Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Poland passes legislation allowing migrant pushbacks at border

Poland’s parliament passed legislation on Thursday that human rights advocates say aims to legalise pushbacks of migrants across its borders in breach of the country’s commitments under international law. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have reported sharp increases in migrants from countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq trying to cross their frontiers from Belarus, in what Warsaw and Brussels say is a form of hybrid warfare designed to put pressure on the EU over sanctions it imposed on Minsk.

Israeli troops kill Palestinian throwing fire-bomb, military says

Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man who was throwing fire-bombs at cars near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the military said. The Palestinian liaison office confirmed the man was killed and that another Palestinian was arrested by the troops. It provided no further details.

Deadly shooting rocks Beirut as tensions over blast probe erupt

Tensions over a probe into last year’s massive blast in Beirut burst into the worst street violence in more than a decade on Thursday, with six Shi’ites shot dead and gun battles reviving memories of the country’s 1975-90 civil war. Bullets bounced off buildings and people ran for cover during bursts of gunfire which lasted several hours on what was once a frontline in the war. At one school, teachers instructed infant children to lie face down on the ground with their hands on their heads, a Reuters witness said.

U.S. will oppose U.N. human rights council’s ‘disproportionate’ attention on Israel -State Dept

The United States has concerns with the United Nations Human Rights Council and will oppose its “disproportionate” attention on Israel, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Thursday after the U.S. was elected back to the council. “We have concerns with the council. We will vigorously oppose the council’s disproportionate attention on Israel, which includes the council’s only standing agenda item targeting a single country,” Price said, adding the United States will also press against the election of countries with “egregious human rights records.”

Norway bow-and-arrow attack appears to be ‘act of terror’ – police

A bow-and-arrow attack in which a Danish convert to Islam is suspected of killing five people in a Norwegian town appears to have been an “act of terror”, police said on Thursday. Investigators named the suspect as Espen Andersen Braathen, a 37-year-old living in the Kongsberg municipality where the attacks https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/man-kills-several-people-norway-bow-arrow-attacks-police-say-2021-10-13 took place on Wednesday evening.

Exclusive-Macron’s secret campaign team points to conservative battle ahead

French President Emmanuel Macron is building an election campaign machine stacked with former conservative insiders, because he has realised he needs to win over more centre-right voters to secure a second term next year. Macron, 43, has not declared his candidacy. But two sources close to the president told Reuters that behind closed doors the campaign team was taking shape, with one-time members of former centre-right president Nicolas Sarkozy’s party among those who will shape the campaign.

Secessionist leader says Serbs will undo Bosnia state institutions

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who advocates the secession of the Serb-dominated region from Bosnia, announced on Thursday that the Serb Republic leadership will soon take measures aimed at unravelling key institutions of the Bosnian state. Dodik, who currently serves as the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite inter-ethnic presidency, has long complained about state institutions such as the judiciary and prosecutors, saying they were established based on decisions by international peace envoys and were not enshrined in the constitution.

Kabul orphanage struggles to feed its children as cash runs low

Ahmad Khalil Mayan, programme director at a large Kabul orphanage, says he is cutting back on the amount of fruit and meat he gives the children each week because the home is running out of money. For the last two months, since the Afghan Taliban seized control of the country and millions of dollars in aid suddenly dried up, he has been desperately calling and emailing donors, both foreign and local, who supported him before.

U.N. chief delayed ASEAN talks to avoid Myanmar junta envoy

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres asked to postpone a virtual meeting with Southeast Asian ministers at the last minute to avoid signaling recognition of Myanmar’s junta by being in the same online room as the military’s envoy, U.N. diplomats said. The meeting between the U.N. secretary-general and foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – including the junta’s foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin – had been due to take place last Friday.

Thousands rally in Georgia demanding release of Saakashvili

Thousands of flag-waving supporters of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, jailed after returning from exile this month, protested in Tbilisi on Thursday to demand his release as his lawyer called on them to help save the country. The rally attracted the most protesters since pro-Western Saakashvili’s arrest on Oct. 1 for abuse of power and concealing evidence when he was president, charges he says are politically motivated.

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