Morning news brief: Trump backtracks on Proud Boys, Covid toll and more

On Wednesday, during the first national presidential debate, the US President Donald Trump not only missed an opportunity to condemn the white supremacist groups, but rather told them to "stand by".

“Yes, he asked. But the pope had already said clearly that political figures are not received in election periods. That is the reason,” Vatican diplomat Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said, according to Reuters Wednesday.

The actual number of deaths due to COVID-19 is "certainly higher" than 1 million, Director-General of World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday said.