Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

British fishing vessel still held in France, owner says

A British scallop dredger seized by France is being held at the port of Le Havre, the owner of the ship said on Tuesday, though French President Emmanuel Macron stepped back from slapping immediate sanctions on Britain in a post-Brexit fishing row. Bickering over fish between London and Paris culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of the British dredger, the Cornelis Gert Jan, in French waters near Le Havre.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro met with protests in Italy visit

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was met by jeering protesters when he visted the Italian town of Pistoia on Tuesday to pay homage to a war memorial dedicated to Brazilian soldiers killed in World War Two. The right-wing leader, who attended the Group of 20 summit in Rome last weekend, has been criticized for increased deforestation in the Amazon under his government and for his management of the COVID-19 pandemic. His opponents also accuse him of dictatorial behaviour.

China won’t give up on its zero-tolerance COVID policy soon – experts

China will not give up on its zero-tolerance policy towards local COVID-19 cases any time soon, some experts said, as the policy has allowed it to quickly quell local outbreaks, while the virus continues to spread outside its borders. To stop local cases from turning into wider outbreaks, China has developed and continually refined its COVID-fighting arsenal — including mass testing, targeted lockdowns and travel restrictions – even when those anti-COVID measures occasionally disrupted local economies.

Pope, at military cemetery, tells arms manufacturers: ‘Stop!’

Pope Francis, in a visit to a military cemetery on the day Catholics, remember their dead, on Tuesday urged arms manufacturers to “stop”, because war “swallows up the children of the homeland”. On All Souls Day, Francis said a Mass at the French military cemetery in Rome, with its rows of white crosses the burial place of about 1,900 French and Moroccan soldiers killed in World War Two.

At least 15 killed as blasts, gunfire hit Kabul hospital, official says

At least 15 people were killed and 34 wounded when two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital in Kabul, a Taliban security official said on Tuesday. The explosions took place at the entrance of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in central Kabul and security forces had been sent to the area, Interior ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosty said.

Leaders link tackling water and climate at COP26 as crisis looms

Governments and U.N. agencies meeting at COP26 in Glasgow formed a water and climate coalition on Tuesday to address growing hazards and shrinking reserves. Led by the presidents of Tajikistan and Hungary, the coalition will seek to implement reforms that the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization says are needed in the global management of water resources.

Global climate talks deliver moves to cut methane and deforestation

Leaders at the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow have pledged to stop deforestation by the end of the decade and slash emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

While major powers have traded blame for the world’s inability to agree on rapid reductions in the use of fossil fuels to limit global warming to manageable levels, there are at least signs of resolve in other areas.

Australia’s foreign interference laws fuelled suspicion of Chinese community – report

Australia’s adoption of foreign interference laws in 2018 helped to curb Beijing’s overtures to the Chinese community there but led to the tension that alienated many Chinese-Australians, the Lowy Institute foreign policy think tank said in a report on Tuesday. The law, criticized by Beijing, brought a deterioration in ties that worsened after Australia banned telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network and urged an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, with China imposing trade reprisals.

U.N. airlifts winter shelters for displaced Afghans

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR started to airlift supplies to Kabul on Tuesday to help hundreds of thousands of displaced Afghans build shelters ahead of the winter. The UNHCR said a first plane was due to arrive later on Tuesday, carrying 33 tonnes of kits that contain flooring and partitions to improve tent insulation. Two other flights are planned on Nov. 4 and 7.

“We are not deleting them”: Afghanistan’s Taliban promise progress on girls’ schooling soon

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said it would announce good news soon on older girls being allowed to go back to school, but urged the international community to help it fund the process as most external aid has been halted. Ensuring rights for women and girls has been one of the most sensitive issues facing the Taliban since they seized power in August, with international bodies demanding proof they were being respected before any discussion of formal recognition of the new government.

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