Reuters World News Summary

Truckers were still partially blocking highways at 5:30 p.m. local time in eight states, according to a separate statement from the Infrastructure Ministry based on federal highway police reports. World wary of Taliban government as Afghans urge action on rights and economy Foreign countries greeted the makeup of the new government in Afghanistan with caution and dismay on Wednesday after the Taliban appointed hardline veteran figures to top positions, including several with a U.S. bounty on their heads.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Syrian army enters birthplace of uprising under peace deal

Syrian army troops entered Deraa al Balaad, the birthplace of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, for the first time since it lost control over the area a decade ago, residents, the army and former rebels said. Army units set up at least nine checkpoints across the city under a Russian-brokered deal between the army and rebels that was finally agreed this week. Previous ones had faltered over disagreements over the extent of army control in the area and disarming rebels.

Analysis-Bolsonaro rallies base but turns off allies and markets

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro filled wide avenues in Brazil's biggest cities with his supporters on Tuesday, but the depth of their fervor did little to help his narrowing appeal. While his attacks on the Supreme Court and election integrity may keep his core base activated - roughly one in four Brazilians - they could hurt his attempts to advance his agenda in Congress or build another winning coalition in next year's election.

Main suspect tells Paris attacks trial he's 'an Islamic State soldier'

The main suspect in a jihadist rampage that killed 130 people across Paris described himself defiantly as "an Islamic State soldier" and shouted at the top judge on Wednesday at the start of a trial into the 2015 attacks. Salah Abdeslam, 31, is believed to be the only surviving member of the group that carried out the gun-and-bomb attacks on six restaurants and bars, the Bataclan concert hall and a sports stadium on Nov. 13, 2015, in which hundreds were injured.

Analysis: The West owes Qatar a favour over Afghanistan. That was the point

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world's top diplomats have been beating a path to Qatar, long the gateway to the Taliban and now the essential go-between as the West tries to deal with the new Kabul government. This is no accident. Analysts describe Qatar's emergence as a broker in Afghanistan as a part of a carefully nurtured strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its own security, by becoming indispensable as a venue for international mediation.

Canada's Conservatives pledge big spending, deficit reduction in election platform

Canada's Conservative Party is proposing C$52 billion ($41 billion) in new spending over the next four years to boost growth and create jobs while reducing the deficit more quickly than their Liberal rivals, according to figures released on Wednesday. Conservative leader Erin O'Toole released his platform the day after the Sept. 20 election was called last month, promising to bring back jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and balance the federal budget in a decade.

Chinese businessman gets 2 years in prison for exporting U.S. marine tech to China

A Chinese businessman was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison after admitting that he illegally exported marine technology with uses in anti-submarine warfare from the United States for the benefit of a Chinese military university. Shuren Qin, who founded a company that sold oceanographic instruments, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston after admitting he illegally exported devices called hydrophones that can be used to monitor sound underwater.

Exiled Ghani apologizes to Afghan people

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled Kabul as Taliban forces reached the outskirts of the city last month, apologized on Wednesday for the abrupt fall of his government but denied that he had taken millions of dollars with him. In a statement posted on Twitter, Ghani said he had left at the urging of his security team who said that if he stayed there was a risk of "the same horrific street-to-street figting the city had suffered during the Civil War of the 1990s."

Some Afghans evacuated from Kabul struggle to find help in U.S.

After Fahima, 30, stepped off a plane at Dulles international airport in Virginia on Aug. 26th, she asked an immigration official what would happen to her next. He shrugged, she said, and told her to find a lawyer. Like many among the thousands of Afghans who were hurriedly evacuated by the U.S. military from Afghanistan last month, Fahima is now facing an uncertain future in the United States.

Brazil truckers partially block routes, grains still shipping

Brazilian truckers have staged demonstrations and partially blocked key routes in several states, according to a federal highway police bulletin seen by Reuters on Wednesday, though grains exporters said shipments have not been affected. Truckers were still partially blocking highways at 5:30 p.m. local time in eight states, according to a separate statement from the Infrastructure Ministry based on federal highway police reports.

World wary of Taliban government as Afghans urge action on rights and economy

Foreign countries greeted the makeup of the new government in Afghanistan with caution and dismay on Wednesday after the Taliban appointed hardline veteran figures to top positions, including several with a U.S. bounty on their heads. As the newly appointed ministers and their deputies set to work after they were named late on Tuesday, acting Premier Mohammad Hasan Akhund urged former officials who fled Afghanistan to return, saying their safety would be guaranteed.