Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine expands drone strikes on data centres owned by Russia's Yandex

Ukraine struck and partly disabled a major data centre operated by Russian technology company Yandex on Friday, a day after it hit a similar facility, widening the scope of its attacks against Russia after Moscow targeted data ​hubs inside Ukraine. Yandex, which is heavily involved in Russia's AI development and is sometimes called Russia's Google, said its data centre in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow had been struck by Ukrainian drones and partly put out ​of action.

What do US politicians agree on? Inflation is the other party’s fault: Marty Fridson

Cost of living concerns in the US are very ‌real, but the debate ​about affordability involves statistics that often aren’t as straightforward as they seem. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data released on Wednesday showed that inflation rose by 0.3% on a monthly basis in August, bringing the 12-month rate to 3.4%, well below consensus estimates.

Trump envoy kept financial ties to firm behind $15 billion Hormuz-bypass oil pipeline plan

Thomas Barrack, a top US diplomat in the Middle East, advocated for a firm run by his business partner to take part in the development of an oil pipeline from Iraq to Syria, three people said, activities which appear to violate federal ethics rules. In July, Iraq and Syria signed memorandums of understanding with a consortium made up of the company, Californian investment group TI Capital, along with Chevron and Qatar’s UCC Holding, ‌to carry out technical and financial studies in preparation for rehabilitating the pipeline, which would skirt the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint.

Renoir paintings stolen from Riviera museum recovered, six people arrested

Two Renoir paintings worth millions of dollars that were stolen from a museum on the French Riviera a month ago have been recovered and six suspects have been arrested, the local mayor said on Friday. Thieves had broken into the grounds of the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer early in the morning of September 8 through a hole cut in a garden fence and entered through a window.

Hurricane Isaias strengthens as US Gulf Coast prepares for landfall

Hurricane Isaias strengthened on Thursday as it barreled toward the US Gulf Coast, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Florida and emergency declarations in Alabama as forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surges, tornadoes and flooding. Isaias has already severely disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, forcing energy companies to evacuate offshore platforms and shut down operations.

UN human rights office welcomes Nobel Prize winner Pillay as staunch defender of human ‌rights

The United Nations human rights office on Friday welcomed the news of Navi Pillay's Nobel Peace Prize win, acknowledging her longstanding advocacy for human rights. "It is amazing news, we need more dedication and commitment to human rights," Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

Brazil election to reshape trade with US, with tariffs and minerals at stake

Two starkly different visions for US-Brazil relations hang in the balance in Brazil’s presidential runoff, but the strategies of ‌both Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva come with their own risks, experts said. Bolsonaro heads toward the October 25 runoff with momentum after he secured 47% of the first-round vote to Lula’s 45%, following a campaign where both candidates’ relationships with Washington drew scrutiny.

Merz 'outraged' that German former Chancellor Schroeder attended Putin's birthday

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz is "deeply outraged" by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's visit to Vladimir Putin's home to celebrate the Russian president's birthday this week, a German government spokesperson said on Friday. Schroeder, who served as chancellor from 1998 to 2005, has faced criticism in Germany and abroad over his links to Russian business and Putin, ties that have persisted despite Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent waves of Western sanctions.

Inside the deadlock at the world's top climate science body

The decision was expected to take minutes. But after nearly three years of debate, members of the world’s leading authority on climate change still can’t agree on a timeline to publish its next review of the latest science on the warming planet. Such assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have informed every major United Nations climate agreement for three decades. But the impasse over publication dates could leave countries to decide the ⁠next phase of action without consensus ​on critical issues – including the extent to which some global warming might be reversible – according to interviews with more than a dozen current ⁠and former IPCC scientists, government negotiators and meeting observers.

