Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Reactions to election victory of Serbia's Student List

Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in a historic election on Sunday, ending his long grip on power and heralding a new political era in the Balkan country. Below are reactions to the students' victory:

Flavio Bolsonaro says Brazil federal police asked for his passports

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro said on Monday that the country's federal police ​had requested that he turn in his passports following a visit to his imprisoned father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. The senator, who was defeated on Sunday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff vote, said he intended to comply with the request, denying he planned to flee ​the country after the election.

Swiss foreign minister to hold talks in North Korea this week

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will travel to North Korea this week for political talks and for ‌the formal reopening of Switzerland's diplomatic ​office in Pyongyang, his government said on Monday. Cassis, whose visit begins on Thursday, will meet North Korean authorities during the formal office opening on October 30

Israel markets see upside in potential Netanyahu defeat after three-year rally

Israel's markets have soared despite three years of war and political turmoil, but some investors see further upside if the opposition defeats Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tuesday’s election, potentially easing regional tensions and political risk. Opinion polls point to a tight contest, with neither Netanyahu's ruling Likud bloc nor an opposition alliance centred on former military chief Gadi Eisenkot expected to secure the 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset needed to govern.

Jordan strikes southern Syria after linking church attackers to 'terrorist groups'

Jordan said on Monday its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the attackers behind last week's deadly church attack were linked to "terrorist groups" operating there. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities and it was not clear if the ‌strikes were carried out after coordination with Damascus.

Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's Kharkiv kill two, injure four, mayor says

Russian forces launched strikes on Monday on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, killing two people and injuring four, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. Terekhov said there had been three strikes on a city district and that a high-rise apartment block and private homes had been damaged.

Analysis-Brazil's Lula hangs on, but his final term promises to be toughest yet

Brazil's octogenarian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces an uphill battle from day one of his final term, analysts say, with his plans hemmed in by economic headwinds and a right-wing Congress. Already the country's oldest president, Lula overcame a first-round loss to pull off a surprise runoff victory against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Sunday, securing 51.8% of votes and a record fourth term just two days before his 81st birthday.

Serbia's new leaders face host of tough challenges

Serbia's student-led protest movement won a historic victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, ending the long rule of Aleksandar Vucic and sparking mass celebrations. But their yet-to-be named leaders face a long list of issues. Here are a few of them:

Brazil's Lula hangs on, but his final term promises to be toughest yet

Brazil's octogenarian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces an uphill battle from day one of his final term, analysts say, with his plans hemmed in ‌by economic headwinds and a right-wing Congress. Already the country's oldest president, Lula overcame a first-round loss to pull off a surprise runoff victory against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Sunday, securing 51.8% of votes and a record fourth term just two days before his 81st birthday.

Rubio says Venezuela's electoral infrastructure must be replaced before a vote

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that Venezuela's electoral infrastructure was designed to rig elections and so must be quickly replaced before a valid election can be held. Rubio spoke to reporters by phone a day after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela for the first time since ‌the US captured the country's then-President Nicolas Maduro in January and took him to New York for trial.

Jordan says its air force struck 'militant hideouts' in Syria after church attack

Jordan said on Monday its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the suspects behind last week's deadly church attack in the kingdom were linked to "terrorist groups" operating there. The armed forces said the operation was conducted in coordination with Damascus. Syria's government gave a contradictory account, saying it had launched an investigation into the Jordanian attacks, and stressed in a statement the importance of field and security coordination in border areas.

French students vow more protests despite Macron government's concessions

French student leaders vowed to go on protesting despite government concessions on education, keeping pressure on President Emmanuel Macron as the movement spreads to unions and other activists, stokes unrest and deepens the economic damage. The measures included a commitment to cap the size of some high school classes; €4 billion ($4.5 billion) of loans for renovating schools; and the replacement by 2028 of a university admissions system students see as socially unfair.

Pope fit enough to make Latin America trip next month, Vatican says

Pope Leo's trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru will go ahead, the Vatican said on Monday, indicating that Leo's recovery from lung cancer surgery was on track and that he was fit enough to make the November 6-17 journey. The 71-year-old pontiff is recovering from an October 13 surgery in which doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung and diagnosed him with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer.

Britain will not join Canada-led defence bank ⁠initiative

Britain will not join the Canada-led Defence, ​Security and Resilience Bank, in a setback to efforts to create the world's first global defence bank, according to a person familiar with the matter. The two countries instead said on ⁠Sunday that they would develop a framework for cooperation between their respective defence-funding initiatives, establishing two distinct but complementary institutions to support each other on investment opportunities and strategic challenges.

