Reuters World News Summary

The US Department of Justice is investigating alleged money laundering and corruption tied to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's global investment portfolio with Wall Street banks.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

DOJ probes US banks over transactions tied to Iran's supreme leader, Bloomberg News reports

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating how Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei built a global investment portfolio with exposure to Wall Street banks, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing officials familiar with the matter.

The probe is part of a broader examination into allegations of money laundering and corruption, and ​includes scrutiny of transactions involving firms overseen by Khamenei, according to the report.

Explosions, sustained gunfire at airport in Niger capital, witnesses say

Explosions and sustained gunfire were heard early on Thursday morning at the airport and military airbase in Niger's capital Niamey, witnesses said, in what a security source described ​as an apparent attack on the facility. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for an attack. A Niger government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pope Leo XIV to ‌visit Peru in early ​November, interim president says

Peru's interim president Jose Balcazar said on Thursday that Pope Leo XIV will visit the Andean country in the first half of November, according to a statement from the Lima government after the president met with the pope at Vatican City.

Exclusive-Thailand revives $30 billion coast-to-coast corridor to rival Malacca Strait

Chaiyaporn Arunrasamee hunched over his fishing nets, overlooking the waters of the Andaman Sea, where Thailand's government is proposing an ambitious "Land Bridge" that will ferry goods between ports on opposite sides of the peninsula. "Personally, I don't want it to happen at all," Chaiyaporn said of the project, which Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has resuscitated after the war in Iran and the closure of the Hormuz Strait highlighted countries' reliance on strategic maritime chokepoints.

Church of England leader apologises for historical forced adoption practice

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, apologised for the Church of England's role in forced adoption practices in the decades following World War Two, when roughly 185,000 ‌children were taken from unmarried mothers across England and Wales. "We are profoundly sorry for the pain, trauma and stigma experienced - and still carried - by many people because of historical adoption practices in homes affiliated to the Church of England," Mullally said in a statement.

Two men jailed in Britain for spying for China

Two men, including one who worked as a British immigration officer, were jailed on Thursday after being convicted of spying on prominent pro-democracy dissidents now based in Britain on behalf of Hong Kong, and ultimately China. Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 66, and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 41, who worked for the UK Border Force, were convicted last month of assisting a foreign intelligence service by carrying out surveillance on targets between December 2023 and May 2024.

Russian regulator demands explanation after one Moscow petrol retailer hikes prices by 19%

Russia's anti-monopoly watchdog on Thursday asked a major petrol retailer in Moscow for an explanation after it hiked prices for 95-octane petrol by 19% in the last week. FAS, the watchdog, sent the demand to Neftmagistral, a company which runs around 100 petrol stations in the Moscow region and in the capital itself.

Italy's emerging far-right party overtakes League for first time, poll shows

Italy's new far-right political force, Futuro Nazionale, has overtaken the more established League party for the first time, a survey by pollster YouTrend showed on Thursday. It ‌caps weeks of steady gains for former army general Roberto Vannacci's movement. Futuro Nazionale was seen at 5.9% against the League's 5.8%, broadly in line with other recent surveys putting it at around 5% and showing a clear upward trend.

Parents of Serbian school shooter sentenced in retrial, report says

The parents of a Serbian boy who killed 10 people in a 2023 Belgrade school shooting were convicted at a retrial on Thursday, the prosecutor's office said, with the court jailing the father for 14-1/2 years for failing to secure the handguns used in the attack. Vladimir Kecmanovic was convicted of abuse of a minor and ‌a serious public safety offence. His wife Miljana was jailed for 35 months for neglect and abuse of a minor, one month less than the original sentence, the Tanjug news agency reported.

US announces targeted visa restrictions for some Ethiopians

The U.S. State Department announced visa restrictions targeting people it said were undermining peace in Ethiopia on Thursday, focused on hardliners in the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and their immediate family members. "Rising tensions between Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) hardliners and the Ethiopian government have threatened to reignite the conflict in northern Ethiopia and undermine peace and security across the entire region," the State Department said in a statement.

First tankers cross strait under Iran deal; Israeli strikes raise doubt in Lebanon

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying 6 million barrels of crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran to end the war that has disrupted global energy supplies. But in Lebanon, where more than a million people are displaced by the fighting, Israeli forces launched fresh airstrikes on Thursday morning, raising doubt about how far Trump will go to force his wartime allies to halt an offensive he has now pledged to end.

Israel issues new Lebanon occupation map, in talks with US over deployment

Israel's military published a map on Thursday showing an expanded zone of control for its troops in southern Lebanon, as Israeli officials told Reuters Israel was holding talks with the U.S. over continuing its deployment. An interim pact signed on Wednesday to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran calls for an end to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, ⁠and for parties to ensure "the territorial integrity ​and sovereignty of Lebanon."

Ukraine's Azov fighters were forced from Mariupol. Now they're hitting back

Four years after Ukraine's Azov Regiment surrendered the last corner of the devastated city of Mariupol to ⁠Russian forces, the rebuilt unit is setting its sights on making Moscow pay for its occupation. That bitter defeat in May 2022 — when hundreds of its fighters were killed or captured — turned Azov into a symbol of endurance in Ukraine and paved the way for its return as a bigger and more powerful force. Now, it is once again focusing on its home city on the Azov Sea.

