Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Afghan government urges Taliban to stop violence, hold direct talks

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged the Taliban on Sunday to end violence and talk directly to his government after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he had canceled a planned meeting with the insurgent group over a draft peace accord. "Real peace will come when Taliban agree to a ceasefire," Ghani's officials said in a statement in response to Trump's cancellation of the secret peace talks.

Iran's nuclear chief: EU has failed to fulfill 2015 deal commitments

Iran's nuclear chief said on Sunday the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal have failed to fulfill their commitments under the pact, a day after Tehran announced further breaches of limits on its nuclear activity set by the accord. The deal curbed Iran's disputed nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions, but has unraveled since the United States withdrew last year and acted to strangle Iran's oil exports to push it into a broader security agreement.

Televised debates a new step in Tunisia's young democracy

Eight presidential candidates stood behind their podiums aiming to impress Tunisian voters on Saturday evening in the young democracy's first ever televised election debate. Although Tunisia has held elections twice since throwing off autocratic rule in the 2011 revolution which triggered the "Arab Spring" uprisings, democracy is still taking root and such direct questioning of all the candidates is a novelty.

Turkish military enters Syria to begin joint U.S. 'safe zone' patrol

Armed Turkish military vehicles crossed into Syria on Sunday and headed southwest with U.S. counterparts to begin planned joint patrols to establish a "safe zone" along a border region mainly controlled by Kurdish forces. Vehicles with Turkish flags joined those in Syria with U.S. flags some 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of the Turkish border town of Akcakale, near Syria's Tel Abyad. Two military helicopters were seen overhead.

Saudi Arabia, UAE urge Yemen government and separatists to halt fighting

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates called on Yemen's separatists and the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to halt all military actions in south Yemen. A joint statement by the two Gulf states, leaders of an Arab coalition that is battling Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, called on the UAE-backed separatists and the Saudi-backed government to prepare for "constructive dialogue" to end the crisis between the two nominal allies.

Turkey shouldn't coerce Greece, Europe over migrants: Greek PM

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday Turkey should not try to coerce either Greece or Europe in its attempts to get support for a plan to resettle Syrian refugees in northern Syria. Turkey plans to resettle 1 million refugees there and may reopen the route for migrants into Europe if it does not receive adequate international support for the plan, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

In Mugabe's church, faithful pray for departed leader's forgiveness

In the church where Zimbabwe's founder Robert Mugabe used to worship, people prayed on Sunday for his forgiveness following his death two years after he was toppled in a coup. Mugabe, who had been receiving treatment in a Singapore hospital for months before he died on Friday aged 95, dominated Zimbabwe politics for almost four decades from independence in 1980 until he was removed by his own army in November 2017.

Russians vote in regional elections after biggest protests in years

Moscow citizens voted on Sunday in some of the most closely observed regional elections in years, after the exclusion of many opposition candidates triggered huge protests in the capital. The protests began in mid-July after the Central Election Commission refused to register of large numbers of candidates, saying they had failed to collect enough signatures from genuine backers - a response that President Vladimir Putin endorsed on Sunday after casting his ballot.

Hong Kong police fire tear gas as clashes erupt after thousands appeal to Trump

Hong Kong police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the upmarket Causeway Bay shopping district on Sunday, after demonstrators had rallied at the U.S. Consulate calling for help in bringing democracy to the Chinese-ruled city. Police moved on protesters from the Central business district who dispersed to nearby Admiralty, the bar district of Wan Chai and on to Causeway Bay in a now familiar pattern of cat-and-mouse clashes over three months of unrest.

Sticking to Brexit plan, UK's Johnson will not seek a delay

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is sticking to his Brexit plan and will not seek a delay to Britain's departure from the EU at a summit next month, two of his ministers said on Sunday following a resignation from his government. After work and pensions minister Amber Rudd's shock resignation late on Saturday over Johnson's Brexit policy, two ministers said the prime minister was determined to "keep to the plan" to leave the European Union by Oct. 31 with or without an agreement.