World News Roundup: U.N. says world likely to miss climate targets despite COVID pause in emissions; In Peru's Andes, Shining Path leader's death stirs buried memories of terror and more

The United States, Britain and Australia said they would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will help Australia acquire U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and scrap the $40 billion French-designed submarine deal. Stability trumps growth for government as Russians prepare to vote -economists Low wages and rising prices are crucial issues for Russians at parliamentary elections this week, but maintaining financial stability matters more to the Kremlin than driving growth, economists say, with inflation a lingering concern.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.N. says world likely to miss climate targets despite COVID pause in emissions

The pace of climate change has not been slowed by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the world remains behind in its battle to cut carbon emissions, the United Nations said on Thursday. The virus-related economic downturn caused only a temporary downturn in CO2 emissions last year and it was not enough to reverse rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said.

In Peru's Andes, Shining Path leader's death stirs buried memories of terror

In Ñuñunhuaycco, a tiny village in the Peruvian Andes, residents recall almost daily a terror that once haunted them every time the sun went down. Before dusk in the 1980s locals would often run into the hills in case brutal Shining Path militants came through in their long-running battle to topple the Peruvian state and impose their own Maoist brand of communism.

UN envoy meets new Afghan interior minister wanted by U.S.

A U.N. envoy has met Afghanistan's new interior minister who was for years was one of the world's most wanted Islamist militants and is now part of a government trying to head off a humanitarian crisis. The meeting between Deborah Lyons, head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, and Sirajuddin Haqqani focused on humanitarian assistance, Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement on Twitter on Thursday.

Not gone yet: Merkel to hang on as active caretaker

After 16 years in power, Chancellor Angela Merkel is not seeking re-election in Germany's Sept. 26 election but she is anything but a lame duck. The likelihood of protracted coalition talks after the vote means Merkel will not be leaving office any time soon and she fully intends to use her time after the election to press on with foreign policy initiatives, government officials say.

China fumes over U.S. nuclear sub pact with Britain, Australia

China on Thursday denounced a new Indo-Pacific security alliance between the United States, Britain and Australia, saying such partnerships should not target third countries and warning of an intensified arms race in the region. Under the arrangement, dubbed AUKUS, the United States and Britain will provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines.

France says Biden acted like Trump to sink Australia defence deal

France accused U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday of stabbing it in the back and acting like his predecessor Donald Trump after Paris was pushed aside from a lucrative defence deal that it had signed with Australia for submarines. The United States, Britain and Australia said they would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will help Australia acquire U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and scrap the $40 billion French-designed submarine deal.

Stability trumps growth for government as Russians prepare to vote -economists

Low wages and rising prices are crucial issues for Russians at parliamentary elections this week, but maintaining financial stability matters more to the Kremlin than driving growth, economists say, with inflation a lingering concern. The Sept. 17-19 election, the last major vote before a presidential poll in 2024, comes as Russia is recovering from its worst economic downturn in more than a decade, the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and low prices for oil, its major export.

Feted with petals, Hezbollah brings Iranian fuel into Lebanon

Hezbollah began bringing Iranian fuel into Lebanon via Syria on Thursday, a move the Shi'ite Muslim group says should ease a crippling energy crisis but which opponents say risks provoking U.S. sanctions. Dozens of truck carrying Iranian fuel oil entered northeastern Lebanon near the village of al-Ain, where Hezbollah's yellow flag fluttered from lampposts.

'Wall of the Disappeared': U.S.-backed Uyghur exhibit opens in Geneva

A U.S.-backed Uyghur photo exhibit of dozens of people who are missing or alleged to be held in Chinese-run camps in Xinjiang, China opened in Switzerland on Thursday amid high tensions over human rights between Beijing and Washington. The "Wall of the Disappeared" which also features interviews with camp survivors about alleged forced sterilisation stands outside the United Nations in Geneva where a month-long session of the Human Rights Council opened this week.

After killing Sahel Islamic State leader, France to hunt other chiefs

French military forces have killed the leader of a West African affiliate of Islamic State by a drone strike in a "decisive blow" against the group and vowed to continue hunting down jihadist leaders to restore stability in the Sahel. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi was the head of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), a jihadist group that broke away from other militants in Mali in 2015 when it pledged allegiance to Islamic State.