Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Greece proposes suspending asylum requests in emergencies

Greece said on Thursday that the EU should develop an emergency mechanism to temporarily suspend applications for asylum in major migration crises such as the arrival of tens of thousands of people in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July. Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 crisis when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa crossed into Europe. Arrivals have ​since dropped, although Greek Aegean islands have seen a rise in migrant boats from Libya in recent years.

Brazil vote approaches with Lula and Bolsonaro polling in close race

Brazil's presidential campaign draws to a close on Thursday, ahead of voting on Sunday in a race that will determine whether Latin America's largest nation follows ​the conservative shift that has swept the region or charts its own course. While leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to narrowly top the first round of voting, made up of 13 candidates, polls suggest ‌he is unlikely to secure ​the majority of valid votes needed to avoid a runoff.

Passengers foil bid to crash Dubai-Tel Aviv flight, Israel says, after co-pilot stabs pilot

Passengers on a flydubai flight reached Israel safely on Wednesday after customers and crew foiled a co-pilot's attempt to crash the aircraft, Israeli officials said, in a struggle that began when he stabbed the pilot and sent the jet plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Passengers and crew entered the cockpit, overpowered the co-pilot and enabled a second pair of flydubai pilots who were aboard the flight to land the jet safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Israeli officials said.

US sees Chinese invasion of Taiwan unlikely next year despite 2027 timeline, sources say

US officials believe a Chinese invasion of Taiwan before 2028 is increasingly unlikely despite Chinese President Xi Jinping's instructions for his military to be ready by 2027 to take the democratically governed island by force, if needed, people familiar with US thinking said. The main reasons include delays in military readiness amid the Chinese Communist Party's anti-corruption campaign as well as Beijing's eagerness to see the results ‌of Taiwan's 2028 election, which some Chinese officials hope could usher in a government more amenable to bringing the island under Chinese control, according to two current US officials, one former US official and a person familiar with the matter.

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.

Egyptian police arrest all six journalists of investigative outlet

Egyptian police arrested six journalists from a fact-checking and investigative media outlet, accusing them of spreading misinformation on behalf of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which the publication denied. The arrests comprised the entire newsroom of Matsaddash, a digital platform that has operated since 2018, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), which is providing the journalists with legal representation.

Netanyahu says flydubai co-pilot underwent Islamist radical indoctrination

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the co-pilot who tried to crash a passenger jet on its way to Israel had undergone Islamist radicalization. "We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.

Explosions heard in Ethiopia's capital as war ‌waged in north

Explosions were heard overnight in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, three diplomatic sources said on Thursday, adding to anxiety about the possible spread of renewed conflict in the country's north. A source linked to the opposition alliance fighting government forces in northern Ethiopia since last week said the alliance had carried out several drone strikes in Addis Ababa, including some targeting the military's headquarters.

Chinese hackers impersonated ex-US official to steal emails from AI experts

Chinese hackers have been impersonating US AI experts, including a former government official, to try to steal emails from experts in AI at think tanks, universities, and other organizations, the cybersecurity company Proofpoint said on Thursday. In a report, Proofpoint said that it had ‌watched the hackers — which it dubs "TA419" — regularly try to steal passwords from people working for US or Japanese think tanks, defense contractors, universities, and law firms since as far back as 2025.

Netanyahu says flydubai co-pilot underwent Islamist radical indoctrination

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the co-pilot who tried to crash a passenger jet on its way to Israel had undergone Islamist radicalization. "We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.

What is Alaska LNG and why does the project face doubts?

President Donald Trump could unveil plans nL1N45L130 as soon as Wednesday to tap South Korea's pledged strategic investment package for about $54 billion to build a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, as he rolls out a series of economic initiatives ahead of November's midterm elections. WHAT IS THE ALASKA LNG PROJECT?

Philippines sends largest ship, aircraft to drive away Chinese vessel in waters near Taiwan

The Philippines' coast guard said on Thursday that it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes province near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation "disrupted the vessel's unauthorised marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position," said Jay Tarriela, coast guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues.

Iran readies harder retaliation if attacked as diplomacy faces long odds

Iran is preparing a broader and more forceful response if the United States resumes large-scale military attacks, sources said, while continuing a diplomatic push that Iranian officials privately see as unlikely to succeed. The planning reflects a conviction within Iran's leadership that any renewed US campaign must be met with a stronger response than before, even as Tehran seeks to avert escalation through talks.

Israeli passenger says he knew what to do on flydubai plane after watching TV show

A ⁠passenger who helped save a flight carrying ​more than 170 people to Tel Aviv from crashing says he knew how to stabilise a nose-diving aircraft after watching an aircrash TV show. Yaniv Hayun, 50, is being hailed in Israel as ⁠a hero after he and three other Israeli passengers managed to subdue the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, who had stabbed its captain, before pulling up the jet's steering control to right it.

Super PAC backed by hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin spends $5 million to aid Florida Republican

A super PAC backed by billionaire Ken Griffin has spent nearly $5 million on Florida's US Senate race to bolster Republican candidate Ashley Moody, a sign that major donors and party leaders are scrambling to defend seats once considered safe as President Donald Trump's popularity wanes. Across the US, Republicans running for the Senate and House are facing voter backlash, according to party officials and strategists, as Trump's approval rating slides https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-approval-falls-career-low-32-high-costs-bite-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-09-21/ and Democrats gain ground in races once viewed as long shots in November's midterm congressional elections.

