Reuters World News Summary

Biden win would bring relief but few fixes, says Merkel ally A sigh of relief would go around the world if Democratic challenger Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidency but Berlin would still face many of the same policy problems with Washington, Germany's coordinator for transatlantic ties said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Pompeo to meet Armenian, Azeri ministers over Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces clashed in several areas of Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, hours before talks were due to start in Washington to try to end the deadliest fighting in the mountain enclave for over a quarter of a century. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to meet the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in a new attempt to end nearly a month of bloodshed in which Russian President Vladimir Putin said 5,000 people may have been killed. Analysis: Biden win would lift Mexico-U.S. ties but energy is 'canary in the mine'

A Joe Biden presidency would lower border tensions and raise pressure on Mexico to respect U.S. business interests as the two neighbors implement a trade deal designed to claw back jobs from China, officials and industry sources say. The Democratic former vice president on Nov. 3 aims to unseat Republican President Donald Trump, who has stirred up tensions with Mexico over trade and border security ever since he referred to Mexican migrants as rapists and drug runners at the outset of his 2015-16 presidential bid. 'It is terrifying': Europe braces for lengthy battle with COVID

Europe faces a lengthy battle against the coronavirus at least until mid-2021, France warned on Friday, as anxious governments introduced ever more restrictions to curb the disease once again accelerating through the continent. Europe's daily infections have more than doubled in the last 10 days, reaching a total of 7.8 million cases and about 247,000 deaths, as a second wave right before winter has crushed economic revival hopes. U.S. sanctions Russian institute linked to dangerous malware

Washington imposed sanctions on Friday on a Russian research institute tied to the development of a dangerous computer program capable of causing catastrophic industrial damage. The U.S. Treasury Department alleged that the Russian government-backed Central Scientific Research Institute of Chemistry and Mechanics - also known by its Russian acronym, TsNIIKhM - was responsible for "building customized tools that enabled the attack" on an unidentified petrochemical facility in the Middle East in 2017. France becomes seventh country with more than 1 million COVID-19 cases

The number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections jumped over one million on Friday, making France the seventh country to reach that milestone. Over the past 24 hours, France registered a record 42,032 new cases, taking the total to 1,041,075, government data showed. U.S. removal of Sudan from 'sponsors of terrorism' list is step toward debt relief: IMF

The International Monetary Fund on Friday said U.S. government plans to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism would clear away one of the hurdles facing the heavily indebted African country as it seeks debt relief. “We are encouraged by the U.S. administration’s formal indication to Congress of its intention to remove Sudan from (the list)," Carol Baker, the IMF's Sudan mission chief, said in a statement to Reuters. "The removal of Sudan from the (list)eliminates one of the hurdles toward possible HIPC debt relief.” Sudan becomes third Arab state to set aside hostilities with Israel this year

Israel and Sudan agreed on Friday to take steps to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Khartoum the third Arab government to set aside hostilities with Israel in the last two months. U.S. President Donald Trump, seeking re-election on Nov. 3, sealed the agreement in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Transitional Council Head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, senior U.S. officials said. U.S. to base Coast Guard cutters in western Pacific in response to China

The U.S. national security adviser said on Friday the U.S Coast Guard was basing Enhanced Response Cutters in the western Pacific for maritime security missions, citing illegal fishing and harassment of vessels by China. In a statement, Robert O'Brien also said the Coast Guard planned to evaluate next fiscal year the feasibility of basing Fast Response Cutters in American Samoa in the South Pacific. Biden win would bring relief but few fixes, says Merkel ally

A sigh of relief would go around the world if Democratic challenger Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidency but Berlin would still face many of the same policy problems with Washington, Germany's coordinator for transatlantic ties said on Friday. Peter Beyer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, said Biden would offer a more collaborative tone than U.S. President Donald Trump who has called Germany's trade and spending policies "very bad". Warring Libya rivals sign truce but tough political talks ahead

Libya's warring factions signed a permanent ceasefire agreement on Friday, but any lasting end to years of chaos and bloodshed will require wider agreement among myriad armed groups and the outside powers that support them. Acting U.N. Libya envoy Stephanie Williams said the ceasefire would start immediately and all foreign fighters must quit Libya within three months.