Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Zelenskiy to meet Witkoff as Trump praises Russia and rebukes Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was due on Tuesday in Oslo to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff, trying to repair ties that have deteriorated this month as President Donald Trump courted Moscow. Trump, who has waived sanctions ​on Russia in what he says is an effort to lower US fuel prices, has repeatedly rebuked Zelenskiy and called for him to be replaced.

Eastern Libya parliament approves maritime deal with Turkey, lifts 2020 boycott

Libya's ​eastern parliament on Tuesday backed a maritime deal with Turkey which will bring strategic advantages in economic, political and national security affairs, two lawmakers ‌told Reuters, and which ​overturns a 2020 decision to cut political ties with Ankara. Control of Libya is split between rival western and eastern administrations, with the east under military commander Khalifa Haftar. Turkey has in the past been a major backer of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west.

France in turmoil: What might follow a weekend of riots?

France is counting the cost of some of its worst unrest in years at the weekend over the cost of living and under-funded public services. Here is the latest: HOW WILL THE GOVERNMENT STOP MORE VIOLENCE AND HELP VICTIMS?

As France erupts, Europe's far right gains from fuel-price anger ahead of elections

The tractors rolling into the town of Gela on the southern tip of ‌Europe are flying the Sicilian flag, emblazoned with Medusa, three bent legs and ears of wheat, a reminder of the island's role as a breadbasket since Roman times. But the farmers are not bringing in a harvest. They are protesting.

Explainer-France in turmoil: What might follow a weekend of riots?

France is counting the cost of some of its worst unrest in years at the weekend over the cost of living and under-funded public services. Here is the latest: HOW WILL THE GOVERNMENT STOP MORE VIOLENCE AND HELP VICTIMS?

Alberta votes by large majority to remain part of Canada in boost for Carney

Alberta residents voted by a large majority to remain part of Canada in the province's first-ever referendum on separation, handing Prime Minister Mark Carney a much-needed win as he attempts to unify the country amid a trade war with the US. At 5:45 a.m. (1145 GMT) on Tuesday, with three-quarters of the votes counted, 76% of Albertans had backed the "remain" side versus 24% in favor of a binding vote on ‌separation. The referendum was nonbinding.

Britain says it will carry out defensive air missions over Saudi Arabia

Britain will fly Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets on defensive missions to help protect Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure from Houthi aerial attacks, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday. The ministry said the aircraft would operate only in a defensive role and would not conduct offensive strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis, whose attacks Britain says threaten regional stability and risk disrupting energy ‌supplies and trade routes.

Who is Helen Haines, the Australian lawmaker targeted in vehicle attack?

Helen Haines, the Australian lawmaker left critically injured after being struck by a vehicle late on Monday, is an independent politician who had an unconventional path to parliament. The 65-year-old former nurse and midwife has represented Indi, a rural electorate north of Melbourne, since 2019.

Brazil’s love affair with cellphones turns theft into an election flashpoint

Brazilian content creator Tabata Lenk had just been fired from her job in Sao Paulo, and was sitting in traffic, when two motorcycle assailants smashed her car window and snatched her brand new cellphone from the dashboard. Footage of the late-August robbery, recorded on her dashcam, immediately became viral, Lenk said. The reaction points to how an urban nuisance has become one of the defining issues of this year's presidential election, even as phone thefts have been falling since 2023, there were still some 830,000 registered last year, according to the Brazilian Public Security Forum.

South Sudan says Sudanese drone attack killed scores in Abyei market

South Sudanese officials said Sudan's military had carried out drone strikes that hit a market in the disputed Abyei region, killing about 73 people, the latest attack to cause mass casualties near Sudan's ⁠borders. Sudan has been gripped by war ​between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, and the conflict has spilled over the country's ⁠borders, threatening to destabilise the region.

Explainer-How France's 2027 budget battle could play out

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's minority government faces a particularly treacherous budget season as opposition parties dig in for a fight over his deficit-cutting plans before an April-May presidential election. The government is struggling to rein in its strained finances, with protesters demanding more money for underfunded public services at a time when borrowing costs have risen to their highest since 2022 on the bond market.

Israeli fire kills four people in Gaza, medics say

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four Palestinians, including a married couple and ⁠a 17-year-old, in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said. Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed Akram Yassin and his wife Dina Abu Baker in an apartment in Gaza City.

Iran prolongs talks in stalemate to influence US midterms, officials say

Iran has deliberately prolonged talks with the US to try to weaken Donald Trump politically ahead of November's US midterm elections, senior officials say, while fears of renewed military action and deep distrust of Washington have reinforced Tehran's reluctance to strike a quick deal to end the war. Three senior Iranian officials ​and an Iranian insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran was convinced the US president was ready to resort to renewed attacks to try to break the stalemate in the eight-month-old war.

One in three Americans back second execution attempt after failed one, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

One-third of Americans think the government should try a second time to put a convicted criminal to death if a first execution attempt fails, according to ⁠a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after a botched lethal injection in Tennessee. The four-day poll, completed on Monday, showed 39% of respondents thought the government should instead allow convicts to serve life in prison following a failed execution, while 26% were not sure which was a better approach.

Death toll from Houthi attack on Yemen training camp rises to 73

An attack by Yemen's Houthi movement on a government security forces training camp in Shabwa province killed 73 people, the provincial media office said, raising the toll from Monday's strike as fighting intensifies. Fourteen people remained missing, it added.

Shark kills swimmer off South Africa's Eastern Cape

A 65-year-old woman died ⁠after ​a shark attacked her off the coast of South Africa's Eastern Cape province on Tuesday, SABC reported. The woman was swimming with a group after 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) when she indicated she was in trouble, a witness told the public broadcaster.

Houthi attack kills 58 at Yemen government training camp, governor says

Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 200 were injured after an attack on Monday by the Iran-aligned Houthis on a government security forces training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province, Governor Awad al-Wazir said, as fighting in the impoverished country intensifies. Video verified by Reuters from Shabwa province showed injured people and bloodied bodies scattered across the ground. Wazir also said that 14 other people remained missing after the Houthi bombardment of the Al-Alam camp.

Israel's Ben-Gvir poised for election gains as young voters turn to far right

He celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake decorated with a noose. He says he plans to surround jailed Palestinians with crocodiles. In videos, he berates foreign activists ⁠captured at sea trying to bring aid to Gaza, forced to kneel at his feet with their faces pressed to the ground. To much of the world and to many Israelis, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the bellicose face of Israel's far right, is a figure from the fringe of politics, despite over four years in power as police minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Exclusive-Trump approval falls to record low of 31% as midterms near, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

President ⁠Donald Trump's approval rating fell to a record low as Americans worried about high gasoline prices and appeared ready to punish his Republican ⁠Party in the November 3 congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. Some 31% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in office, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level in either of his presidential terms, the four-day poll showed.

Zelenskiy to meet Witkoff after Trump says Russia has been 'fine' on Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will fly to Oslo to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday, trying to repair ties with Washington that have deteriorated sharply over the past two weeks as President Donald Trump has increasingly courted Moscow. Trump, who has waived sanctions on Russia in what he says is an effort to lower US fuel prices, has repeatedly rebuked Zelenskiy. ‌Kyiv says Washington has lately failed to provide early warning notification of Russian missile launches, ‌and has throttled SpaceX satellite links that guide Ukrainian drones.

Who is Stephen Hubbard, the US citizen held by Russia?

US special envoy Steve Witkoff is going to discuss the possible release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard from Russian detention with President ​Vladimir Putin this week, according to people familiar with the matter. Here are details of Hubbard's case:WHO IS STEPHEN HUBBARD?