World News Roundup: Canadian opposition leader faces crucial debate test in bid to defeat PM Trudeau; UK threatens to send migrant boats back to France and more

The judge granted suspect Salah Abdeslam the right to speak in a discussion about which victims' representatives would be allowed to participate in the trial. Russia and Belarus formally open huge war games, worrying NATO Russia and Belarus formally opened vast joint military drills on Thursday, a week-long exercise across the territory of both countries and in the Baltic Sea that has alarmed some NATO countries.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Canadian opposition leader faces crucial debate test in bid to defeat PM Trudeau

The leader of Canada's main opposition Conservative Party squares off against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a televised debate on Thursday that could go a long way in deciding who wins a Sept. 20 election. Erin O'Toole took over his right-leaning party last year during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and insiders concede he has had trouble introducing himself to voters.

UK threatens to send migrant boats back to France

Britain has approved plans to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants to its shores, deepening a rift with France over how to deal with a surge of people risking their lives by trying to cross the Channel in small dinghies. Hundreds of small boats have attempted the journey from France to England this year, across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The summer surge happens every year but is now larger than normal as alternative routes have been shut down.

Afghan journalists beaten in Taliban detention, editor says

Two Afghan journalists were beaten in police custody this week after covering a protest by women in Kabul where they were detained by the Taliban, their editor said. Zaki Daryabi, founder and editor-in-chief of the Etilaat Roz newspaper, shared images on social media of two male reporters, one with large, red welts across his lower back and legs and the other with similar marks on his shoulder and arm.

Paris attacks trial disrupted after main defendant defies judge

A judge trying suspects in a major jihadist attack in Paris that killed 130 people briefly suspended the hearing on Thursday after the main defendant tried for a second consecutive day to make political points from the dock. The judge granted suspect Salah Abdeslam the right to speak in a discussion about which victims' representatives would be allowed to participate in the trial.

Russia and Belarus formally open huge war games, worrying NATO

Russia and Belarus formally opened vast joint military drills on Thursday, a week-long exercise across the territory of both countries and in the Baltic Sea that has alarmed some NATO countries. Top military leaders from the two countries attended the opening ceremony of the war games, called "Zapad-2021", in western Russia where flags were raised and speeches given.

Qatari official says Kabul airport 90% operational, expects gradual reopening

Afghanistan's Kabul Airport is about 90% ready for operations but its re-opening is planned gradually, a Qatari official said, speaking on the tarmac on Thursday. Reopening the airport, a vital lifeline with both the outside world and across Afghanistan's mountainous territory has been a high priority for the Taliban as they seek to restore order after their lightning seizure of Kabul on Aug. 15.

Analysis-Unleashing reforms, Xi returns to China's socialist roots

When Xi Jinping took command of the Communist Party in late 2012 and proclaimed "only socialism can save China", it was largely ignored as the perfunctory mention of an antiquated slogan - not to be taken literally in a modern-day, market-powered economy. But sweeping new policy moves - from crackdowns on internet companies, for-profit education, online gaming and property market excesses - to the promulgation of "Common Prosperity", show Xi's seriousness in steering China back towards its socialist roots.

Taliban interim government agrees to let foreigners leave Afghanistan

Two hundred foreigners in Afghanistan, Americans among them, are set to depart on charter flights from Kabul on Thursday after the new Taliban government agreed to their evacuation, a U.S. official said. The departures will be among the first international flights to take off from Kabul airport since the Islamist militia seized the capital in mid-August, triggering the chaotic U.S.-led evacuation of 124,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans.

IAEA to send experts to Japan in December to review Fukushima water release plan

A plan to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean will be examined in December by international experts sent by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Japan's industry ministry said on Thursday. In a move that angered local fishermen as well as China and South Korea, Japan said in April that it would release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima plant, which was wrecked by an earthquake and tsunami a decade ago.

Youths with gun, petrol bombs attack police near Paris

French police said on Thursday they had come under attack from youths wielding a handgun, flares and petrol bombs during clashes this week in the low-income housing estate of Tarterets in a suburb of Paris. The latest outbreak of trouble in the deprived high-rise suburbs ("banlieus") that ring Paris came as President Emmanuel Macron's administration aims to show it can tackle violent crime and the threat of Islamist attacks as the 2022 election nears.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)