World News Roundup: Greta Thunberg takes climate strike online again as Sweden's COVID-19 cases mount; Strong earthquake strikes Aegean Sea, shaking Turkey, Greece and more

Nice residents mourn church attack dead as official warns of more militant attacks France's interior minister said on Friday more militant attacks on its soil were likely and the country was engaged in a war against Islamist ideology following the second deadly knife attack in its cities in two weeks.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Activists converge on Warsaw for 'biggest' protests against abortion ruling

Protesters were planning to converge on Warsaw from across Poland on Friday for what police said would likely be the biggest demonstrations yet against a court ruling that amounted to a near-total ban on abortion. Tens of thousands of activists have mounted daily rallies, marching through cities and disrupting church services in the predominantly Catholic country since last week's Constitutional Court decision.

Nice residents mourn church attack dead as official warns of more militant attacks

France's interior minister said on Friday more militant attacks on its soil were likely and the country was engaged in a war against Islamist ideology following the second deadly knife attack in its cities in two weeks. Minister Gerald Damarnin was speaking a day after an assailant shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) beheaded a woman and killed two other people in a church in Nice.

Protesting Thai students boycott royal graduation day

Some students sympathetic to Thai protesters said on Friday they were boycotting graduation ceremonies led by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a show of anger at the monarchy amid growing calls to reform it. The ceremonies, at which the monarch personally hands out degrees, are a rite of passage for graduates and their families with photographs of the moment displayed with pride in many Thai homes.

Sanctions on Russia to stay whoever wins U.S. vote: Putin ally

Andrey Kostin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin and the head of Russian state bank VTB, believes that U.S. sanctions on Moscow will stay in place irrespective of how Americans vote next week, he told Reuters. President Vladimir Putin, sitting next to Kostin this week at an investment forum, complained that the Trump administration had sanctioned Russia 46 times in the last four years.

Exclusive: Russian hackers targeted California, Indiana Democratic parties

The group of Russian hackers accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election earlier this year targeted the email accounts of Democratic state parties in California and Indiana, and influential think tanks in Washington and New York, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The attempted intrusions, many of which were internally flagged by Microsoft Corp over the summer, were carried out by a group often nicknamed "Fancy Bear." The hackers' activity provides insight into how Russian intelligence is targeting the United States in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election.

Greta Thunberg takes climate strike online again as Sweden's COVID-19 cases mount

Climate activist Greta Thunberg said on Friday she will stop her regular protest outside Sweden's parliament because of the surge in COVID-19 infections, and return to only campaigning online. Sweden reported 2,820 new coronavirus cases on Oct. 28, the highest since the pandemic began.

Qatar government says invasive searches of women at airport 'illegal actions'

Invasive searches on female passengers from 10 aircraft at Doha's Hamad airport violated standard procedures, a preliminary report by the Qatar government found, saying those responsible for the "illegal actions" have been referred to the public prosecution office. The incident on Oct. 2, involving at least 13 Australian women on a state-owned Qatar Airways flight who were forced to disembark, and undergo invasive physical examinations in ambulances, drew a strong reaction from Australia this week.

Strong earthquake strikes Aegean Sea, shaking Turkey, Greece

A strong earthquake of magnitude of up 7.0 struck the Aegean Sea on Friday and was felt in both Turkey and Greece, local and international observatories said. People flooded to the streets in the Turkish coastal city of Izmir after the earthquake, witnesses said. Footage from Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber showed a collapsed building in central Izmir.

Homesick and bellicose, Karabakh's exiled Azeris yearn for return

Gassan Akhmedov has one last wish - to return to the land of his birth, a land he says has been occupied for more than 25 years. That dream came a step closer, the 80-year-old resident of Baku says, when Azeri troops captured the region of Jabrayil as part of their southern march on the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Much still to do on Brexit trade deal, EU's Barnier says

The European Union and Britain are working hard for a Brexit trade deal but much remains to be done, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday. "After 7 days of intensive negotiations in London, talks continue with (UK chief negotiator) David Frost and his team in Brussels," Barnier said in a tweet.

(With inputs from agencies.)