Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Bolsonaro ally blames ChatGPT for now-deleted 'president-elect of Brazil' claim

A close ally of Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Thursday said AI chatbot ChatGPT was responsible for language in a letter briefly posted on social media by the right-wing lawmaker describing himself as Brazil's rightful "president-elect," while insisting the mistake did not alter Bolsonaro's view that the election was illegitimate. Bolsonaro stunned Brazil's political establishment on Wednesday by making the claim and alleging ​without evidence that Sunday's runoff election, which he lost to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by more than 4 million votes, had been marred by fraud.

Bukele's gang offensive goes abroad as El Salvador rushes troops to Haiti

El Salvador's deployment of thousands of troops to Haiti, days after four Salvadoran ​members of a UN-backed force went missing in a gang ambush, is the first major overseas test of President Nayib Bukele's anti-gang tactics. Around 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers were in Haiti as of Wednesday night, a security official ‌told Reuters. Two sources with ​knowledge of the matter said these would for now be capped at 2,500. Yet authorities have not clarified the troops' command, or rules of engagement, fueling concerns of more risks to civilians in a country with a long history of harmful foreign interventions.

Analysis-Brazil's Lula to reap gains from Bolsonaro family flight

Flavio Bolsonaro did leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a huge favor by fleeing his legal problems in Brazil to declare himself Brazil's rightful "leader" from his new home in the United States, analysts and Brazilian officials said. Bolsonaro's departure, which came after he refused to comply with a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports, weakens an emboldened conservative opposition in Brazil's Congress and lends credibility to Lula's accusations of US meddling to help the Bolsonaro family, they said.

One dead in Russian missile attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian officials say

Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with ballistic missiles late on Thursday, killing one person, striking buildings and triggering a fire, officials said. The capital's military administration said one person had been killed in ‌the attack, launched just before 11 p.m. local time.

Spain train crash survivor recalls scenes of devastation as accident unfolded

When his train drew to a halt, Sebastian Herrero thought the stoppage was due to a fallen overhead line, a problem that has increasingly beset Spain's high-speed railway network in recent years. But concerns about arriving late at his destination were suddenly interrupted when he found himself flying through the air and landing face-first on the seat opposite as another train slammed into the back of his.

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.

El Salvador frees ex-President Saca after 10-year corruption sentence

Elias Antonio "Tony" Saca, a former Salvadoran president imprisoned for corruption, was released on Thursday, his lawyer said, standing alongside the politician as they exited a courthouse. Saca, 61, served a reduced 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to diverting and laundering more than $300 million from the state budget ‌during his 2004-2009 administration.

Vance outreach to Iran related to medical supplies, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said that Vice President JD Vance's outreach to Iran was about helping the country get medical supplies, after US media reported Vance had written to Tehran's top security official to revive peace talks. Iran has received a letter from Vance but it has not responded to it yet, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday, while adding that Tehran wants the US to meet its conditions and "any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable."

Yemen's hospitals buckle as fighting escalates

In a hospital in Yemen's Taiz, a 25-year-old pregnant mother of two lay immobilised after a ‌bullet lodged in her spine while she was trapped inside her home without food or water for two days. The UN and aid agencies say health needs in the besieged city of Taiz are critical, amid acute shortages of medicine, oxygen, surgical gloves, anesthetic and fuel. Hospitals near Yemen's front lines are facing large influxes of patients, treating up to 700 war wounded in a single week, according to the Red Cross.

Exclusive-Greek PM calls Turkey-Libya maritime deal 'void;' calls for global truce after Black Sea attacks

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that the recently signed maritime deal between Libya's eastern parliament and Turkey was "blatantly illegal, null and void," adding that it "completely disregards the geography." Mitsotakis, speaking to Reuters as Greece ends its UN Security Council presidency, also called for an urgent "international truce" to protect shipping in the Black Sea after the sinking of a Greek-owned container vessel on Wednesday.

Bolsonaro's leadership claim fails to win support from allies in Brazil

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's decision to declare himself the country's rightful "leader" has failed to garner support from key figures in his political camp, leaving the right-wing lawmaker increasingly isolated in Brazilian politics. Bolsonaro made the claim in a letter he posted on social media after arriving in the United States on Wednesday, having left Brazil following his defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by more than 4 million votes in Sunday's runoff.

Trump administration bolsters bid to block Alaska Senate certification

President Donald Trump's administration filed a revised lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block Alaska's election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses narrowly and issued more than 40 subpoenas and document requests in its probe, according to a source familiar with the matter. The revised complaint by the US Justice Department cited a New York Times report ⁠that Democratic operatives recruited another candidate named ​Sullivan who could siphon votes from the incumbent. The Justice Department said the effort was intended to mislead voters and help elect Democratic candidate Mary Peltola.

Trump cancels weekend rallies, plans to ⁠phone in to other midterm campaign events

US President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled planned weekend campaign stops in Kansas and Iowa, and his allies said he would instead phone in to rallies nationwide after four weeks of travel to boost Republicans' election chances. Trump told reporters he did not "feel like I have to go to Kansas," a Midwestern state where Senator Roger Marshall, a fellow Republican, is in an unexpectedly competitive race with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. "He is doing very well," Trump said of Marshall. "We are going to have a strong Tuesday night."

