Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

What happens next after Israel's election?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies appear on track to win the most seats in Israel's parliament after Tuesday's election, though neither he nor his main competitor, Gadi Eisenkot, has a clear path to a majority. Votes are now being tallied, followed by potentially long negotiations as parties try to assemble a governing coalition. If those talks fail, Israel could head to another round of elections.

Philippines-China ​tensions resurface at the close of ASEAN defence gathering

Tensions between the Philippines and China resurfaced at the close of a two-day ASEAN defence gathering on Thursday, with Beijing accusing an unnamed Philippine politician of obstructing its participation and Manila saying China had been given an opportunity to state its position. China's defence ​ministry said the "self-serving" politician had "imposed obstacles to China's participation" in the expanded ASEAN defence ministers' meeting in Cebu, without identifying the person.

Explainer-How could Israel break the election deadlock?

Israel's election this week was indecisive and ‌there is no clear winner poised ​to form a government. Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office as caretaker prime minister, but faces a parliament stacked with an opposition majority vying to oust him. Here are some scenarios that could follow:

ECB President Lagarde resigns at time of mounting challenges for Europe

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde resigned on Thursday, ending months of speculation about her future just as Europe enters a period of rising economic volatility and divisive electoral politics, particularly in her native France. Lagarde will step down on February 7, giving current European Union leaders time to pick her successor before a French presidential election that polls show far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is favoured to win.

Germany, South Korea deepen security partnership amid Russia-North Korea concerns

Germany and South Korea set out an enhanced security partnership on Thursday, arguing that growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang showed that European and Asian security were increasingly intertwined. At a summit in Seoul the two governments agreed to expand cooperation in defence and security, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said, adding that they planned to conclude an ‌agreement on the protection of classified military information.

German industry groups urge Berlin to join defence bank initiative

German business and industry associations on Thursday urged the government to join the Canada-led Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), saying membership was needed to close financing gaps for companies in the defence sector and protect their access to future projects. The joint statement was signed by groups including the German Security and Defence Industry Association (BDSV), aerospace association BDLI, the chamber of commerce DIHK, engineering association VDMA, savings banks group DSGV and the Startup Association.

Taliban’s poppy ban falters as Afghan farmers say they can't feed their children

Carpets still hang on the walls of Mohammad Dawood’s home in a northern Afghanistan village, and ornate mirrors still catch the light, relics of the years when a single poppy harvest could carry his family through the year. But the 28-year-old says he now spends his days bent over cotton and wheat in fields that barely provide a living.

US couple's retirement dream in ruins after residential cruise scrapped in Cambodia

Americans Lynn and Paul Montoya sold their house and cars in Wyoming so they could afford to buy a $179,000 cabin on the residential cruise ship Villa Vie Odyssey, plus roughly $6,000 a month in fees, to spend their retirement sailing the globe. Their dream lasted 17 months on the ship before its operator abruptly announced this week that soaring fuel prices were forcing it to suspend operations. The company, Villa Vie Residences, informed the Montoyas and some ‌200 other passengers they had to disembark from the Odyssey at a port in Cambodia, along with pets and any personal items they could carry from their homes at sea.

After landing in US, Flavio Bolsonaro declares himself Brazil's rightful leader

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro declared himself Brazil's rightful leader on Wednesday after arriving in the United States, alleging he was the victim of an electoral coup by the country's Supreme Court and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won the vote by over 4 million votes. Bolsonaro arrived in Miami after leaving Brazil, where he refused to comply with a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. He thanked Argentine leader Javier Milei for ‌helping him make the journey and US President Donald Trump, who granted him and his family entry visas, for welcoming him.

Exclusive-Pentagon treating military base freezer malfunctions as suspected cyberattack, officials say

The Pentagon is treating the spate of mysterious freezer malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the United States in August as a suspected hack, according to four officials familiar with the matter. One of the officials said the military investigators were in touch with their French counterparts about a similar cyberattack on commercial freezers that disrupted supermarkets there earlier this month.

US First Lady praised for Oleshky relief truce as Moscow strikes Ukrainian commuters

Russia and Ukraine both praised US first lady Melania Trump on Thursday for helping to broker a truce around the acutely deprived Russian-held Ukrainian town of Oleshky, as efforts began to bring in food and medicines and enable hundreds to leave. Yet any sense of wider relief in a war that began with a Russian invasion almost five years ago was rapidly dispelled by a drone strike that killed 13 people crowding onto a commuter train at the main station in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to local officials, where no ceasefire was in place.

As criminal networks spread in Latin America, Quito is new battleground

For years, the neighborhood watch group in the working-class area of Solanda in Ecuadorean capital Quito had patrolled their nighttime streets armed with little more than whistles and sticks, on the lookout for cellphone snatching and other petty crimes. But then they realized the criminals were changing. Members of notorious national gangs began to move into the area, and shootings, contract killings and extortion took hold. The watch suspended the patrols, fearful they might be targeted themselves. Their place was taken by heavily armed troops, ⁠sent by the national government.

Who is to blame ​for Hong Kong's deadly 2025 fire?

An independent Hong Kong committee blamed a renovation contractor and consultant as well as four government departments for a deadly blaze that killed 168 people ⁠in the city last November, according to its report released to the public on Thursday. The more than 1,000-page report by the judge-led panel detailed a series of regulatory and supervisory failings in Hong Kong's building renovation and regulatory system that it said had contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.