UK's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor benefits from £302,000 compensation on his mansion lease

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain's King Charles, has benefited from £302,000 in compensation after he was forced to end his mansion lease early over revelations about his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Last year, Charles stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his title of prince and forced him out of his Windsor home, as the royal family sought distance from the Epstein scandal. Mountbatten-Windsor was later arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Houthi strikes on Riyadh airport ⁠killed three Saudis as war escalates

Thursday's attacks on Riyadh airport killed three people, Saudi authorities said on Friday, as Yemen's Houthi group stepped up missile strikes on the kingdom and tried to shut down its airspace in an escalating war triggered by the US-Iran conflict. The strikes, which also injured several people, damaged a Saudia Airlines plane and sent smoke billowing over the airport, led many airlines to cancel flights to the Saudi capital days before it is due to host a major meeting of global oil chiefs.

Tuscan winemaker Antinori sees red after $6 million theft

Thieves stole ​around 30,000 bottles of premium wine worth about €5 million ($5.8 million) from a Marchesi Antinori warehouse in Tuscany, Italy's largest family-run winemaker said on Friday. Antinori, which dates back to 1385 and now exports to 170 countries, has alerted customers worldwide to be wary of offers outside official sales channels following last weekend's heist and is still hopeful of recovering the stolen wine.

Israeli settlers flank Palestinian cafe with dozens of Israeli flags

Israeli settlers have planted dozens of ⁠Israeli flags at the entrance of a streetside Palestinian cafe in the occupied West Bank, obscuring it from one side in what its owner described as a blatant act of intimidation. The coffee shop in the small village of Luban al-Sharqiya sits along the West Bank's main north-south traffic artery, used by both Palestinians and the approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers who live in the territory.

Explainer-What is the International Criminal Court?

South African judge Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize on Friday, has been a judge on several international courts, including the International Criminal Court. Here are some facts about this court: WHEN WAS THE ICC SET UP AND WHY?

French ⁠student ​protesters vow to keep up their fight after scoring first win

French student unions vowed on Friday to keep up protests after scoring what they called their first win in a campaign that is increasingly supported by Paris' elite universities, with 141 schools still shut around the country. The protests have snowballed into a wider movement, with more university students weighing in to express their anger over what they call a dysfunctional system, worsened by spending cuts spurred by France's budget crunch.

Taiwan president to say boosting its defences is not 'provocation'

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will say in his national day speech that boosting defences and spending more on the military is not a "provocation" but a reflection of the Taiwanese people's hope to maintain peace and freedom, an official said. Democratically governed Taiwan has faced increased military and political pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory over the strong objections of the government in Taipei.

Spanish right-wing parties keep solid lead ahead of November election, polls show

Spain's centre-right People's ⁠Party and far-right Vox were on track to win a combined parliamentary majority in a snap general election called by the ruling Socialists for November 29, according to two opinion polls published on Friday. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has been in power since 2018, called the early election this week after parliament rejected his government's proposals to address a mounting housing crisis.

Berlin rejects claim it dropped Franco-German tank project

Germany on Friday dismissed remarks by the ⁠head of the French armed forces who said Berlin had decided to quit a troubled Franco-German tank project. The dispute is the latest sign of strain ⁠in Franco-German defence cooperation after the two countries scrapped a joint next-generation fighter jet project in June.

Pope Leo approves Tagle as first Asian dean of Catholic cardinals

Pope Leo approved Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle's election as the dean of the Catholic Church's college of cardinals, the Vatican said on Friday, in the first selection of an Asian cleric to lead the elite group that one day will choose Leo's successor. A former archbishop of Manila, Tagle has served as a senior Vatican official since 2020. He was widely seen as a likely papal candidate in the May 2025 conclave that elected Leo to lead the Church after the death of the late Pope Francis.

Russian satellite activity raises concerns for Starlink, German space commander says

The ‌shadowing of a Western satellite supporting Ukraine by a cluster of Russian military satellites earlier ‌this year demonstrates capabilities that could threaten commercial constellations such as Elon Musk's Starlink, Germany’s space commander told Reuters. In May, Russia manoeuvred four military satellites, known as Cosmos 2610 through 2613, close to a commercial radar-imaging satellite, according to the US Space Force. Finland's ​ICEYE, which supplies data to the US and its allies, confirmed to Reuters that it was one of their satellites.