Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia strikes energy facilities in Kyiv and nearby areas in prelude to winter assault

Russian drone and missile attacks hit energy infrastructure in Kyiv and the nearby areas on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said, a prelude to another winter campaign aimed at wrecking the national energy system. "Russia has escalated to massive strikes on energy infrastructure," Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said on Telegram, adding that energy facilities had come under attack ​in other regions as well.

Russia sends nuclear warning to NATO as tensions rise in the Baltic

Russia has warned NATO it would be ready to resort to nuclear weapons if the Western alliance attempted to cut off Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave that borders the Baltic Sea. In a document ​sent to NATO and seen by Reuters, Moscow accused the alliance of a "dangerous and reckless course" that entailed "high risks of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict".

Fincantieri shipyard accident kills worker, ‌critically injures another

A man died and ​another was seriously injured after an accident at a shipyard operated by Italy's Fincantieri in the port city of Ancona, the shipbuilder and police said on Wednesday. The accident occurred late on Tuesday when a fire broke out as the two workers were carrying out welding work on a vessel.

Sweden contributes fighter jets to NATO mission in Poland again

Sweden will from October deploy Gripen fighter jets to Poland as part of a NATO airspace surveillance mission, the Nordic country's government said on Wednesday. The jets will contribute to NATO's air and missile defence and protect a logistics hub in southeastern Poland that is used for military and civilian support to Ukraine, the Nordic country's government said

Israeli officials say diverted flydubai incident may be attempted 'terror attack'

The co-pilot of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv is believed to have stabbed the captain in a possible attempted "terror attack" on Wednesday, forcing the plane to divert to Saudi Arabia where it landed safely, three Israeli officials said. They said the cabin crew ‌entered the cockpit and took control of flydubai flight FZ1073 from the United Arab Emirates to Israel, which diverted to Saudi Arabia as it flew over Jordanian airspace. One of the officials identified the attacker as an Omani national.

Indian opposition parties to launch protests over alleged manipulation of voter lists

An alliance of India's opposition parties said on Wednesday it would launch protests to "save democracy" after a newspaper report said the Election Commission pushed large-scale voter list changes despite two commissioners questioning the process. Opposition parties say the lists were manipulated to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

Explainer-How the US controls Iraq's oil revenues

US forces are set to withdraw on Wednesday from their last bases in Iraq, a departure celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies, which have deep influence in the country where 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of war. Still, since its 2003 invasion of Iraq, the US has held effective control of the country's oil revenue dollars, giving Washington extraordinary leverage over Baghdad's affairs, with implications for regional dynamics involving Iran.

Iran says it receives US response to latest proposal as Washington pulls out of Iraq

Iran said on Wednesday it had received a US response to its latest proposal to resurrect the collapsed ceasefire in the Gulf, days after President Donald Trump said he had rejected it.

Iran's allies were celebrating on Wednesday after ‌Washington withdrew the last of its forces from neighbouring Iraq, where 4,500 US troops died in the biggest US war of the century. More than 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in chaos unleashed after US forces toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Hungarian appeals court cuts German activist's jail term to seven years

A Hungarian appeals court on Wednesday reduced the prison sentence of a German citizen convicted for assaulting suspected far-right sympathisers in Budapest in 2023 to seven years from eight. The defendant, identified only as Maja T., was among a group of anti-fascist activists who travelled to Hungary to counter a far-right rally. Arrested in Berlin in ‌December 2023, Maja T. was later transferred to Hungary to stand trial. A lower court handed Maja T. an eight-year sentence in February.

Burundi to take third-country deportees from US

Burundi has agreed to join a clutch of other African nations in receiving migrants from other countries deported from the US under President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy. However, Bujumbura will only accept those not accused of crime or terrorism links, said Nancy Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for President Evariste Ndayishimiye.

Norway parliament probes Epstein links to politicians, diplomats

Norway's parliament began public hearings on Wednesday over ties between late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Norwegian diplomats and politicians in a scandal that has shaken the nation's elite. US President Donald Trump's Department of Justice in January released millions of Epstein-related documents, revealing connections to politicians, royals and the ultra-rich around the world.

France, Britain in talks to end 'one in, one out' migrant deal

France and Britain are in talks to end their "one in, one out" migration deal, a French interior ministry source said on Wednesday. "We are discussing the terms of withdrawal from the agreement with the British," the source said.

Romanian PM-designate Muresan loses confidence vote

Romania's Prime Minister-designate Siegfried Muresan failed to win a vote of confidence on Wednesday, a parliamentary vote count showed, extending a political crisis that is threatening the country's investment grade rating.

China's Xi talks economy, Taiwan at reception marking National Day

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for efforts to achieve full-year economic targets while reiterating firm opposition to Taiwan independence and external interference, according to a speech he delivered at a reception marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. "We should ... deepen cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, resolutely combat separatist ⁠forces advocating Taiwan independence, and oppose interference by ​external forces," Xi said.

Ukraine struggling to cover funding gap as war costs surge

Ukraine's total war costs will reach $155 billion this year and the government is struggling to close a $27 ⁠billion funding gap to ensure it can still conduct combat operations at the start of 2027, Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said on Wednesday. Koretskyi said the government planned to cover $7 billion of the gap by postponing expenditure, reallocating money from other parts of the budget and cutting some costs, and was in talks with partners on how to cover the remaining $20 billion.