Three French nationals jailed for life in Iraq for Islamic State ties

Three French nationals were sentenced to life in prison in Iraq on Thursday for belonging to Islamic State, with their lawyers and French embassy representatives present at the hearing, a court statement said. The three were among 47 French Islamic State suspects transferred from detention facilities in northeast Syria to Iraq last year.

China's Communist Party confirms expulsion of 33 officials

China's Communist Party confirmed the expulsion of 33 officials, including former Politburo member Ma Xingrui and former senior military leader Zhang Youxia, from the ⁠party, according to the communique of the party's fifth plenum released by state media Xinhua on Thursday. The list also includes former military official Liu Zhenli, former senior diplomat Liu Jianchao, former industry minister Jin Zhuanglong and former chairman of China's securities regulator Yi Huiman.

Hong Kong leader apologises for deadly Tai Po fire, pledges reform

Hong Kong leader John Lee apologised on Thursday for the deadly blaze that killed 168 people in the city last November, as he released an independent report that held four government departments partially responsible for a fire that erupted after more than a year of safety complaints. Lee promised swift but extensive reforms to the city's building industry and regulatory system. The more than 1,000-page report by the judge-led panel detailed governance and supervisory failings, including widespread bid rigging.

Albania opposition disrupts parliament ​session after violent street protests

Opposition lawmakers in Albania disrupted a parliament session by letting off flares on Thursday following weeks of violent anti-government protests called by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Members of the opposition Democratic Party of Albania also blocked access to the podium when a law on the Central Bank was being voted on.

Spanish train crash death toll rises to 69 as rescuers search for victims

Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search for victims of Spain's second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding ⁠further survivors faded. After cranes worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday's crash, emergency workers were seen carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the central Spanish province of Toledo.

Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, elder statesman of Mexican left, dies at 92

Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, an icon of the Mexican left who took up the banner of the disenfranchised in the 1980s to force changes in the political system despite never winning the presidency himself, has died at 92, the government said on Wednesday. The first elected mayor of Mexico City, and the son of President Lazaro Cardenas, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas shook Mexico's ruling establishment to its foundations when he ran for the top job in 1988 before losing a hotly disputed election.

Pompeii cupboard opens window onto life before Vesuvius erupted

A cupboard sealed for almost 2,000 years in Pompeii has yielded an ⁠intimate snapshot ​of one resident's life before Mount Vesuvius destroyed the ancient Roman city, from make-up utensils and perfume to coins, cooking pots and childhood amulets. The once-thriving city of Pompeii, near Naples, was buried by a volcanic eruption in AD 79, preserving buildings, objects and graffiti under metres of ash.

Greek container ship sinks after drone attack off Bulgaria

A Greek container ship has sunk after being hit by naval drones off Bulgaria on Wednesday, the Bulgarian government said, in the latest of a series of strikes on ships in the western Black Sea this month. It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attack, which added to growing concerns about the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine on commercial shipping in the area.

Pakistan court jails prominent rights couple for 10 years, family says

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Thursday sentenced prominent human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison in a security breach case, her family said. The judge announced the verdict at Adiala Jail, where the couple have been held since earlier this year.

Hungary to stick with Orban-era nuclear cooperation deal with US

Hungary's government has asked parliament to make legally binding a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States that the previous government of Viktor Orban signed in February.

The move shows that under Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who ousted Orban in an election earlier this year, Hungary ⁠will stick to the nuclear deal even though Washington had openly backed his predecessor before the April vote.

In Lebanese village near Israeli troops, farmers brave danger to harvest their olives

In a field overlooking a lush valley in southern Lebanon, residents of the village of Zibqin balanced on branches picking their olives while Lebanese Army soldiers stood nearby. Zibqin is adjacent to Israel’s self-declared “security zone” in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops have demolished dozens of villages, saying armed group Hezbollah had embedded itself in civilian infrastructure — a claim the group denies. Israeli shelling frequently strikes the valley below the olive groves despite a June ceasefire between the two sides.

Polish bishop ⁠convicted of failing to report clergy abuse of minors

Polish Bishop Andrzej Jez was convicted on Thursday of failing to notify authorities about the sexual abuse of minors by two priests from his diocese, in ⁠the highest-profile case of its kind involving a Catholic Church leader in Poland. The case is the latest in a series of clergy abuse scandals that have eroded trust in the church in one of Europe's most devoutly Catholic nations.

Christine Lagarde: The outsider who led the ECB her way

Christine Lagarde's decision to step down early as European Central Bank president ends an eventful seven years at an institution she was never expected to lead. The former French finance minister and head of the International Monetary Fund arrived in Frankfurt in 2019 as the first ECB chief with no formal economics training or central banking experience — prompting some market participants to label her a "credibility risk."

Spain's deadly train crash adds new complication to Sanchez reelection campaign

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had hoped to ride a wave of public anger over the eviction of an octogenarian, who later died, to win reelection in a snap election, but Wednesday's deadly train crash has dealt a serious blow to his campaign. The accident in Toledo province killed 68 people and ‌came just nine months after another deadly crash on the same line, leading to accusations from experts and the public ‌of underinvestment in railway infrastructure under Sanchez's government after years of rapid network expansion.

Taiwan flags 'obvious' threat from 50 Chinese vessels in wide sweep of waters

China has more than 50 navy and other official vessels operating in a wide swath of sea stretching from southern Japan down to Taiwan and off the Philippines, a senior Taiwan official said, calling the ​threat level "obvious". Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, is stepping up efforts to issue details and maps depicting locations where Chinese warships and Coast Guard vessels operate.