World News Roundup: Austrians turn on ex-chancellor's party after corruption claims; Turkey's Erdogan says U.S. proposed F-16 sales in return for its F-35 investment and more

Petr Fiala, leader of the centre-right coalition Together which defeated Prime Minister Andrej Babis's ruling ANO party in an Oct. 8-9 election and plans to form a new government with the Pirate/Mayors group, told a Czech Television debate show that they would reject the current administration's budget plans. No end in sight to volcanic eruption on Spain's La Palma - Canaries president There's no immediate end in sight to the volcanic eruption that has caused chaos on the Spanish isle of La Palma since it began about a month ago, the president of the Canary Islands said on Sunday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Austrians turn on ex-chancellor's party after corruption claims

Austrians have turned on the conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP), the senior partner in their coalition government, after party leader Sebastian Kurz quit as chancellor over corruption allegations, according to a poll published on Sunday. Support for the conservative OVP has crashed from 34% to 26% in the wake of the affair, according to the survey published by newspaper Kurier on Sunday.

Turkey's Erdogan says U.S. proposed F-16 sales in return for its F-35 investment

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United States had proposed the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in return for its investment in the F-35 programme, from which Ankara was removed after purchasing missile defence systems from Russia. Reuters reported earlier this month that Turkey made a request to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.

Up to 17 U.S. missionaries and family kidnapped in Haiti - media

As many as 17 American Christian missionaries and their families, including children, were kidnapped on Saturday by gang members in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, U.S. media reported. The kidnapping happened after the missionaries left an orphanage in the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation, the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/16/world/americas/missionaries-kidnap-haiti.html and CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/17/americas/haiti-american-missionary-kidnap-intl-hnk/index.html said.

U.S. and Canadian warships sailed through Taiwan Strait last week

A U.S. and a Canadian warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait late last week, the American military said on Sunday, at a time of heightened tension between Beijing and Taipei that has sparked concern internationally. China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has mounted repeated air force missions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the past year or more, provoking anger in Taipei.

China surprises U.S. with hypersonic missile test, FT reports

China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, showing a capability that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise, the Financial Times reported, citing five unnamed sources. The report late on Saturday said the Chinese military launched a rocket carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle that flew through low-orbit space, circling the globe before cruising towards its target, which it missed by about two dozen miles.

Lebanon's Maronite patriarch urges non-interference into judiciary

Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, the top Christian cleric, said on Sunday the country's judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian "activism" amid tensions over a probe into last year's blast at Beirut port. Rai also said that it was unacceptable for any party to resort to threats or violence after last week's deadly unrest around the investigation - which was Lebanon's worst street bloodshed in more than a decade and stirred memories of the ruinous 1975-1990 civil war.

OSCE mission in eastern Ukraine suspends operations amid protests

The Organization for Security and Cooperation on Europe has suspended its monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine following protests near its headquarters in separatist-controlled Donetsk, the chief monitor said on Sunday.

About 200 pro-Russian protesters confronted OSCE monitors on Saturday to demand the release of a rebel officer captured by the Ukrainian military last week. The mission had faced previous protests organised by Moscow-backed separatists, but this time demonstrators appeared to block the entrance to the hotel where the monitors are based.

Czech opposition parties plan lower 2022 budget deficit after election win

Czech opposition parties seeking to form a new government will aim to rework the 2022 budget to cut the planned deficit to below 300 billion crowns ($13.72 billion), a top party leader said on Sunday. Petr Fiala, leader of the centre-right coalition Together which defeated Prime Minister Andrej Babis's ruling ANO party in an Oct. 8-9 election and plans to form a new government with the Pirate/Mayors group, told a Czech Television debate show that they would reject the current administration's budget plans.

No end in sight to volcanic eruption on Spain's La Palma - Canaries president

There's no immediate end in sight to the volcanic eruption that has caused chaos on the Spanish isle of La Palma since it began about a month ago, the president of the Canary Islands said on Sunday. There were 42 seismic movements on the island on Sunday, the largest of which measured 4.3, according to the Spanish National Geographical Institute.

Venezuelan government suspends negotiations with opposition

Venezuela on Saturday said it would suspend negotiations with the opposition that were set to resume this weekend, after Cape Verde extradited Colombian businessman Alex Saab, a Venezuelan envoy, to the United States on money laundering charges. The announcement was made by Socialist party legislator Jorge Rodriguez, who heads the government's negotiating team. Rodriguez said the Venezuelan government would not attend the talks set to begin on Sunday.

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