Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Trump-Xi summit in Washington features great fanfare but low expectations

US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish summit that was heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with no sign that a closed-door meeting yielded breakthroughs on thorny issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran. At nightfall, the two leaders and ​their wives joined together to attend a state dinner, a black-tie affair of sesame-crusted sea bass and a guest list heavy with tech CEOs. Outside the gate, a group of loud protesters shouted slogans like "China out of Hong Kong" that were clearly audible to the leaders ​as they posed for pictures on the red-carpeted White House steps.

Russia says strikes hit Ukrainian military-linked facilities, vessels

Russian forces carried out a series of strikes across Ukraine overnight and later on Thursday, ‌targeting facilities and vessels that ​Moscow said were linked to the Ukrainian military. Russia's Defence Ministry said the overnight strikes targeted several Kyiv-based facilities producing drones and drone components, two telecommunications centres serving the Ukrainian military, logistics hubs at the port of Odesa, and an oil tanker bound for Chornomorsk.

US and Iran discuss phased deal to reopen Hormuz and end US blockade, sources say

US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said. The strait has become the central bargaining chip in efforts to end the nearly seven-month US-Iran conflict, with Iran seeking relief from the US blockade that is choking its economy and Washington seeking free passage for ships on the global oil supply route now blocked by Tehran.

US Democrats criticize lavish Trump-Xi summit as lacking substance

US Senate Democrats criticized President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping ‌on Thursday, saying it prioritized pageantry over substance on issues such as artificial intelligence, trade, critical minerals and weapons for Taiwan. Trump welcomed Xi to the White House for a state summit heavy on diplomatic honors, but with no sign that closed-door talks yielded breakthroughs on the issues dividing them.

Dozens of delegates walk out of UN hall at start of Netanyahu speech

Dozens of delegates at the United Nations walked out of the hall when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his speech to the General Assembly meeting of world leaders on Thursday. Describing them as "moral cowards," he asked for anybody else who felt that way to leave before he began to talk.

Beset by far-right rival, Italy's Meloni tightens foreign pupil rules

Italy's right-wing government on Thursday passed rules to limit the number of foreign pupils at school and ban face coverings, a move opponents said was designed to counter the growing appeal of a rival far-right party ahead of elections due next year. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is grappling with the rise of National Future, a party founded in February by former army general Roberto Vannacci and already polling at around 8%, while surveys show her coalition trailing the centre-left bloc.

Finnish leader pleads with Musk to help Ukraine hit Russian missile launchers

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Thursday he pleaded with SpaceX owner Elon Musk to expand Starlink ‌satellite internet coverage for Ukraine so it can strike Russian ballistic missile launchers located inside Russian territory. With winter looming, Ukraine has an acute shortage of air defenses to repel Russian ballistic missiles, and Kyiv officials believe that turning on Starlink over Russian territory would help it target the Russian launchers that fire the missiles.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi missiles; group claims strikes on Riyadh, Aramco

Saudi Arabia intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said were aimed at Taif in western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea. The Houthis ‌later on Thursday said they had carried out attacks on what they described as "a sensitive target" in the capital Riyadh and on Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

Exclusive-Europe needs 'decisive change' in defence efforts to face Russia threat, EU agency says

The European Union is not rearming quickly or effectively enough to meet its goal of being ready to defend against Russia by 2030, according to the executive summary of an EU report prepared for the bloc's leaders and seen by Reuters. EU members' current plans "do not seem to meet" the goal of filling gaps in areas such as air and missile defence, ground combat, naval forces, munition stockpiles and drones, the European Defence Agency said in its first annual Defence Readiness Report.

New US sanctions shut down Iranian flights

Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries including the UAE and Oman on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran. The General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East's biggest travel hub, said that as a result of the new US policy it was suspending all flights by Iranian airlines until further notice.

Britain warns Iran it will not tolerate hostile activity on UK soil, Sky News reports

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a meeting that Britain will "not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil" from groups linked to his country, Sky News reported on Thursday. Miliband and Araqchi met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New ⁠York, the report said, citing Britain's foreign ​office.

Police arrest actors, politicians protesting against Netanyahu outside UN

Police arrested at least 30 people including actors and politicians as they protested outside United Nations headquarters on Thursday against Israeli Prime ⁠Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of his speech at the General Assembly. Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon, Emmy winner Hannah Einbinder, Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City council member Chi Osse were among those arrested.

At UN, Netanyahu defends Israel as delegates walk out

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a forceful defense of Israel's actions in the region at the UN on Thursday, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out. The walkout underscored the competing pressures facing Netanyahu, who is battling mounting criticism abroad over the Gaza war while campaigning for reelection at home ahead of an October 27 vote.

