Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Turkish-flagged cargo ship with migrants to dock at Greek port

A Turkish-flagged cargo ship carrying about 400 migrants is sailing slowly off the island of Karpathos after sending out a distress signal on Friday and will dock at a Greek port to disembark the migrants, a Greek coast guard official said on Saturday. The vessel could not sail independently and was being towed by a Greek coastguard vessel, the official said. It sent the distress signal near the island of Crete with the coast guard quoting passengers as saying it had sailed from Turkey.

Thousands stage nationwide protests against Sudan coup

Tens of thousands of Sudanese on Saturday staged protests in Khartoum and other cities to demand the restoration of a civilian-led government to put the country back on a path to democracy after a military coup. People carried Sudanese flags and chanted “Military rule can’t be praised” and “This country is ours, and our government is civilian” as they marched in neighbourhoods across the capital.

G20 leaders struggling to toughen climate goals, draft shows

Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies will say they aim to cap global warming at the 1.5 degrees Celsius level scientists say is vital to avoid disaster, but will largely avoid firm commitments, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters. The joint statement on the need for climate action reflects tough negotiations among diplomats as the leaders gathered for a two-day summit in Rome, but the draft details few concrete actions to limit carbon emissions.

China’s COVID-19 outbreak developing rapidly, health official says

China’s latest COVID-19 outbreak is developing rapidly, a health official said, as the authorities demanded high vigilance at ports of entry amid growing infections in a northeastern border city caused by the virus arriving from abroad. Some 377 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms were reported from Oct. 17-29, National Health Commission (NHC) data showed. China has tackled a series of outbreaks this year since it largely contained a national spread in early 2020.

Pope Francis agrees to make first papal visit to India since 1999

Pope Francis has accepted an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit, in a turnaround in relations with the Vatican following the failure of negotiations for a papal trip to the predominantly Hindu nation in 2017. There are about 20 million Roman Catholics in India, about 1.5% of the population of 1.3 billion. Some 80% of India’s people are Hindu.

UK’s Johnson says can’t rule out trade action in French fishing row

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday he could not rule out triggering trade dispute action against France next week in a post-Brexit row over fishing that has further strained relations and could ultimately disrupt the flow of goods. Johnson, who is hosting the U.N. climate summit next week, again said he did not want the spat over fish to derail a meeting of the world’s 20 biggest economies, seen as a stepping stone to secure more commitments for COP26 in Glasgow https://www.reuters.com/business/cop.

U.S. back with ‘guns blazing’ on climate issue – U.S. Treasury adviser

The U.S. Treasury’s top climate adviser said that renewed U.S. engagement on climate change under President Joe Biden has helped put the issue at the top of the Group of 20 agenda and is galvanizing fresh commitments to reduce emissions to net zero. Climate change will feature prominently in this weekend’s G20 summit in Rome, said John Morton, a former private equity adviser and Treasury’s first climate counselor. He also forecast a spate of new commitments from countries and the private sector ahead of the COP26 U.N. climate conference that starts on Monday in Glasgow.

Lebanon says government can’t afford to resign as Saudi rift widens

Lebanon’s government cannot afford to resign over a growing diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states, a member of a Lebanese crisis group of ministers said on Saturday following a near three-hour meeting over the widening rift. “The country cannot be left without a government,” due to other pressing matters, and would continue to work to resolve the rift, Education Minister Abbas Halabi said after the meeting.

Tigrayan forces say they have seized important town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region

Rebellious Tigrayan forces said on Saturday they had seized the strategic town of Dessie in Ethiopia’s Amhara region where tens of thousands of ethnic Amharas have sought refuge from an escalation in fighting. The fighters pushed Ethiopian government forces from Dessie and were headed towards the town of Kombolcha, Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.

Tourists head to Spanish island of La Palma to see erupting volcano

Olga Reinoso took advantage of the All Saints Day public holiday to see the erupting volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma but like other tourists she wanted to help islanders whose homes have been destroyed and crops ruined. Tourists were keen to help La Palma by spending money to boost the island’s economy.

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