World Roundup: WW1 Armistice; Trump talks Khashoggi; Change tack Brexit critique

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

'Life goes on': Thousands mark WW1 Armistice in Australia, unbowed by the attack

Thousands of people attended memorial services across Melbourne to mark the centenary of the Armistice ending World War One, shrugging off heightened security after Friday's attack in Australia's second largest city which police branded terrorism. Attendance at Melbourne's the Shrine of Remembrance was bigger than expected, with visitors determined to show they were not bowed by Friday's stabbing of three civilians, one fatal, by Islamic State sympathizer Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30.

Trump discussed Khashoggi response with Turkey's Erdogan: White House official

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan discussed how to respond to the killing last month of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a White House official said on Sunday. The conversation took place during a Saturday dinner with heads of state gathered in Paris to mark the World War One Armistice centenary.

World leaders in Paris mark the 100th anniversary of WW1 Armistice

French President Emmanuel Macron will be joined by some 70 world leaders on Sunday to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice that brought World War One to an end and to honour the millions of soldiers who died in the conflict. It was at 11.00 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, that the guns fell silent across the western front, heralding the end of a four-year conflict that claimed the lives of 10 million combatants and millions of civilians.

Dozens killed in Afghanistan fighting as the sectarian threat grows

Fifteen Afghan civilians and 10 commandos sent to reinforce Shi'ite militia forces fighting Taliban in the central province of Ghazni were killed on Sunday, officials said, as a days-long battle with threatening ethnic overtones continued. The fighting in Jaghori district, an area inhabited mainly by Shi'ite ethnic Hazaras, has been going on since Wednesday when Taliban fighters attacked the district and the government sent special forces units to back up local militia forces.

Calls for open trade to greet Pence as Trump skips Asia summit

Asia-Pacific leaders will join the heads of Southeast Asian states this week in Singapore to renew calls for multilateralism and fresh pledges to resolve regional conflicts ranging from the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar to tensions in the South China Sea. Notably absent when regional powers such as China, Japan and India seek to enlist support for a multilateral trading system will be U.S. President Donald Trump, whose decision to skip the Asia summit has raised questions about his commitment to a regional strategy aimed at checking China's rise.

Change tack or face defeat, Brexit critics tell British PM May

Prime Minister Theresa May was under growing pressure on Sunday to change her plan for Britain to leave the European Union to avoid defeat in a parliamentary vote. With both Britain and the EU suggesting an agreement is close, eurosceptic lawmakers and a leading member of a small Northern Irish party that props up her Conservative government made new threats to vote against the terms of the deal she is working on with Brussels.

Softly, softly, for now, British PM May's enforcers gear up for a big Brexit vote

Less than five months before Britain leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May's parliamentary enforcers are on the prowl. For now, the government "whips" whose job it is to ensure parliament backs whatever Brexit deal May agrees with Brussels are taking a softly-softly approach. But Chief Whip Julian Smith and his team have a powerful armoury at their disposal to force politicians into line.

Central American migrants resume their march toward U.S. border

Hundreds of Central American migrants resumed their march north through Mexico on Saturday, en route to the U.S. border where President Donald Trump has effectively suspended the granting of asylum to migrants who cross illegally. Trump's Friday order, which went into effect on Saturday, means that migrants will have to present themselves at U.S. ports of entry to qualify for asylum and follow other rules unveiled on Thursday that seek to limit asylum claims.

Donations flow in for Melbourne attack's 'Trolley Man'

A homeless man who used a shopping trolley to fend off a knife-wielding attacker as he stabbed at police in Melbourne has been unexpectedly rewarded by grateful citizens who had donated more than A$50,000 ($36,000) by Sunday evening to help him. Michael Rogers, nicknamed "Trolley Man" on social media, repeatedly tried to ram the attacker, Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, who was lunging at police and had earlier stabbed three people, one fatally, in Friday's attack.

Iraq rail service back on track after the war with Islamic State

At Baghdad's grand but half-empty railway station, a single train is sputtering to life. It is the newly revived daily service to Falluja, a dusty town to the west once infamous as a Sunni insurgent stronghold. The driver and conductor assure that the tracks running through Anbar province are now clear of mines planted by Islamic State and of collapsed bridges the group blew up when it marauded through western and northern Iraq in 2014.