Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Nicaraguan families beg for answers as dissenters vanish into state custody

Thelma Brenes grew worried when her father in Nicaragua did not return her messages. Retired Army Colonel Carlos Brenes, 71, lived with his wife, Salvadora Martinez, 69, on a rural property south of the capital Managua. Brenes' daughter Thelma, living in the Netherlands, asked a neighbor to check ​on the couple. He found the house empty.

What is lung adenocarcinoma, the cancer diagnosed in Pope Leo?

Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung during surgery on Tuesday, the Vatican said. Here are some facts about ​the disease.

UK government to provide £17 million for Chornobyl plant repairs

The British government said on Thursday it will provide £17 million ($22.45 million) in funding for repairs to the Chornobyl nuclear power plant ‌in northern Ukraine damaged ​by a Russian drone strike last year. The funds will support crucial repairs to restore the structure's confinement and ventilation functions and protect the intended lifespan of the plant, the government said.

Denmark says US resource exploration in Greenland must respect local laws

Denmark's foreign ministry said on Wednesday if the US wished to explore Greenland's resources, it would have to do so within the framework of the Arctic island's legislation, adding that last month's deal between the three parties did not change this. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that "massive oil, gas and mineral exploration" was set to begin on Greenland, a contentious statement on a territory that has resisted his efforts to control it and has banned new drilling for crude.

North Korea says it tested submarine-launched cruise missiles, KCNA says

North Korea said it had tested two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles on Wednesday to verify navy ‌mission capabilities and reliability of war deterrents, state media reported on Thursday. Senior military officers observed the tests conducted in the sea off the North's east coast, KCNA said. It gave no further details of the missiles or the launch other than the test had no adverse impact on the security of neighboring countries.

Netanyahu says he is not seeking to attack Iran again before Israel election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he was not in favour of a preemptive strike against Iran before Israel's October 27 election but also warned Tehran and its proxies against striking Israel. "It is not convenient for us, it's no good," Netanyahu said in an interview on Israel's Army Radio, when asked about the possibility of a preemptive strike and allegations by his political rivals that he was seeking a military confrontation ahead of the election.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy says it is 'painful' when Trump chooses a different side

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview on Wednesday that it was "painful" when Donald Trump took another side in Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia, after the US President said Zelenskiy should be replaced. Zelenskiy told Piers Morgan Uncensored: "It's painful when President Trump chooses one side, not our side."

Pope Leo back on his feet after ‌shock cancer diagnosis

Pope Leo's recovery from surgery is progressing as expected and he has begun walking in his hospital room and eating normally, the Vatican said on Wednesday, after doctors announced the 71-year-old pontiff was being treated for lung cancer. World leaders, Catholics across the globe and senior cardinals at the Vatican have offered prayers for Leo after he had part of his right lung removed in an operation on Tuesday.

Ukrainian drones hit Russia's top data centre in attack on AI ambitions

Ukrainian drones hit Russia's biggest data centre on Wednesday, part of ‌a series of attacks appearing to target Moscow's ambitions to develop Russian artificial intelligence capabilities on a par with those from the US and China. The strike on the Balakovo data centre, owned by Sberbank, the country's largest bank and technology company, followed three attacks in the past week on data centres owned by Russian technology group Yandex.

US floats unfreezing some Russian assets to restart Ukraine peace talks, FT reports

The United States has proposed that European countries unfreeze some Russian sovereign assets immobilised after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and transfer them to a vehicle overseen by Washington in an attempt to revive peace talks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the matter. European delegates rebuffed the plan, which was pitched by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, FT said.

Zelenskiy receives full-throated UK support after Trump turns on him

Volodymyr Zelenskiy received a strong show of support in London on Wednesday, meeting Prime Minister Andy Burnham and King Charles after the Ukrainian leader's relationship with the US took a sharp turn for the worse. Zelenskiy was given the red-carpet treatment, arriving in Britain after another night of heavy Russian attacks and hours after Ukraine accused Elon Musk's SpaceX of crippling its drones by limiting Starlink services.

UN peacekeeping chief says talks on future of Lebanon mission must begin soon

UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to begin negotiations on the future of peacekeepers deployed in Lebanon, as ⁠Beirut campaigns for an extension to the ​mandate set to expire at the end of this year. A UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL has been deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978 but ⁠the Security Council last year ordered the mission to begin withdrawing at the end of 2026.

Pilgrims caught up in Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia

Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia to visit Islam's holiest sites may not have anticipated being caught up in an air war, but some experienced an attack by Yemen's Houthis first hand and others have been forced to change their plans. Footage of the massive blast that killed 13 people and wounded 300 in a Riyadh airport departure terminal struck by a Houthi missile on Saturday showed many passengers attired in the simple white clothes of Muslim pilgrims travelling to Mecca.

