Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Bolivia detains attorney general, government ministry says

Bolivia's Attorney General Roger Mariaca has been arrested two days after the United States revoked his visa and accused him of accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking, the country's Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said on Thursday. Mariaca was arrested along with 13 other people on Wednesday as part of an operation targeting what authorities described as a “criminal organization” embedded within the judiciary ​and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Oviedo told a press conference.

Teachers' strike brings new upheaval for Libyans as school year stalls

A teachers' strike over pay and working conditions is disrupting schools across Libya and delaying the start of the new academic year. Teachers began protesting on September 13, the day schools were ​due to reopen, staging sit-ins outside schools and government buildings in the capital, Tripoli. Two weeks later, the teachers union escalated the campaign into an open-ended, nationwide strike across public schools.

Lula leads Bolsonaro ‌by 3 points in Brazil ​runoff scenario, Datafolha poll shows

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leads Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, his main challenger, in a potential runoff ahead of this month's election, a Datafolha poll showed on Thursday. In a simulated runoff, Lula would receive 48% of the vote compared with 45% for Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. A previous Datafolha poll had Lula leading Bolsonaro by 47% to 45%.

Merz warns of more Russian hybrid attacks as he reaffirms support for Ukraine

Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on Thursday that Germany faced more hybrid attacks from Russia as he pledged to continue support for Ukraine ahead of what is likely to be its harshest winter since the start of Russia's invasion in 2022. German authorities have warned repeatedly that Russia is conducting a hybrid campaign of drone and cyber attacks, accusing Moscow of being behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in August.

Supreme Court to weigh Trump's mandatory immigration detention policy

The US Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to hear a dispute over ‌a policy by President Donald Trump's administration that subjects millions of immigrants who entered the United States illegally to mandatory detention during their deportation proceedings. In this latest legal battle over Trump's hardline immigration agenda to reach the top US judicial body, the justices face an issue that has divided lower courts as numerous lawsuits by migrants and advocacy groups challenging the policy have played out. The policy is one of a number of measures his administration has taken in its pursuit of Trump's goal of mass deportation.

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.

UK police arrest dual UK-Iranian man in Fairford air base investigation

British counter-terrorism police investigating a suspected plot involving an air base used by the US to target Iran said on Thursday they had arrested a dual UK-Iranian national on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. In an incident which triggered a huge police response, raised alarm among ‌Western allies, and remains largely unexplained, five British men in their 20s were arrested on Sunday on suspected terrorism and explosive offences near RAF Fairford in western England.

Putin says Western companies could get their Russian assets back if things go well

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Western companies could get their Russian assets back if "a favourable scenario" came to pass. The Kremlin chief was referring to the Russian state's decision to place a slew of European companies under what Moscow has called temporary external administration.

US judge denies request to find Lindsay Clancy not guilty after mistrial

A Massachusetts judge who oversaw Lindsay Clancy's murder trial rejected a request ‌on Thursday by her lawyers to declare her not guilty of murder, saying prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for a jury to find her responsible for killing her three young children in 2023. Clancy's lawyers had urged Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth to conclude that prosecutors had failed to prove she could be held criminally responsible for her children's deaths despite suffering from what they said was mental illness. Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury deadlocked.

Exclusive-US waives rights conditions for $320 million in military aid to Egypt, letter shows

The US State Department has waived human rights conditions for more than $300 million of military aid to Egypt in light of Cairo's "helpful role" since the launch of the US war with Iran, according to a letter to US lawmakers obtained by Reuters. Egypt started to get significant US support after signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and has received about $1.3 billion a year in US military aid since the late 1980s.

Journalists decry crackdown after Turkey blocks news site over 'LGBT propaganda'

A Turkish journalist whose articles were cited among the grounds for blocking independent news portal T24 said the decision effectively treated objective reporting about LGBTQ+ people as a crime, as the outlet prepared to appeal the order on Thursday. A court ordered access to T24's website and social media accounts blocked after authorities said it had published 118 pieces of content over the past year deemed to constitute "LGBT propaganda".

US sanctions target Iran's auto, rail sectors as blockade chokes ship lanes

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iran's rail and auto sectors and their foreign suppliers, the Treasury Department said on Thursday, widening its wartime economic campaign to isolate Tehran. The sanctions are part of ⁠the department's "Operation Economic Outcast," announced August 24, which aims ​to cut Tehran's funding for the war, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC.

Spanish housing decree imperilled by opposition of Junts party

Chances that Spain's Congress would ⁠pass a decree aimed at curbing the housing crisis grew dimmer on Thursday after Catalan kingmaker party Junts raised last-minute issues and requested the government devise a new proposal on the eve of a scheduled vote. Junts, a separatist centre-right party with seven MPs, argued that the proposed measures would make matters worse by reducing housing supply. These include a ban on evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, a two-year rent freeze extension for existing leases, and tighter rules for short-term rentals.

