Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-Alleged Israeli spy company heavily targeted Starlink users, sources say

Experts at a digital defense firm recently found that an Israeli ad tech company was heavily targeting users of Starlink's satellite internet service in a likely effort to spy on them, according to six people familiar with the matter. Researchers at TrendAI, a unit ​of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital ads shown to users of SpaceX's Starlink service and that the ads were likely being used to geolocate or otherwise surveil ​them, according to the six people.

US-brokered ceasefire starts in Ukrainian town facing starvation

A ceasefire began on Tuesday around the Ukrainian town of Oleshky after more than four years ‌of Russian occupation ​which have left trapped and starving residents desperate for food, water and medicine. The local ceasefire, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump with the involvement of Pope Leo, is intended to allow aid into Oleshky and enable those who want to leave to do so. Some residents say they have survived on a cup of rice or buckwheat a day, sometimes with a tomato, cucumber or wild weed added.

Iraqi court sentences six French men to life in prison for Islamic State membership

An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced six French nationals to life in prison and a seventh to 15 years after convicting them of membership in Islamic State, a Reuters witness inside the courtroom said. The men were among 47 French Islamic State suspects transferred from detention facilities in northeast Syria to Iraq last year under ‌a broader relocation arrangement coordinated by US forces and Iraqi authorities.

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:

Nobel Peace Prize committee welcomes Machado's return to Venezuela

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Tuesday it welcomed the return of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to Venezuela, saying it hoped her presence would strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful campaign for democracy. Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters on Sunday after 10 months abroad, following several failed return attempts that have strained her ties with US President Donald Trump's administration.

Iran security chief meets Supreme Leader after talks with Mecca pact countries

Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei on Tuesday met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, not seen in public since succeeding his slain father in March, a day after holding talks with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.

State media said Khamenei had stressed the importance ‌of pursuing Iran's interests and maintaining its conditions for ending the war.

French teachers say government education measures to quell protests fall short

French teachers said on Tuesday that education reforms aimed at ending weeks of protests were insufficient and would not be enough to quell students' anger. The French government on Monday announced a raft of proposals, including capping some class sizes at 28, billions of euros in loans for building renovation and a revamp of the university admissions system, to try to ease popular anger.

Yemen's Houthis say they hit ‌Saudi Ras Tanura oil refinery with missile

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday they had hit Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery, the biggest in the kingdom, with a ballistic missile. The group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the strike had caused a fire at the complex, which also includes a shipping terminal, located on the Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz.

Fastest turnout for half a century as Israelis pass wartime judgment on Netanyahu

Israelis surged to the polls at the fastest rate in nearly half a century on Tuesday to pass wartime judgment on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what voters described as the most consequential election in the nation's history. Long lines formed outside polling stations for the first election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, with voters passionately engaged over the trauma of the country's deadliest day and the ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

For Pope Leo, there was little choice but to go to Latin America

Since undergoing surgery on October 13 to treat lung cancer, Pope Leo has weighed a major decision: whether to press ahead with an intense, three-country tour of South America just 24 days after having part of one lung removed. But in the end, according to a biographer and other experts, Leo had little choice but to continue with a visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru as the Vatican announced ⁠on Monday, to show he ​remains up to the job of leading the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

For Pope Leo, there was little choice but to go to Latin America

Since undergoing ⁠surgery on October 13 to treat lung cancer, Pope Leo has weighed a major decision: whether to press ahead with an intense, three-country tour of South America just 24 days after having part of one lung removed. But in the end, according to a biographer and other experts, Leo had little choice but to continue with a visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru as the Vatican announced on Monday, to show he remains up to the job of leading the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Leaders of Norway, Finland hold calls with Putin then Zelenskiy

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere held phone calls on Tuesday with Russian President ⁠Vladimir Putin followed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The call with Putin related to upcoming meetings in Abu Dhabi, Stubb's office said. Zelenskiy said on Friday that negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the US had agreed to technical-level meetings there in early November.

