Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Good chance that trapped workers are still alive in Nepal hydropower plant, official says

There is a high chance that dozens of workers may be found alive after a week trapped in an underground chamber at Nepal's Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant following deadly flash floods, a Nepal Electricity Authority official said on Wednesday. "In Rasuwagadhi, ​we think 46 people are trapped in a room-like structure in the tunnel," Amhsu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, told Reuters.

Ships adopt makeshift anti-drone defences as Black Sea attacks intensify

Tankers and cargo ships are ​transiting the Bosphorus strait adorned with nets, water tanks and tyres to try to fend off growing Russian and Ukrainian drone strikes in the Black Sea, according ‌to security experts ​and video obtained by Reuters. In a stark illustration of the risks, the abandoned Russian-flagged cargo ship Omskiy-107 - its command deck burned out - drifted from Russian waters to a northern Istanbul beach east of the Bosphorus, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

Erdogan says Turkey would consider full membership of China- and Russia-led security bloc

NATO member Turkey would consider taking its relations with the China and Russia-led security bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to a higher level, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. "Turkey's prospect of (full) membership to the organisation does not imply a breakaway from any other bloc or from the West," Erdogan said, according to a transcript of remarks he made to journalists on his return flight from Kyrgyzstan.

India busts firm faking expiry dates, nutrition labels on PepsiCo, Nestle food exports

Indian authorities have ‌raided an illegal operation in Mumbai that faked expiry dates and nutritional information on original food products manufactured by PepsiCo, Nestle , Coca-Cola and Unilever so they could be exported to other countries. Reuters got exclusive access to the warehouse last week as food officers conducted a six-day investigation and seized goods worth nearly $80,000. A photographer saw chemicals used to remove manufacturers' original expiry dates and ingredient labels, machines to print and apply replacements and scores of label packs for products including Lay's potato chips and Maggi noodles.

EU to hit back at Russia after drone attack as Germany probes new sabotage cases

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Wednesday to increase pressure on Russia, including with new sanctions, after an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany that she said showed Moscow's growing "recklessness". Airport workers last month found a drone laden with explosives and a detonator at the airport, an important civilian freight and NATO logistics hub in eastern Germany that is also a base for several giant Ukrainian Antonov An-124 cargo planes.

China's Xi lands in Egypt as Iran war reshapes Middle East alliances

Chinese President Xi ‌Jinping arrived in Egypt on Tuesday, his first visit to the Arab world's most populous nation in a decade https://www.reuters.com/article/world/chinas-xi-visits-egypt-offers-financial-political-support-idUSKCN0UZ05I/, as countries across the Middle East reassess security and economic ties amid the fallout of the Iran war. The conflict has disrupted global energy markets and raised questions about whether regional countries can count on nL6N4440IT the United States as a long-term security partner.

US, China arm for space warfare: hunter satellites and orbital weapons

In June, a secretive unmanned Chinese spaceplane closely monitored by U.S. military analysts ‌released a small satellite hundreds of miles above Earth in an orbital region crowded with commercial and military satellites. The object then looped around another Chinese satellite before returning towards the spaceplane, according to U.S. space-tracking firm LeoLabs. Little is known about the satellite or the mission. But the U.S. military operates a similarly secretive spaceplane resembling a small shuttle, also with no crew. Both programs reflect the rapidly evolving field of military space operations as Beijing and Washington prepare for the possibility of conflict extending into space, according to a Reuters review of documents, space-tracking data and interviews with current and former military officials.

Germany probes second power grid sabotage case, fears of hybrid warfare grow

German police were on Wednesday investigating a second sabotage attempt on the electricity grid within 24 hours, a day after Berlin blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at an airport. The incidents come at a sensitive moment, with the far-right Alternative for Germany(AfD) - which wants closer German ties with Moscow - topping polls before a state election this weekend, and Berlin facing a growing threat of hybrid warfare.

Jury considers verdict in trial over killing of Maltese journalist

Jurors retired to consider their verdict on Wednesday in the trial of a Maltese businessman accused of masterminding the car bomb murder of prominent anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia nine years ago. Yorgen Fenech, 44, is accused of ⁠complicity to murder Caruana Galizia ​in October 2017, a killing that shocked Europe, set off a political firestorm in Malta and drew international scrutiny of the country's police and judiciary.

Estonia ⁠elects human rights ombudsman Madise as its next president

Estonia's parliament elected constitutional lawyer Ulle Madise as the Baltic country's next president on Wednesday, making her the second woman to hold the largely ceremonial post.