Putin says the world is living through a dangerous moment, warns West not to escalate

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the world was living through a dangerous moment and warned the West not to escalate a standoff over Ukraine by threatening the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which Moscow has made clear it would defend with nuclear weapons ⁠if necessary. Locked in a war in Ukraine which he said Russia had no choice but to launch in order to safeguard its own security, Putin said Russia had no plans to attack any European country and wanted to coexist peacefully.

Attack at Mexico secondary school kills vice principal, injures three

An attack at a secondary school in Mexico's northern Coahuila state left a vice principal dead and three people injured on Thursday, local authorities said, in a rare case of school violence in the country. The attack was allegedly carried out by two 18-year-old brothers who have both been detained, State Prosecutor Federico Fernandez said, and took place at Secondary School No. 13 in the La Union area of the city of Torreon. The suspects were former students, according to a state ​government official.

Rubio to visit Iceland, Greece and Portugal next week

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Iceland, Greece and Portugal next week to discuss economic and security cooperation and other issues, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday. Rubio will begin his October 5-8 trip with talks in Reykjavik with Icelandic officials on "economic and security collaboration," the statement said.

US judge denies request to find Lindsay Clancy not guilty after mistrial

A Massachusetts judge who oversaw Lindsay Clancy's murder trial rejected a request on Thursday by her lawyers to declare her not guilty of murder, saying prosecutors presented sufficient evidence ⁠for a jury to find her responsible for killing her three young children in 2023. Clancy's lawyers had urged Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth to conclude that prosecutors had failed to prove she could be held criminally responsible for her children's deaths despite suffering from what they said was mental illness. Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury deadlocked.

Ukraine deploys FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for first time, Zelenskiy says

Ukraine deployed its FP-7 tactical ballistic missile in combat for the first time, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. "Ukrainian tactical ballistic missile FP-7. First combat use," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. "Thank you for the result. Next - production."

Crisis meeting told France's hardleft party behind school protests, says source

France's intelligence agencies briefed a government crisis meeting on Thursday that a wave of student protests, sometimes violent, that has swept across the country was initiated by hard-left politicians, ⁠a person ​close to the prime minister said. The protests against teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings erupted in the Paris region last month but have turned increasingly violent as they spread nationwide, with dozens injured and with police making hundreds of arrests.

Israel's Netanyahu: Co-pilot of flydubai plane underwent radical Islamist indoctrination

The co-pilot of a passenger jet who stabbed the captain in an apparent attempt to crash the plane as it flew to Israel had undergone radical Islamist indoctrination and was clearly suicidal, Israel's prime minister said on Thursday. Disaster was averted on Wednesday's flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the wounded captain managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers to subdue the attacker. A reserve crew that had been aboard landed the plane, which had more than 170 people on board, at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

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.

SpaceX launches 13th long-duration astronaut ⁠crew to International Space Station

A SpaceX rocket lifted off from Florida on Thursday with a crew of two US astronauts, a Canadian astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut headed to the International Space Station for a science mission devoted to human health and performance in orbit. The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-member crew, was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, along Florida's Atlantic Coast.

Social media harms democracy by spreading rumors, survey shows

A growing number of people think social media manipulates and divides people and harms democracy, Pew Research Center said on Thursday, echoing rising concern and ⁠tighter scrutiny across the world. Companies running popular social platforms, including Meta, Snap and TikTok, have faced thousands of lawsuits and paid large sums to settle claims that they harmed users. Governments, meanwhile, have ⁠sought foolproof ways to protect their citizens’ privacy.

Pilots of crashed Amazon cargo plane were unaware of wind conditions

The pilots of a Miami-based 21 Air cargo plane operating for Amazon.com that crashed in Miami last month killing five people, were unaware of wind conditions, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday. The NTSB's preliminary report is the first detailed account of the September 6 crash and points to a series of likely failures — from excessive speed and unused braking systems to missing wind information from an air traffic controller — that may have led to one of the deadliest US runway accidents in years.

Latvia's Kulbergs eyes election win as Russia divides society

Latvia's staunchly pro-Ukraine Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs is likely to retain power after Saturday's national election, as many voters grow wary of potential Russian aggression amid airspace incursions that brought down the previous coalition. Kulbergs, 47, a former racing driver, came to power in May after a previous coalition crumbled over its handling of incidents in which stray military ‌drones flew undetected into Latvia. Though the drones were Ukrainian, officials have blamed Russia for causing them to divert from their ‌flight paths.

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.