Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Taiwan says it is not seeking an arms race with China

Taiwan is not seeking to get into an arms race with China but does need to defend itself and will not submit to pressure, its defence ministry said in a report to parliament on Wednesday. Tensions between Taiwan and China, which claims the democratically-governed island as its own territory, have spiked over the past year as Beijing ups its military and political pressure to force Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.

China’s growing COVID-19 outbreak tests vulnerable border towns

China has reported nearly 250 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 since the start of the current outbreak 10 days ago, with many infections in remote towns along porous international borders in the country’s northwest. China had 50 new local cases for Oct. 26, the highest daily count since Sept. 16, official data showed on Wednesday.

Explainer-Sticking points at the U.N. climate conference

Representatives from nearly 200 countries will meet in Glasgow, Scotland, from Oct. 31-Nov. 12 for climate talks to strengthen action to tackle global warming under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Against the backdrop of extreme weather events around the world and a United Nations’ climate report that said global warming was close to spiralling out of control, the actions of governments at this conference will determine whether it is a success.

Doctors, oil workers to join disobedience movement against Sudan military takeover

State oil company workers and doctors in Sudan said on Wednesday they were joining protests against the military coup that has derailed the country’s planned transition to democracy.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets since Monday’s takeover led by armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and several have been killed in clashes with security forces.

Taiwan needs to beef up defence, seek more friends, minister says

Self-ruled Taiwan needs to strengthen its defences and, with just 15 diplomatic allies in the world, seek more friends on the international stage as it faces pressure from China, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Wednesday. Tensions between Taiwan and China, which claims the fiercely democratic island as sovereign territory, have escalated in recent weeks as Beijing raises military and political pressure.

Japan PM’s nuclear push faces resistance ahead of election

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s push to restart Japanese nuclear power plants idled after the Fukushima disaster faces stiff opposition ahead of a general election on Sunday, where his future as leader hangs in the balance if the vote is tight. A decade after triple meltdowns at Fukushima forced mass evacuations and a shut-down of the nuclear industry, Japan has restarted only a third of its 33 operable reactors.

Indonesian internet blocks amid social unrest lawful, court rules

Indonesia’s decision to block internet access during periods of social unrest was lawful, its constitutional court ruled on Wednesday, in a move activists said sets a dangerous precedent for internet freedom in the world’s third largest democracy. During 2019 demonstrations in the country’s easternmost region of Papua, Indonesian authorities throttled internet access in what the government said was an attempt to prevent violence that could have been sparked by the rapid spread of online disinformation.

Southeast Asian states announces new strategic pact with Australia

Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed at a summit on Wednesday to establish a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, a sign of Canberra’s ambition to play a bigger role in the region. The pact would further strengthen Australia’s diplomatic and security ties in a fast-growing region that has become a strategic battleground between the United States and China.

U.S. lawyers tell UK court Assange can safely be extradited

Lawyers for the United States launched a fresh attempt on Wednesday to have Julian Assange extradited from Britain, arguing that concerns about the WikiLeaks founder’s mental health should not prevent him from facing U.S. justice. The 50-year-old Australian is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges, including breaking a spying law, after WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. files and diplomatic cables in 2010.

Mighty river to muddy trickle: South America’s Parana rings climate alarm

Gustavo Alcides Diaz, an Argentine fisherman and hunter from a river island community, is at home on the water. The Parana River once lapped the banks near his wooden stilt home that he could reach by boat. Fish gave him food and income. He purified river water to drink. Now the 40-year-old looks out on a trickle of muddy water.

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