Iranian strait authority says Sinokor vessels will face legal action

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a body set up by Tehran to manage passage requests in the Strait of Hormuz, said on Tuesday all vessels belonging to South Korean shipping company Sinokor would face "legal action" starting on November 1. Tehran has sought to tighten its grip on the strategic waterway by attacking shipping there ​since US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. It has restricted transit to try to gain leverage over Washington, while disrupting oil flows from Arab Gulf oil producers, especially to their customers in Asia.

EU Commission proposes expanding powers of border police force

The European Commission has proposed expanding the headcount and the powers of the joint European Union border police force Frontex to include transfers of migrants between non-EU countries, Commissioners Henna Virkunnen and Magnus Brunner said on Tuesday. Frontex's standing corps ⁠would be gradually expanded to 30,000 officers, with a reaction force able to deploy on short notice in case of emergency, they said.

Attackers kill 60 people in Ethiopia's conflict-hit Oromiya region, Orthodox church says

At least 60 people were killed in two separate attacks in Ethiopia's conflict-hit Oromiya region in the past week, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church said. Church authorities said the dead were all Christians, but did not go into details on how they died or who was behind the attacks.

North Korean artillery pointed south stirs concern at border observatory

Visitors to a South Korean observatory that overlooks North Korea said on Tuesday that the appearance of artillery pieces with their barrels pointed south on the border was ⁠worrying, as tensions ​between the two countries intensify. The two Koreas have traded barbs and strengthened their postures along the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating them since September, after a mine blast there wounded three South Korean soldiers. South Korea has demanded that North Korea apologise, while Pyongyang has accused Seoul of fabricating the incident.

India deploys extra forces after protests over dam on Chinese border escalate

India has deployed hundreds of additional security personnel in its remote northeast, authorities said on Tuesday, after youth protesters clashed with police last week over a plan to build a mega-dam to counter a Chinese hydropower project upstream. Protests in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang Valley, which borders Tibet, turned violent last week, triggering clashes with police, who made at least 21 arrests.

Poland and UK support strong transatlantic alliance, Polish minister says

Both Poland and the United Kingdom are in favour of strengthening the transatlantic alliance as there is no alternative to cooperation with the US, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday. "We share a similar view of the alliance with the United States. Both Poland and the United Kingdom support strengthening this alliance," the Polish Defence Minister ⁠said during a joint press conference with British Defence Minister Wes Streeting.

Germany's Merz: Russia, US cannot settle Ukraine war without Kyiv, Europe

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that attempts by the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine "can never find solutions without Ukraine" and said any talks must also include European countries. Merz was speaking at the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore as he described diplomatic efforts to build a negotiating format with Moscow. He said the end of the war depended "only on ⁠one person" and framed continued backing for Kyiv as a defence of Europe's political order.

Explainer-Israel election: What happens after polls close?

Israel holds a parliamentary election ⁠on Tuesday, its first since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hold on power is at stake, with centrist rivals promising to usher in a new era, but it might take time before clear results are known.

Court orders Egyptian website closed in case seen as test for independent media

A court ordered a leading independent Egyptian news site closed on Tuesday after its editor-in-chief was convicted of running the site without a licence and taken into custody pending bail, her lawyers and the outlet said. Lina Attalah of the news site Mada Masr, which has won numerous international awards for its reporting, was fined 3 million Egyptian pounds ($53,400), her lawyers told Reuters.

Protesters enter Serbian pro-Vucic TV station, call for arrest of ‌editor

Protesters entered a Serbian television station supportive of former President Aleksandar Vucic late on Monday, interrupting broadcasting ‌to call for the arrest of its editor, as tens of thousands took to the streets for a second night of post-election celebrations. Serbia's Student List, born out of a student-led anti-corruption protest movement, unseated Vucic in a historic election on Sunday, bringing to an end 14 years ​in power for a man who served as information minister under Slobodan Milosevic and who maintained tight control over the media.