Following is a summary of current world news briefs. UK at critical point in COVID pandemic, top medical adviser says

Britain is at a critical point in the COVID-19 pandemic and faces a very challenging winter, one of the government’s top medical advisers will warn at a public briefing on Monday. Cases in Britain are on the increase in what Prime Minister Boris Johnson has labelled a second wave of the virus, with large areas of the country subject to restrictions on social freedom and London expected to be next in line. Sudan to discuss removal from U.S. terrorism list in UAE

Sudanese officials will discuss the removal of their country from a U.S. list of state sponsors of terror with U.S. officials during a visit to the United Arab Emirates this week, the ruling council said on Sunday. Sudan’s transitional government, in charge since the toppling of Omar al-Bashir last year, has been pushing to get off the U.S. list, which hinders its ability to access foreign loans to tackle an economic crisis. Honduras hopes to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem by end of year

Honduras hopes to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv by the end of 2020, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, a move likely to anger the Palestinians. “To strengthen our strategic alliance, we spoke to arrange the opening of the embassies in Tegucigalpa and Jerusalem, respectively,” Hernandez wrote on Twitter. “We hope to take this historic step before the end of the year, as long as the pandemic allows it.” Ivory Coast opposition calls for protests to stop Ouattara’s third term bid

Ivory Coast’s main presidential election challenger and a group of opposition parties called on Sunday for a civil disobedience campaign to stop President Alassane Ouattara’s bid for a third term on Oct 31. The election is seen as one of the biggest tests of the stability of the West African nation since a disputed election led to a brief civil war in 2010-11. U.N. chief says no action on U.N. Iran sanctions due to ‘uncertainty’

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Saturday he cannot take any action on a U.S. declaration that all U.N. sanctions on Iran had been reimposed because “there would appear to be uncertainty” on the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that he triggered a 30-day process at the council leading to the return of U.N. sanctions on Iran on Saturday evening that would also stop a conventional arms embargo on Tehran from expiring on Oct. 18. Exclusive: U.S. to slap sanctions on over two dozen targets tied to Iran arms

The United States on Monday will sanction more than two dozen people and entities involved in Iran’s nuclear, missile and conventional arms programs, a senior U.S. official said, putting teeth behind U.N. sanctions on Tehran that Washington argues have resumed despite the opposition of allies and adversaries. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Iran could have enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon by the end of the year and that Tehran has resumed long-range missile cooperation with nuclear-armed North Korea. He did not provide detailed evidence regarding either assertion. Protesters say localised lockdowns in Madrid discriminate against poor

Protesters in some poorer areas of Madrid that are facing lockdown to stem a soaring COVID-19 infection rate took to the streets on Sunday to call for better health provisions, complaining of discrimination by the authorities. Madrid’s regional government on Friday ordered a lockdown from Monday in some of the poorer areas of the city and its outskirts that are home to about 850,000 people after a surge in coronavirus cases there. Britain is at COVID-19 tipping point, health minister says

Britain is at a tipping point on COVID-19, health minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday, warning that a second national lockdown could be imposed if people don’t follow government rules designed to stop the spread of the virus. COVID-19 cases have risen sharply in recent weeks, with 3,899 reported on Sunday, and London’s mayor demanded swift action to prevent its spread in the capital. Thai protesters challenge monarchy as huge protests escalate

Openly challenging the monarchy of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, thousands of protesters marched in Bangkok on Sunday to present demands that include a call for reforms to curb his powers. Protesters have grown ever bolder during two months of demonstrations against Thailand’s palace and military-dominated establishment, breaking a longstanding taboo on criticising the monarchy – which is illegal under lese majeste laws. Mass rallies and police data leaks in Belarus keep pressure on Lukashenko

More than 100,000 people marched through Minsk on Sunday on the sixth straight weekend of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, keeping up the pressure on the veteran Belarusian leader to quit. Many walked in a vast column that stretched back several kilometres, decked out in red-and-white opposition colours and chanting “go away” as helmeted riot police patrolled the streets with water canons on hand, a witness said.