Iran shifting tactics to step up attacks on shipping before US vote, officials say

Iran is deploying new ⁠tactics to target ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz as it seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters. Tehran has tried to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. It has restricted passage through the waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade before the war, in an effort to gain leverage over Washington.

Undercover documentary shows Reform UK candidates making racist, sexual and violent remarks

Several members of Nigel Farage's Reform UK Party, including elected local-level politicians, have been filmed making racist, sexual and ​violent remarks by undercover reporters for an upcoming TV documentary. Farage's party has in recent months slipped from first place in opinion polls after allegations about its finances, and as the governing Labour Party's popularity has rebounded under new their new leader, Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Yemen fighting overwhelms hospitals, cuts aid to 800,000 people, relief agencies say

Hospitals across Yemen are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in war casualties, while intensified fighting along multiple front lines has cut off vital aid to around 800,000 people, humanitarian agencies said ⁠on Wednesday. Aid agencies are warning of rapidly worsening conditions in Yemen since war resumed between the Iran-allied Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government last month, a conflict reignited by the US-Iran confrontation in the Gulf.

Flavio Bolsonaro slightly leads Lula in Brazil runoff, Quaest poll shows

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro was seen slightly ahead of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva heading into the October 25 presidential runoff, a Quaest poll showed on Wednesday. The right-wing senator, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, would receive 46% of the vote compared with 44% for the leftist Lula, according to the poll.

Costa Rica opens mega-prison as organized crime fight intensifies

Costa Rica inaugurated a maximum-security prison on Wednesday as it stepped up its fight against organized crime after a surge in ⁠killings in ​what was long one of Latin America's safest countries. President Laura Fernandez opened the High-Containment Center Against Organized Crime, or CACCO, a prison modeled on El Salvador's mega-prison and a key element of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's anti-gang crackdown. The facility near the capital of San Jose has a capacity for 5,100 inmates, roughly 20% of the nation's current prison population.

Ukraine says SpaceX hampers drones for attack and defence, as US ties fray

Ukraine said Elon Musk’s SpaceX had restricted Starlink services on Wednesday, hampering the country's attack and air-defence drone missions as worsening ties with Washington fuel concerns over US battlefield support. Russia launched more missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in attacks President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called “ostentatious disrespect” for US President Donald Trump’s call for an energy ceasefire.

French navy chief sees no threat to US catapult supply for future carrier

The US has not yet decided whether to abandon the electromagnetic launch system for aircraft carriers, France's navy chief said on Wednesday, two months after President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy to drop the technology that France has chosen for its next carrier. Trump ordered the Navy in August to revert to the older ⁠steam-powered catapults, calling the electromagnetic system unreliable. The move raised doubts over the future supply of the technology, which is used for launching jet fighters from the ships.

Atlantic Ocean currents can recover from severe climate weakening, study finds

An Atlantic Ocean current system weakened by global warming could recover over time if the climate cools, a study by the Danish Meteorological Institute showed on Wednesday. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation brings warm water from the tropics northward toward the Arctic, and the flow of warm water helps keep Europe's winters mild.

Two ships sink near ⁠Hormuz after being hit by projectiles amid surge in attacks

A container ship and a dry bulk carrier have both sunk near the Strait of Hormuz in the ⁠past 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday. Attacks around the waterway have surged over the past 10 days, with Iran saying it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions introduced last month.

As Ukraine struggles with Starlink and US satellite data, Europe has no quick fix

As Ukraine reported problems with Starlink satellite internet terminals and US data that warns of Russian ballistic missile attacks, Kyiv also faced the harsh reality that its European allies cannot offer any ready-made alternatives. Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday the functioning of Starlink’s military-grade service Starshield had been interrupted when terminals were moving at high speed, hampering Ukrainian drones for attack missions and air defence.

In Sri Lanka, human-elephant conflict takes deadly toll

Clad in his khaki wildlife officer’s uniform, Dewagiri Mudiyanselage Thilakaratne Bandara rides his ‌motorbike the short distance from his home to the electric fence that is the main line of defence ‌against the dozens of wild elephants that live in the rapidly shrinking forest nearby. The fence stretches 14 km (9 miles) along the Siyambalangamuwa tank, a reservoir in the island's northwest, to protect the more than 2,000 families who live in the nearby villages.

Trump says he hopes Pope Leo will 'get better ​fast'

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he hoped that Pope Leo, who has been diagnosed with lung cancer, would "get better fast." DETAILS AND QUOTES: