Reuters World News Summary

Taiwan was the focus of the 90-minute, "direct and honest" talks between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a senior administration official told reporters. Analysis-Saudi prince's Ukraine mediation signals 'useful' Russia ties - analysts Saudi Arabia has won a diplomatic victory by securing freedom for foreign fighters captured in Ukraine, signalling the value of the crown prince's alliance with Russia to Western partners seeking to isolate Moscow over the war there, analysts say.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. adjusts sanctions to help Iranians evade online surveillance, censorship

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday issued guidance expanding the range of internet services available to Iranians despite U.S. sanctions on the country, amid protests around Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman in custody. Officials said the move would help Iranians access tools that can be used to circumvent state surveillance and censorship, but would not entirely prevent Tehran from using communications tools to stifle dissent, as it did by cutting off internet access for most citizens on Wednesday.

Biden: Russian referendums are a 'sham', U.S. will never recognize annexation

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that Russian referendums aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine are a sham and said Washington "will never recognize Ukrainian territory as anything other than part of Ukraine." In a statement, Biden said Washington "will work with our allies and partners to impose additional swift and severe economic costs on Russia."

Russia holds votes in occupied parts of Ukraine; Kyiv says residents coerced

Russia launched referendums on Friday aimed at annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine, drawing condemnation from Kyiv and Western nations who dismissed the votes as a sham and pledged not to recognise their results. Ukrainian officials said people were banned from leaving some occupied areas until the four-day vote was over, armed groups were going into homes, and employees were threatened with the sack if they did not participate.

King Charles pictured with official red box in new photo

King Charles has been pictured with his official red box in which the British monarch receives government documents, in a photograph released by Buckingham Palace on Friday as the new king takes up his official duties. The locked red despatch box is an image strongly associated with the British monarchy and one that the late Queen Elizabeth was regularly pictured with. It contains papers from the British government and some Commonwealth countries which are sent to the monarch from the office of the private secretary.

Iranian state-organised marchers call for execution of protesters

State-organised rallies took place in several Iranian cities on Friday to counter nationwide anti-government unrest triggered by the death of a woman in police custody, with marchers calling for the execution of "rioters". The pro-government marches followed the strongest warning yet from authorities when the army said it would confront "the enemies" behind the unrest - a move that could signal the kind of crackdown that has crushed protests in the past.

Greek PM tells Turkish people 'we are not enemies'

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused Turkey's leadership of undermining peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region at time of war but assured Turkish people that Greece is not a threat to their country. The two countries - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies but historic foes - have been at odds for decades over a range of issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, overflights in the Aegean Sea, the status of demilitarised islands and divided Cyprus.

Blinken tells China's Wang peace in Taiwan Strait is vital

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Chinese counterpart on Friday that the maintenance of peace and stability over Taiwan was vitally important, as the two met with tensions high over the Chinese-claimed island. Taiwan was the focus of the 90-minute, "direct and honest" talks between Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a senior administration official told reporters.

Analysis-Saudi prince's Ukraine mediation signals 'useful' Russia ties - analysts

Saudi Arabia has won a diplomatic victory by securing freedom for foreign fighters captured in Ukraine, signalling the value of the crown prince's alliance with Russia to Western partners seeking to isolate Moscow over the war there, analysts say. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may also find that the initiative -- intentionally or otherwise -- helps take him a step nearer international rehabilitation after the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi damaged his reputation, they say.

Italy's election campaign ends, tensions between EU and right flares

Italy's leaders held their final rallies on Friday ahead of a parliamentary election at the weekend that is expected to be won by a rightist alliance, putting Rome on possible collision course with Brussels. A trio of centre-left and centrist groups held their closing meetings in different squares across the Italian capital, underscoring their failure to forge a united electoral pact - a decision that has enormously benefitted the conservative bloc.

'Time is up': Countries trapped in climate crisis raise alarm at UN

Countries on the front lines of the climate crisis are fed up. During the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations this week, low-lying island nation Vanuatu stepped up a fight to get the world to focus on combating global warming by calling for a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty.

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