Ukraine's Zelenskiy: We have intelligence of new Russian ballistic missile strikes

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Ukraine had information that Russia was planning new ballistic missile strikes and needed the means to be able to counter them. "Now we have information from intelligence about preparations by the Russians of new ballistic missile ⁠strikes," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

Netanyahu, at risk of losing power, steps up attacks on Israel's Arab parties

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged on Thursday, without providing evidence, that Arab parties' record gains in an election this week were driven in part by voter fraud, a charge rejected by Arab leaders who accused the premier of incitement. The allegation represents an escalation of rhetoric against Arab parties by Netanyahu and his far-right partners after high Arab turnout in a national ballot on Tuesday effectively blocked a smooth path to power for either him or his main rivals.

Four killed in crash of Italian helicopter on EU mission in Bosnia

An Italian military helicopter operating with the EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina crashed on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 11 others, Italy's defence ​ministry said. Two of those killed were members of the Italian army and two belonged to the Italian Red Cross's Volunteer Military Corps, the ministry said. It added that all 11 injured were receiving treatment and none was in a life-threatening condition. A total of 15 people were on board.

Egyptian man who fire-bombed pro-Israel rally in Colorado pleads guilty to federal hate crimes

The man who lobbed gasoline bombs at a pro-Israel rally in Colorado last year, injuring several people including a woman who later died, pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal hate-crime charges, the US Department of Justice said. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 47, an Egyptian ⁠national, is already serving a life sentence for his guilty plea in May to more than 100 state charges, including first-degree murder.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy: We have intelligence of new Russian ballistic missile strikes

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday that Ukraine had information that Russia was planning new ballistic missile strikes and needed the means to be able to counter them. "Now we have information from intelligence about preparations by the Russians of new ballistic missile strikes," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

ECB's Lagarde resigns early so she can speak freely on topics beyond monetary policy

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday she had decided to step down eight months before her term was due to expire so that she can speak more freely on issues beyond monetary policy. Lagarde, 70, has led the ECB since November 2019 and previously headed the International Monetary Fund. Her term would otherwise have ⁠run until ​October 2027.

Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson loses appeal bid

An Australian woman convicted of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives with a meal laced with deadly mushrooms lost an attempt on Friday to appeal her conviction, a court heard.

US proposes Venezuela elections for 2027, opposition leader Machado says

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday the United States has suggested the country hold presidential elections next year, a timeline she has previously supported, in her first substantive remarks since returning last weekend. Machado's return to Venezuela risks straining her ties with the administration of US President Donald Trump, which captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid. Maduro is facing US drug trafficking and torture charges, which he denies.

Spanish train crash death toll rises to 69 in grim search for victims

Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a search for victims of Spain's second fatal high-speed train crash this year, with the death toll rising to 69 and the public demanding explanations for the latest accident. Cranes had worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday's crash, while emergency workers removed what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the central Spanish province of Toledo.

Patrick Stewart, Shakespearean actor turned 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men' star, dies at 86

Patrick Stewart, who rose from poverty in England to become an accomplished Shakespearean stage actor and then achieved global stardom ⁠as the erudite Captain Jean-Luc Picard in TV's "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" movies, has died at the age of 86.

Stewart, knighted in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to drama, died at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his X account.

Kim Jong Un urges drone dominance as North Korea fires missiles, rockets

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his country to seize "absolute superiority" in drone technology, speaking at an unmanned aeronautical technology exhibition and weapons demonstration, state media KCNA reported on Friday. A firepower demonstration following the exhibition involved tactical suicide attack drones, ⁠tactical cruise missiles, multipurpose drones and a battalion of 600mm multiple rocket launchers, KCNA said.

UK police to refer allegations about Duchess Meghan's father to overseas agencies

British police said on Thursday they would refer ⁠allegations about the father of Meghan, Prince Harry's wife, to overseas law enforcement agencies, after a review found the claims had not been passed to other authorities when they were first received.

Authorities in the Philippines said last week they were investigating Thomas Markle over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse images.

EU pressure on Antigua's 'golden passport' trade threatens budget cushion

Antigua and Barbuda's likely move to end its citizenship-by-investment program under European Union pressure threatens a vital revenue stream for the island nation and could test the future of Caribbean "golden passport" schemes, analysts said. The issue exposes a vulnerability across the Caribbean, where several small economies have built government revenues and luxury developments around demand for passports valued partly for the access to Europe they provide.

Russia, Ukraine say Oleshky demining operations complete, humanitarian operation to proceed

Russia and Ukraine said on Thursday that demining operations around the embattled Russian-held town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine had been completed and that an operation to bring aid into the town and allow residents to leave was ready to begin. "Demining ‌operations of routes have been completed for the humanitarian mission in Oleshky," the two sides said in virtually identical statements issued ‌by Yana Lantratova, Russia's human rights commissioner, and Dmytro Lubinets, her Ukrainian counterpart.

French interior minister to deploy 70,000 police for Halloween protests

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that this Saturday was looking like "a very high risk" day for public order and that he would again deploy 70,000 security forces to try to safeguard the country. Nunez told reporters on Thursday that ​several radical groups had called on social media for violent gatherings that day, which is also Halloween, and that the response of security forces would be "extremely firm."