Madise, 51, has been Estonia's human rights ombudsman since 2015, and will hold the position of president for the next five years.

After 286 days at sea, US aircraft carrier visits Thailand for 'well-deserved' R&R

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrived in port in eastern Thailand on Wednesday after 286 days at sea, including a lengthy deployment in the Middle East, amid reports of mental health concerns and deteriorating conditions on board. The nuclear-powered Lincoln, with roughly 5,000 personnel, was ⁠involved in the U.S. naval blockade and combat operations in the war with Iran and — according to Democratic lawmakers — set a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea.

Congo's Ebola outbreak kills more than 3,000, government figures show

The number of deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak has surpassed 3,000, government data showed on Wednesday, as the country's worst-ever epidemic continues to spread across its northeast. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, became the largest and deadliest in Congo's history after surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic.

Trump aides, fearing a midterm rout, push to keep Iran war 'quiet' for now

Top aides to ​President Donald Trump are pushing to keep the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, four people familiar with the discussions said, a strategy that is already under strain as the United States and Iran resume their back-and-forth attacks. White House officials will consider ramping up military action after the November 3 vote, said the sources, who requested anonymity to describe internal thinking, though any return to full-scale conflict is far from a given.

King ⁠Charles and France's Macron to view Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum

King Charles and French President Emmanuel Macron will visit on Wednesday the exhibition housing the historic Bayeux Tapestry, the nearly 1,000-year-old embroidery which depicts the conquest of England by the monarch's ancestor William I in 1066.

Under a deal struck with the French government, the 70-metre (230-foot) Tapestry has been loaned to the British Museum from its home in northern France and brought to English soil for the first time since it was made.

Good chance that trapped workers are still alive in Nepal hydropower plant, official says

There is a high chance that dozens of workers may be found alive after a week trapped ⁠in an ​underground chamber at Nepal's Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant following deadly flash floods, a Nepal Electricity Authority official said on Wednesday. "In Rasuwagadhi, we think 46 people are trapped in a room-like structure in the tunnel," Amhsu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, told Reuters.

Russia divide resurfaces as AfD leads in Saxony-Anhalt

For Rainer Huppenbauer, as for many in eastern Germany, decades of living with Soviet troops led to a familiarity that has shaped their attitudes to a fault line that has divided German politics since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A wine merchant in the picturesque town of Naumburg, Huppenbauer says the experience had left many in the regions that made up the former communist German Democratic Republic with a feeling that Russia was not their natural enemy.

China's Xi urges new Middle East security framework during Egypt visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Middle Eastern nations to oppose external interference and consider reshaping the region's security order during a visit to Egypt on Wednesday, as Beijing seeks to expand its influence amid the U.S. war against Iran. Xi's first trip to ⁠the Middle East in four years comes as U.S. partners in the region reassess their strategic relationships after months of conflict that have disrupted trade, shaken economies and raised questions about Washington's long-term role.

Ceuta residents call for calm as Spain rallies over enclave's migrant crisis

Residents in Spain's Ceuta appealed for calm on Wednesday as hundreds of rallies were planned nationwide in solidarity with the North African enclave, which is suffering an unprecedented migration crisis that many blame on the central government. Nearly five weeks after ⁠at least 72,000 people crossed from Morocco in a deadly border surge, Ceuta's authorities estimate that over 10,000 migrants, including unaccompanied minors, remain stranded in makeshift ⁠camps or scattered across streets and beaches in the enclave.

Once symbols of war on Islamic State, Kurdish women fighters seek role in new Syria

Female Kurdish fighters who became global symbols of the fight against Islamic State are negotiating with Syria's new authorities to retain a combat role after a government overhaul left their future uncertain. The Women's Protection Units, known as the YPJ, fought alongside the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during Syria's civil war, helping drive Islamic State from large parts of the country's north and east.

How are search operations progressing in Nepal, a week after deadly flash flood?

Authorities in Nepal have been working for days to find more survivors of the devastating flash flood that ravaged the Himalayan nation and neighbouring Tibet, killing over 1,000 people, with thousands more still missing. Here ‌is a look at the situation on the ground, a week after the disaster struck.

Denmark sends conscripts ‌to Greenland as Arctic tensions grow

For the first time in recent history, Danish conscripts have been deployed to Greenland, as Denmark moves to bolster its presence in the Arctic after U.S. demands to acquire the territory. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to acquire the semi-autonomous ​Danish island, citing national security concerns and accusing Copenhagen of neglecting Arctic defence. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea.