Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-U.S. delegation to meet Taliban in first high-level talks since pullout - officials

A U.S. delegation will meet with senior Taliban representatives in Doha on Saturday and Sunday in their first face-to-face meeting at a senior level since Washington pulled its troops from Afghanistan and the hardline group took over the country, two senior administration officials told Reuters. The high-level U.S. delegation will include officials from the State Department, USAID and the U.S. intelligence community, will press the Taliban to ensure continued safe passage for U.S. citizens and others out of Afghanistan and to release kidnapped U.S. citizen Mark Frerichs, the officials said.

Czechs vote in final day of election as PM Babis seeks to cling to power

Czechs wrap up voting in a tight election on Saturday in which Prime Minister Andrej Babis battled criticism that he mismanaged the pandemic, stoked fast-rising debt with handouts and tend to his own business interests in office. The billionaire Babis, who denies all the accusations, and his populist ANO party took a slight poll lead into the central European country's election, which started on Friday and closes on Saturday at 2 p.m. CET (1200 GMT).

Chile prosecutors to investigate President Pinera following Pandora papers leak

Chile's public prosecutor said on Friday it would open an investigation into the sale of a mining project involving the family of President Sebastian Pinera after new details emerged about the transaction in the Pandora papers leak. Marta Herrera, head of the office's anti-corruption unit, said the agency would investigate possible bribery-related corruption charges as well as tax violations.

Journalists who took on Putin and Duterte win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, who braved the wrath of the leaders of the Philippines and Russia to expose corruption and misrule, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, in an endorsement of free speech under fire worldwide. The two were awarded "for their courageous fight for freedom of expression" in their countries, Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen of the Norwegian Nobel Committee told a news conference.

Blinken cautions Haitian migrants against 'profoundly dangerous' trek to U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday warned Haitian migrants that they would not succeed in reaching the United States, while his Mexican counterpart lamented that many had been tricked into undergoing the long trek with false hopes.

The top U.S. diplomat visited Mexico to present a new joint security plan https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/blinken-bids-revive-fraught-us-mexico-relations-amid-new-security-accord-talks-2021-10-08 and mend ties with an ally increasingly relied upon by the Biden administration to act as a buffer and stem the flow of migrants heading to the United States.

'You are playing with fire': EU faces crisis over Polish court ruling

A Polish court ruling challenging the supremacy of European Union law plunged the EU into an existential crisis on Friday, increasing fears among EU policymakers and many Poles that Poland could eventually leave the bloc. Politicians across Europe voiced dismay at the ruling by Poland's Constitutional Tribunal https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/why-polish-court-ruling-is-crisis-eu-what-might-happen-next-2021-10-08 on Thursday that parts of EU law are incompatible with the Polish constitution, undermining the legal pillar on which the 27-nation EU stands.

U.S., Mexico bid to reset ties during Blinken visit, forge new security accord

The United States and Mexico on Friday discussed a new joint security plan to help fight drug cartels as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Mexico's president on a visit aimed to patching up frayed ties. The Biden administration is increasingly reliant on its southern neighbor to stem the flow of Latin American migrants heading to the United States.

Suicide bomber kills scores in Afghan mosque attack

A suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Afghanistan's northeastern Kunduz province on Friday, killing scores of worshippers in the country's third attack this week on a religious institution. Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack that state-run Bakhtar news agency said had killed 46 people and wounded 143. Two health officials told Reuters the death toll could be between 70 and 80.

Serbs say they will pull their region out of Bosnia's army, judiciary, tax system

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who advocates the secession of the Serb-dominated region from Bosnia, said on Friday that the Serb Republic will pull out of the Balkan country's armed forces, top judiciary body and tax administration. The three institutions represent key pillars of joint security, rule of law and the economic system in Bosnia, which was divided into two autonomous regions - the Serb Republic and the Federation dominated by Croats and Bosniaks - after its 1992-1995 war in which 100,000 died and nearly 2 million left their homes.

Call Taiwan a country, French senator says, angering China

Taiwan should be called a country, a senior French senator said on Friday during a visit to Taipei, doubling down on earlier comments that have angered Beijing, which views the island as one of its provinces, not a country. Taiwan's name is a tricky issue.

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