Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

South Korea police set up ‘bus walls’ to prevent protests amid COVID-19 concerns

South Korean police mobilised hundreds of buses to head off any political rallies in the capital, Seoul, on Saturday with authorities determined to prevent another cluster of novel coronavirus cases emerging from a protest. South Korea has been held up as a coronavirus mitigation success story but it saw a flare-up of more than 1,800 infections linked to a church and a big anti-government rally in August.

Canadian warship sails near Taiwan at time of heightened China tension

A Canadian warship has sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, the island’s defence ministry said on Saturday, a voyage that comes at a time of heightened military tension between China and Taiwan and which could anger Beijing. China, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up its military activity around the island in the past few weeks, including sending fighter jets to cross the unofficial mid-way line buffer in the strait.

France struggles for Karabakh peace breakthrough amid fierce fighting

A French attempt to relaunch peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh showed no sign of a breakthrough on Saturday as Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for re-igniting their decades-old conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, said Azeri forces had again launched rockets towards its main city, Stepanakert, a week after the opposing sides began pounding each other with tanks and missiles.

India’s coronavirus death toll passes 100,000 with no sign of an end

India’s death toll from the novel coronavirus rose past 100,000 on Saturday, only the third country in the world to reach that bleak milestone, after the United States and Brazil, and its epidemic shows no sign of abating. Total deaths rose to 100,842, the health ministry said, while the tally of infections climbed to 6.47 million after a daily increase in cases of 79,476. India now has the highest rate of daily increase in infections in the world.

Truck bomb in eastern Afghan province kills at least 15: officials

Attackers set off a truck bomb in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens, according to provincial officials, as violence continues in the war-torn nation despite peace talks taking place in Qatar. Attaullah Khugyani, a spokesman for the provincial government, said the number of casualties, most of whom were civilians, could rise and that dozens of people were also injured by the blast in Ghani Khel district.

Fines and business closures among new Iran COVID-19 restrictions

Concealing one’s COVID-19 infection should carry the severest penalty, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday in announcing new measures to stem a rapid rise in cases. “Anyone who feels ill and it’s clear to them that they are ill, must not hide their illness,” Rouhani said in televised remarks. Otherwise, he added, they will be committing “the highest offense” that will demand “the highest punishment”.

East Asia allies likely to bide time as U.S. election looms over Pompeo trip

A warm welcome and expressions of solidarity against China likely await U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week when he visits East Asia for the first time in over a year, but the looming U.S. election means Asian allies will think twice before making concrete promises to Washington. Pompeo heads for Japan, Mongolia and South Korea on Sunday at a time when U.S. ties with Beijing are at their worst in decades in the face of the coronavirus, which originated in China and has now infected President Donald Trump, his wife Melania and millions of other Americans.

UK PM launches transport review to boost economy, strengthen ties

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a review aimed at improving transport links across the UK, including a possible bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of a plan to boost the pandemic-hit economy and strengthen ties between its member nations. The study will consider air links within the country, road and rail links in Scotland, the Welsh rail network, as well as the cost and practicality of building a “fixed link” with Northern Ireland, said a government statement on Saturday.

One killed, 19 missing in floods in France and Italy

A fireman died and 19 people were missing in France and Italy after a storm hit border regions of the two countries, causing heavy flooding that swept away roads and damaged homes, authorities said on Saturday. The storm, dubbed Alex, ravaged several villages around the city of Nice on the French Riviera. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi called it the worst flooding disaster in the area for more than a century after flying over the worst-hit area by helicopter.

Germany urges EU to impose sanctions against Russia over Navalny case

Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has called for new European Union sanctions against Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with an internationally banned nerve agent. Navalny emerged in recent weeks from a coma after suddenly falling ill during a flight in Siberia and being air-lifted to Berlin for treatment. German doctors say he was poisoned with Novichok, a Russian nerve agent.