US singer Chris Brown spared jail for UK nightclub attack

US singer Chris Brown was spared an immediate prison sentence in Britain on Monday for attacking a music producer with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub in 2023, with his fans cheering as the musician walked free from court. Brown, 37, was given an eight-month suspended sentence at London's Southwark Crown Court over the attack on Abraham Diaw at the Tape nightclub in February 2023 that lasted around 20 seconds.

Analysis-Now home, Venezuela opposition leader Machado walks tightrope with supporters, Trump

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who returned on Sunday after nearly a year away, ⁠will walk a tightrope as she seeks the elections her supporters want without running afoul of a US-backed negotiation process between the interim government and other opposition groups. Machado's return to Venezuela after several failed attempts risks straining her ties with US President Donald Trump's administration. Washington has said she has every right to be in Venezuela, but has praised acting President Delcy Rodriguez and supports a negotiation process between the Rodriguez government and opposition groups that do not include Machado's Vente Venezuela movement.

After return of opposition leader, Venezuela's acting president says hopes dialogue will offer space for all voices

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday that she hopes negotiations with a faction of the opposition will offer space for all voices to be heard, a ​day after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to the country. “I hope the dialogue continues to provide a space for political participation, and that those who have harmed Venezuela, those who called for sanctions and external aggression, feel some remorse and regret," the acting president said during a visit to a military hospital in Caracas. “I hope both the dialogue and the program for democratic coexistence and peace can provide a space where all voices can be heard, where voices seeking the good of the country can be heard."

UN inquiry says Israel kept committing genocide in Gaza after ⁠truce

Israel continued to commit genocide in Gaza after last October's US-brokered ceasefire in the enclave, a UN commission said in a report published on Monday that Israel dismissed as part of a "misinformation campaign". The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined violations against Palestinian children since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023 up to September this year.

Explainer-Oleshky: the occupied Ukrainian town for which Melania Trump helped broker a ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a localised ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, an arrangement that will enable aid deliveries and allow evacuations from a frontline town suffering acute shortages of food and medicine. The agreement was announced on October 23 and brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, with the ⁠additional involvement of ​Pope Leo, as Washington seeks to revive broader peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

Trump approval rises from record low to 32% ahead of midterm election, Reuters Ipsos poll finds

US President Donald Trump's public approval rating inched higher to 32%, up a percentage point from last week's record low, ahead of the November 3 midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday. Trump's fellow Republicans are fighting to retain the party's majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate.

Russian attack on Kyiv kills one, injures 10, hits educational institution, metro station

A Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday killed at least one person and injured 10, including students at a dormitory, officials said. The late-evening attack hit an educational institution, residences, an underground station and medical facilities.

Machete-wielding mob attack health workers responding to Ebola in Congo

Angry youths armed with machetes attacked two community health workers raising awareness about the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, killing one and wounding the other, according to officials and a memo seen by Reuters on Monday, in the latest in a series of attacks fueled by misinformation. The worker who was killed was an experienced nurse who had worked at the general hospital in the town of Bafwasende in Tshopo province, and was recently tasked with helping to ⁠raise awareness about the deadly virus in the local community, where he was a well-known figure, a local official and the memo said.

Saudi defence pact countries push for peace in Tehran as Houthis launch more attacks

Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday in a bid to de-escalate the Middle East conflict, as Yemen's Houthis launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia and Egypt approved defence support for the Gulf kingdom. The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations — which signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August — since a war ⁠that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran also spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Russian sabotage network believed to have caused Romanian fire, prosecutors say

Romania's Intelligence Service said on Monday it ⁠had identified a sabotage network coordinated by Russia, which it believed was responsible for a fire in September at an industrial site in central Romania near a state-owned weapons company. The European Union and NATO state shares a land border of more than 600 km (370 miles) with Ukraine, and centrist president Nicusor Dan has said it is the target of a hybrid war waged by Russia to destabilise nations that support Kyiv.

Hezbollah readies for new regional war with funds from Iran, sources say

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has spent three months preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities with Israel, after receiving an infusion of cash from Iran, according to Lebanese security personnel briefed on its activities. The group, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, has been dealt severe blows in two wars with Israel since 2024, with thousands of fighters and many of its leaders killed, and much of its arsenal destroyed.

Trump offers $1 million for tipoffs that lead to voter fraud convictions

President Donald Trump ‌said on Monday the US would give $1 million to anyone who reported voter fraud that leads to an arrest and ‌conviction, a week before midterm elections that polls show could prove difficult for his Republican Party. BACKGROUND AND QUOTE:

Trump says, without citing evidence, that Brazil election looks 'rigged'

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday, without citing evidence, that the Brazilian election, which leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won on Sunday, looked like it had ​been rigged. "I didn't take sides, but it looked like another rigged election," he said. "Elections have to be indisputable, and it looked very bad to me."