Water wars come to the ballot box in Arizona

On Phoenix campaign signs, Arizona-wide TV ads and in debates ⁠for key US House races, one issue has bubbled to the top of politics in this drought-hit state: Water. Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat seeking reelection in the November 3 midterm polls, says, “Arizona’s water is for Arizonans” in a TV commercial claiming she fought the federal government this year for the state's fair share of the drought-stricken Colorado River.

Kremlin critic Kasparov says US and Lithuania warned him of assassination threat

Russian opposition figure and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov said on Wednesday that security services in the US and Lithuania had warned him that his life was in danger following a suspected plot against Kremlin opponents living outside Russia. US authorities said last month they had charged five people over alleged plots involving Russian intelligence to assassinate two opposition figures, one in the US and the other in Lithuania, after paying ​recruits to carry out surveillance on both of them.

Trump will not win this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but he may influence who does, say experts

US President Donald Trump will not win this year's Nobel Peace Prize as he wages war with Iran, but his influence will still be felt by the awarding body that picks the laureate, according to experts. Last year's award, to Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado, was unique in the prize's 125-year history, coming amid repeated lobbying by Trump to get the award. Weeks later, Machado gave her gold Nobel medal to Trump, in a bid to win support for her efforts for a democratic Venezuela.

Attackers ⁠douse teacher in petrol as student protests rage across France

Attackers doused a headteacher in petrol and started fires in at least two schools on Thursday, officials said, as increasingly violent student protests raged across France against staff shortages and dilapidated buildings. Hundreds of young people surrounded a fire truck that had arrived to put out a blaze at Marseille's Saint-Exupery high school in the morning, police said. The attackers forced the firefighters to flee the vehicle, then set it alight.

Russian drone strikes Kyiv school, pupils escape unhurt

A Russian drone smashed into a school in Kyiv and set it ablaze on Thursday morning, but all pupils were in a shelter at the time and no injuries were reported, authorities in the Ukrainian capital said. An important bridge over the Dnipro River was also struck in Russia's intensifying attacks on the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The Southern Bridge did not suffer major damage but metro traffic over it was temporarily halted.

Avalanche ⁠kills 15 ​Nepali workers preparing Himalayan mountain camp for climbers

At least 15 Nepali workers were killed when an avalanche buried a mountain camp they were preparing in central Nepal for foreign climbers, a rescue official said on Thursday, in the deadliest incident of the Autumn climbing season ending this month. The avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-foot) Himlung Himal mountain in the northern Manang district over the weekend where the Nepali workers were pitching tents and fixing ropes. One remains missing.

Pakistani airstrikes kill nine in Afghanistan, Taliban say

Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan hit three houses on Thursday, killing nine people, the Afghan Taliban government said, while Islamabad said the strikes killed 22 "terrorists" after targeting their hideouts. The airstrikes mark an escalation in fighting between the neighbours after three months of relative calm.

Finland police investigate suspected intrusions into parliament members' homes

Finnish police said on Thursday they have launched a preliminary investigation into a series of suspected intrusions at the homes of members of parliament. Helsinki police said in a statement they were working closely with the National Bureau of Investigation and that the inquiry was at an early stage

Russia expels Hungarian diplomats in tit-for-tat move

Russia will expel an unspecified number of Hungarian diplomats in a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, after Budapest last month expelled 10 Russian diplomats. "As a reciprocal measure, a group of staff members from the Hungarian Embassy in Moscow and the Hungarian Consulates General in St Petersburg and Kazan must ⁠leave the territory of the Russian Federation within two weeks," the ministry said.

UN urges more US action on Marshall Islands nuclear legacy

The United States needs to take additional steps to remedy the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands by providing healthcare and releasing secret archives, according to a UN report presented to its human rights body on Thursday. The US conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, a group of low-lying coral atolls and islands in the central Pacific Ocean, from 1946 to 1958, including "Castle Bravo" at Bikini Atoll in 1954

Spanish king to visit disputed enclaves, testing Morocco ties after border crisis

Spain's King Felipe will visit the disputed North African enclaves ⁠of Ceuta and Melilla this month, sources in the royal household said on Thursday, a move that could further strain tense relations between Madrid and Rabat following a border crisis this summer. The trip by Felipe ⁠and Queen Letizia on October 13 and 14 will be his first to the enclaves during his 12-year reign. It comes just over two months after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta from Morocco in late July.

As rents rise, Berlin's underground scene feels the pinch

Max Mohr, director of Zirkus Mond, an alternative circus troupe in Berlin, got his start putting on shows in abandoned buildings before finding a home on a piece of vacant ground in the northeast of the city. Now after eight years, the developer who had let them use the land, near the hipster neighbourhood of Prenzlauer Berg, wants it back. So he is striking his tent and moving on with his troupe of jugglers, dancers and acrobats.

Exclusive-Syrian government officials and Hezbollah held secret talks in Turkey, sources say

Representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have held face-to-face talks in Turkey to try to calm tensions between them, according to six sources briefed on the first known meeting between the longtime foes. The Syrian officials and the Iran-aligned group met secretly at ‌least once last month, the sources - who include two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to ‌Hezbollah - told Reuters.

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survives execution attempt

Christa Pike, convicted of murdering a schoolmate three decades ago, survived Tennessee's effort to execute her by means of lethal injection late on Wednesday, prison officials said, foiling the state's first attempt to put a woman to death in two centuries. Pike's condition following the ordeal was not immediately known, and it ​was not clear what legal avenues her lawyers or the state might pursue next after she was taken for medical treatment from the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.