart of the capital. First 'no-quarantine' flights arrive into Australia as virus cases fall

Several hundred passengers from the New Zealand city of Auckland are due to land in Sydney on Friday as part of a new trans-Tasman travel bubble amid a rapidly falling growth rate in cases at the epicentre of Australia's coronavirus outbreak. The Australian state of Victoria recorded just two new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, health authorities said on Friday, in the lowest daily increase since early June. 'Things will get worse': London goes into stricter lockdown

London, the world's international financial capital, will enter a tighter COVID-19 lockdown from midnight on Friday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson seeks to tackle a swiftly accelerating second coronavirus wave. The respiratory pandemic, which emerged in China last year and has killed over a million people worldwide, is spreading in most parts of Britain, whose official death toll of 43,155 is the highest in Europe. Brazil registers another 713 coronavirus deaths on Thursday

Brazil has registered 713 additional coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 28,523 new cases, the nation's Health Ministry said on Thursday evening. The South American country has now registered 152,460 total coronavirus deaths and 5,169,386 total confirmed cases. Some movement on Brexit, Merkel says after EU summit talks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reported "some movement" on Thursday in talks between European Union leaders about an agreement with the United Kingdom on their post-Brexit relations. "In some places there was movement, in other places there is still a lot of work to do," she told reporters.

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