Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Sudan’s political turmoil

The military has seized power in Sudan, derailing a transition that began after long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir was overthrown following popular protests in 2019. Below is a timeline of the country’s political upheavals:

Rebuilding trust with Biden, Macron says ‘We must look to the future’

President Emmanuel Macron said his meeting with President Joe Biden on Friday would allow France and the United States rebuilt to rebuild trust following a rift over an Indo-Pacific security pact, and that it was key to look to the future. The two leaders shared a warm handshake for the cameras after Biden kept Macron waiting for more than one and a half hours, before sitting down to talks over climate, counter-terrorism in West Africa and European defence.

Rich nations to acknowledge climate change threat, take urgent steps -draft communique

Leaders of the 20 richest countries will acknowledge the existential threat of climate change and will take urgent steps to limit global warning, a draft communique seen ahead of the COP26 summit https://www.reuters.com/business/cop shows. As people around the world prepared to demonstrate their frustration with politicians, Pope Francis https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/pope-francis-cop26- must-offer-concrete-hope-future-generations-2021-10-29 lent his voice to a chorus demanding action, not mere words, from the meeting starting on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sudanese set for nationwide protests against military coup

Opponents of a military coup in Sudan have called for nationwide protests on Saturday to demand the restoration of a civilian-led government to put the country back on a path to democracy after decades of authoritarian rule. Thousands of Sudanese have already taken to the streets this week against the coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who dissolved Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s cabinet in a coup that has led Western states to freeze hundreds of millions in aid.

France, U.S. seek to ease tension over arms export rules

France and the United States agreed on Friday to explore making arms export rules more effective, addressing a long-running source of friction as their leaders met for the first time since a spat over a U.S. security pact with Britain and Australia. “The presidents intend to launch a U.S.-France defense trade strategic dialogue to foster a shared view on defense market access and export issues,” U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement after talks in Rome on the sidelines of a G20 summit.

France’s Macron questions Britain’s credibility over fishing row

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday escalated a post-Brexit row raging between Paris and London when he questioned Britain’s “credibility” and accused it of wanting to change parts of a treaty signed just last year over fishing rights and other topics. Speaking to the Financial Times, Macron said other nations were watching closely as Britain clashed with France and the broader European Union following its departure from the bloc.

U.S. spy agencies say origins of COVID-19 may never be known

U.S. intelligence agencies said on Friday they may never be able to identify the origins of COVID-19, as they released a new, more detailed version of their review of whether the coronavirus came from animal-to-human transmission or leaked from a lab. The Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a declassified report that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans. But it said analysts disagree on which is more likely or whether any definitive assessment can be made at all.

Prince Andrew ‘unequivocally’ denies Giuffre’s sexual abuse claims, seeks to end lawsuit

Britain’s Prince Andrew on Friday rejected Virginia Giuffre’s accusations that he sexually abused her more than two decades ago when she was 17, and urged a U.S. judge to dismiss her civil lawsuit. In filings with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Duke of York called Giuffre’s “baseless” lawsuit an effort to “achieve another payday” from her accusations against the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.

State Dept, Pentagon are concealing Afghanistan data, says U.S. watchdog

A U.S. government watchdog on Friday accused the State Department and Pentagon of suppressing information that lawmakers and the public need to understand the collapse of Afghanistan’s former government and military and the chaotic U.S. troop pullout. “The full picture of what happened in August – and all the warning signs that could have predicted the outcome – will only be revealed if the information that the departments of Defense and State have already restricted from public release is made available,” said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR).

‘Trust is like love,’ it must be earned, Macron says after Biden meet

U.S. President Joe Biden said his government’s handling of a security agreement with Australia and Britain had been “clumsy” and sought to turn the page during his first meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron since a diplomatic crisis last month between Washington and its oldest ally. The two leaders shared warm words, and friendly body language, but Macron said later that France’s trust needed to be regained by deeds, not words.

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