Ukraine hits Moscow refinery in major drone attack on Russian capital

Ukraine launched a major drone attack on Moscow on Thursday, hitting the Russian capital's oil refinery for the second time this week in what Kyiv cast as a response to an attack that damaged a nearly 1,000-year-old monastery in the city. "We don't want this war, we never did, and everyone knows it, and our ⁠partners know it," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a voice message sent to reporters on a WhatsApp group. "But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn."

US and Iran presidents sign ceasefire agreement, but Trump says he could still resume attacks

The U.S. and Iran released the text of an interim agreement their presidents have signed to end their war on Wednesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to resume attacks and kill Iranian officials if they failed to honour their commitments. Trump, attending the G7 with other leaders in France, also withdrew at least one of his stated rationales for attacking Iran in the first place, saying it would be "unfair" for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles, having previously vowed to obliterate them.

Hegseth ​announces review of US troops in Europe, scorns some allies

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new review of America's troop deployments in Europe on Thursday and threatened to withhold some U.S. dues to NATO if "free riding" allies did not meet their defense spending commitments. Hegseth, addressing defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, said the U.S. review would last for up to six months and include consultations with the U.S. Congress, which has legislated a minimum number of U.S. forces in Europe.

Brazil police target Lula ally Jaques Wagner in Banco Master probe, say sources

Brazil's Federal ⁠Police served a search and seizure warrant on Senator Jaques Wagner, a close ally of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the government's leader in the Senate, as part of an investigation linked to now-defunct lender Banco Master, two sources told Reuters on Thursday. CNN Brasil first reported the news and two people familiar with the investigation confirmed it to Reuters. Wagner's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lithuania's new coalition seeks long-term US military presence

Lithuania's reshuffled government will aim to secure a long-term presence of U.S. military units in the NATO country, which borders both Russia and Belarus, a coalition cabinet agreement signed on Thursday showed. Social Democrat leader Mindaugas Sinkevicius is expected to become prime minister in the coming weeks, replacing his deputy Inga Ruginiene who held the job since 2025, and to bring the For ⁠Lithuania ​and the Farmers and Greens Union into the government.

Kremlin says Europeans probably 'pumped' Trump with harmful ideas during G7 summit

A top Kremlin aide said on Thursday that European leaders had probably pumped Donald Trump with harmful ideas at this week's G7 summit, but that the U.S. president was a strong leader who stuck to his own ideas. Trump said Russia should make peace with Ukraine after a "very good" meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday, in comments that sparked cautious optimism among G7 leaders that a peace deal could be struck.

Macron's Versailles diplomacy wins mixed results over decade in power

When Donald Trump, flanked by the French president, signed the Iran memorandum in the opulent Palace of Versailles, the optics were vintage Emmanuel Macron: the full weight of French history, glamour and pomp deployed to win over a difficult counterpart. The invitation to a grand dinner at the gilded residence of Louis XIV had been designed to persuade Trump to stay till the end of a three-day G7 summit - rather than leave early as he did in Canada last year — and to encourage the mercurial U.S. president to adopt a more conciliatory position towards fellow leaders whom he has often chided over trade and Ukraine.

Philosopher, senator, exile: social reformer Cepeda seeks Colombia's presidency

Leftist senator and activist Ivan Cepeda, whose youth ⁠was marked by exile and the political assassination of his father, is vying for Colombia's presidency with a promise to keep the country on its progressive path by deepening his predecessor's economic and social reforms. Cepeda, 63, led polls leading up to the first round vote in late May. He finished second to right-wing Abelardo De La Espriella, now the favorite to win Sunday's vote.

Wildfire in Spain disrupts Madrid-Barcelona rail service as heatwave looms

The high-speed rail service between Spain's Madrid and Barcelona was disrupted on Thursday after a wildfire broke out near a section in Catalonia, rail operator Adif said. The disruption comes as ⁠Spain braces for the first heatwave of the season, with the risk of fire forecast to rise sharply from Sunday, particularly across northern interior zones, the national weather service said.

U.S. open ⁠to Poland's offer to host permanent U.S. base, Polish minister says

The U.S. Department of War is open to Poland's offer to host permanent U.S. military presence in Poland, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Thursday after meeting U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Brussels. No decision has been taken yet, he added.

South Korea parliament launches probe into election ballot shortages

South Korea's parliament on Thursday launched a 45-day parliamentary investigation into the National Election Commission after ballot-paper shortages disrupted voting in the June 3 local elections, approving the plan at a plenary session.

The ballot paper fiasco has triggered protests, the resignation of the NEC chief and calls from President Lee Jae Myung for a thorough investigation.

Germany deploys ships to Red Sea for possible Hormuz mission, minister says

Germany is deploying two ships to the Red Sea in preparation for a possible military mission in the Strait of Hormuz, Germany's defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said on Thursday. Hours after U.S. ‌President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran to end a war that has disrupted global energy supplies, shipping and ‌insurance industry officials called for the urgent deployment of mine-clearing vessels to the strait.

China appoints senior official Cai Qi as head of National Academy of Governance

China has officially appointed Cai Qi, a member of the elite Politburo Standing Committee, as president of the National Academy of Governance, replacing Chen Xi, the human resources ministry ​announced on Thursday. The academy operates jointly as the Central Party School under the ruling Communist party leadership for training senior Chinese officials and shaping party ideology.