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," Amshu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, told Reuters.

From hunger to obesity: Developing world faces growing threat to child health

Intan Permatasari's mother simply couldn't refuse her daughter's pleas for food. By the time she was 4, Intan had outgrown all ​the kindergarten uniforms and had to wear home-sewn clothes to school. Bullied relentlessly by classmates as her struggles with obesity intensified, Intan quit school aged 12 and stayed at home south of ‌Indonesia's capital Jakarta, rarely venturing ​outside.

Trump says he will make 'a lot of stops' ahead of midterm elections

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday told reporters that he planned extensive travel to states with high stakes races in the final month before the midterm elections in November. The midterms will be test of Trump's popularity as his approval rating sits at 33%, the lowest level of his political career, just two months before election day, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

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.

Exclusive-Nepal to rebuild early-warning system on China border after deadly flood, sources say

Nepal plans to rebuild an early-warning system for landslides on part of its border with China, installing seismic sensors, cameras and a satellite link, two Nepali government sources told Reuters, a week after a glacial flood killed more than 1,000. The equipment is being set up at Timure, a border settlement in Nepal's Rasuwa district on the same river corridor along the border with China where a collapsing glacier sent a gigantic wall of mud, water and rock hurtling through mountain valleys.

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.

Venezuela's Maduro asserts immunity, urges US judge to dismiss charges

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro urged a U.S. judge on Wednesday to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing he should be immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign country. The charges, filed in Manhattan federal court, formed ‌the basis for the January 3 operation in which the U.S. military raided Caracas and captured Maduro. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial starting June 1, 2027 if his effort to dismiss the case is unsuccessful.

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.

Russian air attack damages multi-story residential building in Ukraine's Odesa, official says

A Russian air attack damaged a multi-story residential building in Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa early on Thursday, said Serhiy Lysak, the head of its military administration. Eight people were injured in the attack, Lysak added on the Telegram messaging app, while a Reuters witness reported an explosion on Wednesday in the capital, Kyiv, amid continued Russian air strikes.

Malta court acquits businessman of car bomb murder of anti-corruption journalist

Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who was accused of commissioning the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, was acquitted on Wednesday at the end of a jury trial. Fenech, 44, was tried for complicity to murder and for the lesser charge of criminal association to commit murder. Had he been found guilty, he could have faced up to life imprisonment.

More than a dozen Serbians targeted with mercenary spyware, digital rights group says

At least 14 people across Serbia's civil society were targeted with advanced spyware ahead of local elections in March, the digital rights group SHARE Foundation said on Wednesday. The wave of spyware infections, discovered in August after Apple notified people in 110 countries they had likely been victims of ⁠mercenary spyware, marks the largest documented wave ​of such infection in Serbia to date, the SHARE Foundation said in a statement.

As schools re-open, Congo drops remote learning plan in Ebola red zone

Schools reopened this week ⁠in areas of Democratic Republic of Congo hardest hit by Ebola, after authorities decided the risk of transmission was outweighed by the risk of pupils struggling with remote learning, an official told Reuters on Wednesday. The death toll from the outbreak - the worst in Congo's long history with the disease - has exceeded 3,000, according to government data published on Wednesday, with cases spread across six provinces and a mortality rate of 48.6%.

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.

US judge blocks Trump's newest order limiting birthright citizenship

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new executive order limiting the number of people eligible for birthright citizenship that President Donald Trump issued after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his previous effort. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, issued a preliminary injunction at the request of immigrant rights advocates who had last year secured a ruling from her blocking the Trump administration from enforcing his initial 2025 executive order curtailing birthright citizenship.

The killing of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and its aftermath

Maltese businessman Yorgen ​Fenech was cleared on Wednesday of masterminding the car bomb murder of prominent anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia nine years ago. Following is a timeline of a killing that shocked Europe, triggered a political crisis in Malta and drew international scrutiny of the country's police and judiciary.

Russia charges children's hospice chief with spreading false war information

Russian investigators said on Wednesday they had detained children's hospice founder Lida Moniava and charged her with deliberately spreading false information about the actions of Russian armed forces against Ukrainian civilians. Moniava, a well-known advocate in Russia for critically ill children, ⁠has publicly criticised the four-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine on the Telegram messaging app, calling it a crime that must end.

Trump's DOJ threatens to cut aid to states unless they report migrants without legal status

The U.S. Justice Department warned that states risk losing billions of dollars in welfare funding if they do not report all immigrants known to state agencies who are in the country illegally, according to a legal opinion released on Wednesday. In a major shift that would increase pressure on states to comply with the administration's immigration crackdown, the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel said all states that receive funding for two key welfare programs must report people unlawfully present in the U.S. to the Department of Homeland Security.

Rubio urges partners to stop 'business as usual' with Nicaraguan government

The U.S. urges international partners to immediately ⁠stop "business as ​usual" operations with Nicaragua's government, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that Washington remains committed to addressing violations of human rights by the government. Rubio's comments come after Nicaragua's Congress on Tuesday passed a constitutional reform that bans opposition parties from participating in elections and extends the presidential term from six to seven years, an initiative that had previously drawn criticism from the United States and other countries in the region.

Thousands protest in Ceuta as Spain rallies over enclave's migrant crisis

Residents of Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta took to the streets on Wednesday to protest the handling by Madrid of a migration crisis caused by a deadly border surge in July when at least 72,000 people crossed from Morocco. Thousands of people marched through the streets of the city of about 80,000 residents in a protest that coincided with the annual Ceuta Day. Waving Spanish flags and blowing whistles, they chanted: “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta must be defended."

Two Palestinian teens killed in West Bank raid by Israeli settlers and army

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed on Wednesday in an attack by Israeli settler militants and army troops on their village in the occupied West Bank, local officials and the Palestinian health ministry said, amid an uptick in ⁠violence by Jewish settlers in the territory. The Palestinian health ministry said the two youths were ages 16 and 19 while a local official told Palestinian news agency WAFA they died in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah.

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.

Trump says renewed US campaign against Iran won't last long

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the ⁠renewed U.S. campaign against Iran would not continue for "too long" after the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran was trying to build a rocket that drops mines and the U.S. had destroyed it. He also said Iran had been working to restore its radar and missile systems, which were also targeted in the U.S. strikes.

Mexican musician, family members slain in gruesome shooting at upscale penthouse

A Mexican musician, his pregnant wife, 3-year-old daughter, a young domestic worker and the family's pet dog were tied up and shot dead in a gruesome scene at his penthouse in an upscale residential block outside Mexico City. Their 6-year-old son was found at the scene unharmed, local authorities said on Wednesday.

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.

Swiss rave shooting 'lone perpetrator' handed himself in to police

The suspect in a shooting that killed one person and injured six others at a rave party in Aarau, northern Switzerland, at the weekend handed himself ​in and admitted responsibility for the attack, Swiss police said on Wednesday. The 43-year-old Swiss man was arrested on Monday, a day after the shooting.