Mother of man wounded by ICE in Texas describes video call moments after shooting

The last time Wilber Rafael Garces Perez's mother ⁠heard his voice was on Sunday afternoon, moments after he had been shot by a federal immigration agent in his car in Austin, Texas, she told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "They crashed into my car and shot me," Flor Perez recalled her son telling her over a video call as she tried to calm him down from her home in Venezuela. Then she saw an officer pulling her son out of the vehicle by his arm.

Trump tells countries to quit ICC. Few follow his lead

President Donald Trump urged countries to leave the International Criminal Court immediately, calling it "evil" and "a rogue institution," but only Naoero, a tiny Pacific island nation formerly known as Nauru, has followed suit during the ​UN General Assembly this week. Trump's appeal on Tuesday capped an escalating US campaign against the Hague-based court, which Washington says oversteps its authority by claiming jurisdiction over citizens of countries, including the United States and Israel, that have not ratified its founding treaty known as the Rome Statute.

Iran's president says it is up to US to choose if it wants to end Iran war

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said it was up to the United States to choose when the Iran war will end, when asked if the conflict could end by the end of ⁠the year. "But we do not wish to continue. It's America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not," Pezeshkian said, responding to the question in an interview aired on Thursday on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" show.

NATO steps up intelligence-sharing over Russia threat, top commander says

NATO is stepping up intelligence-sharing in response to a wave of sabotage and other incidents apparently linked to Russia but should be "calm and confident" that it can handle any threat posed by Moscow, the alliance's top commander told Reuters on Thursday. The comments by US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich came after Denmark's defence intelligence service warned that Russia was likely to intensify a hybrid war — a term that covers a range of attacks below the level of a conventional military assault — against the West in the coming months.

Analysis-Flush with ⁠allies, Tigray's ​leaders face internal discord in new Ethiopia war

The last time the Tigray People's Liberation Front went to war with the Ethiopian federal government in 2020, it compensated for its isolation amid a sea of enemies with internal cohesion. As the biggest political party in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region enters a new conflict with Addis Ababa following the outbreak of fighting on Wednesday, that dynamic has been turned on its head.

Trump and Xi agreed to support each other in hosting APEC, G20 summits, Xinhua reports

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a meeting in Washington to support each other in hosting the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the G20 summit in 2026, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday. Xi and Trump also exchanged views on the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula during the meeting, Xinhua reported.

US Senate rejects resolution curbing Trump's Iran war powers

The US Senate on Thursday narrowly rejected a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the Iran war until hostilities are authorized by Congress. The Senate voted 50 to 49 to reject the resolution, which had passed the House of Representatives in July. The vote was largely along party lines, with most of President Donald Trump's Republicans rejecting the measure and almost every Democrat voting for it.

Abbas pledges first Palestinian parliamentary ⁠vote in 20 years as doubts mount

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed plans to hold legislative elections on November 28, the first such vote in 20 years despite serious domestic doubts it will go ahead, as he seeks to advance internationally backed reforms. Abbas, 90, used a pre-recorded video address to the UN General Assembly to condemn US restrictions on the Palestinian delegation's access to UN headquarters, calling them a breach of Washington's obligations as host nation.

White House reinstates access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico following judge's order

The White House said on Thursday it has reinstated journalists from CNN, MS NOW ⁠and Politico after a federal judge deemed US President Donald Trump's ban of the three news outlets likely unconstitutional and ordered their access immediately restored. The midday reinstatement came after a chaotic ⁠few hours earlier on Thursday when the journalists continued to be blocked from entering the White House grounds. That prompted the three news organizations to request an immediate hearing before US District Judge Tim Kelly, who issued his decision overnight.

One dead after security forces open fire during Ebola burial in Congo, sources say

One person was killed and several others wounded after security forces fired shots to contain unrest during the burial of a suspected Ebola victim in northeastern Congo on Thursday, two sources said. The incident occurred at Katula-Paida cemetery in Beni, a city in North Kivu province, which has recently seen a surge in Ebola infections.

Lula holds thin lead over Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil election, Datafolha poll shows

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has maintained a two-percentage-point lead over Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, his main challenger, in a potential runoff ahead of October's election, a Datafolha poll showed on Thursday. In a simulated runoff, Lula would ‌receive 47% of the vote compared with 45% for Bolsonaro. A previous Datafolha poll last week had Lula leading ‌Bolsonaro by 46% to 44%.

France to send military to protect Saudi Arabia on Red Sea oil route, Macron says

France will send troops and defence systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, which is key for energy transport, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday. Macron also said ​a US ban on diesel exports, which the White House has denied is under consideration, would be "catastrophic," both globally and for the US economy.