Viruses run rampant across Havana as water, power fails

Cuban housewife Yuamilka Hechavarria was asleep last Tuesday when water rushed into the cistern of the crumbling tenement where she lives in old Havana. She jumped from bed, scrambling in the darkness of a blackout to top off a bucketful before the tap went dry. It was the first time her building had seen water in two months.

Injuries and arrests as high school students keep up blockade of French ⁠schools

Dozens of people have been injured and hundreds arrested, most of them children, officials said, in a wave of student demonstrations against teacher shortages and dilapidated buildings which on Wednesday impacted high schools nationwide.

The demonstrations and blockades, which began last week and coincided on Tuesday with a broader public-sector strike, have become a political flashpoint at a sensitive moment for France.

Joy mixed with fear as US forces quit Iraq leaving potential security vacuum

Iraqis celebrated the departure of US forces after more than two decades of war on Wednesday, though many were worried that a security vacuum could increase the power of Iran-backed militia or provide an opening for the return of Islamic State. The withdrawal of the final troops, mainly from an airbase in Erbil in the semi-autonomous ​Kurdish region, ended the biggest US war of the century, which brought widespread devastation and chaos from which Iraq has yet to fully emerge.

Republican committee chair calls for scrutiny of Seoul's China ties

The Republican chair of the congressional committee focused on China is calling on the Trump administration to scrutinize US ally South Korea's warming ties with China, which he said pose "significant risks" to the United States. In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Representative John Moolenaar urged "heightened vigilance" about the relationship, citing deepening leader-level ties, South Korean semiconductor investment in China, and unfair treatment of American ⁠firms in South Korea compared with Chinese rivals.

China carves new military presence in Southeast Asian neighbour

China’s latest expansion of its overseas military footprint was carved from a patch of farmland in Laos over the past year, satellite imagery showed, as analysts said the new support centre could deepen Beijing's presence in Southeast Asia. The China-Laos Joint Support and Training Center and the China-Laos Friendship Aviation Academy are now operational at an airport in Ban Keun, some 50 km (31 miles) north of the Lao capital Vientiane, Beijing's Ministry of National Defence said on Tuesday.

UK airbase suspect tipped off police, Times says

A suspected plot against a British airbase used by US forces to strike Iran was thwarted when police were called by one of the same men later arrested at the site, The Times newspaper said on Wednesday. The report added to intrigue surrounding events on Sunday near ⁠RAF Fairford ​in west England where five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspected terrorism and explosive offences.

UK police ask prosecutors to consider manslaughter charges over Grenfell fire

British police said on Wednesday they had asked prosecutors to consider charges including corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter against dozens of people over the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people. The Metropolitan Police said they had submitted their full case files to the Crown Prosecution Service for charging decisions, which the CPS had committed to making before the 10th anniversary of the disaster in June 2027.

Iran receives US feedback on seven-day trust-building plan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi received US feedback via Qatari mediators in Doha on Tuesday on a seven-day plan aimed at building trust between Washington and Tehran, with sequencing the main sticking point, an official, who was not Iranian butwas briefed on the talks, told Reuters. Araqchi is expected to discuss the US response in Tehran on Wednesday, the official said.

Factbox-Latvia's pro-Ukraine prime minister leads in poll ahead of Saturday election

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' centrist United List is expected to win the largest share of seats in Saturday's parliamentary election but is unlikely to secure an outright majority and will need to cobble together a coalition. Security concerns and cost of living issues have dominated the election agenda in Latvia, a NATO and European ⁠Union member state which borders Russia and is home to a significant Russian-speaking minority.

Prince Harry's children targeted by 'European paparazzi' while at school in England

Prince Harry's children have been stalked by "certain European paparazzi" while at school in the English countryside, his spokesperson said on Wednesday, describing their conduct as an "extraordinarily reckless" intrusion into the family's privacy. The incident was the latest security issue for Harry, the younger son of King Charles, following his relocation to Britain from California with his American wife Meghan Markle and two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, last month.

Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing to visit Malaysia in October, report says

Myanmar's junta chief-turned-President ⁠Min Aung Hlaing will visit Malaysia in October, Malaysia's state news agency reported on Wednesday, as the two countries continue talks on returning refugees and people displaced by conflict. Malaysia deported nearly 1,500 Myanmar ⁠nationals on Tuesday on three ships sent by the Myanmar government, despite concerns from the United Nations and rights groups over the safety of those being returned to the war-torn nation.

North Korea calls DMZ mine blast a 'farce' as UN Command says armistice breach occurred

North Korea on Wednesday dismissed as a "farce" a South Korean investigation that found Pyongyang responsible for a mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone that wounded South Korean soldiers, as the UN Command said the incident constituted a violation of the Korean War armistice. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, accused Seoul of trying to fabricate evidence after blaming Pyongyang for last week's explosion.

We are capitalists: US Democrats push back against communist label ahead of midterms

Democrats in competitive midterm races are increasingly declaring themselves proud capitalists, worried that Republican accusations of socialism and communism could sway critical swing voters this November, interviews with candidates and a review of campaign materials show. The effort represents an extraordinary moment in US ‌politics, where Democrats who have long operated within a capitalist system as one of the country's two major parties now ‌feel compelled to emphasize their commitment to a market-based economy on the campaign trail.

Israeli strikes kill five people in Gaza, medics say

Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in two separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the territory's health officials said. Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle killed at least four people ​and wounded 14 others in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City, while an earlier airstrike on an apartment elsewhere in the city killed a woman.