Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

US campaign for control of Congress enters final weekend

As the campaign for control of the US Congress reached its final weekend, the Trump administration stepped up its legal intervention in the Alaska Senate race while the number of Americans casting early ballots neared 50 million, a record for a midterm election. The Department of Justice accelerated its criminal investigation in Alaska on Friday, ​following reports that aides to a Democratic Senate candidate recruited a retired schoolteacher from a remote fishing village to get on the ballot because he has the same name as the Republican incumbent.

Judge orders Trump administration to cease threats to prosecute election officials

A US judge ordered the ​Justice Department on Friday to stop threatening to prosecute state and local election officials who do not comply with the Trump administration's demands related to voting by alleged non-citizens. The ruling comes ‌days before next week's US ​midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, where Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate. Although several key races appear closely contested, polls favor Democrats to take control of the House and give them a plausible chance of a Senate majority.

France braces for fresh unrest, government vows tough response

France deployed a 70,000-strong police presence to contain a widely expected bout of fresh unrest on Saturday in the latest nationwide protests driven by anger over living costs, public services and President Emmanuel Macron's government. The demonstrations, which fall on Halloween, come two weeks after riots and looting caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops, public buildings and businesses in cities across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has vowed not to let a repeat happen.

Taipei mayor gets angry reception at Pride after gay bar raid

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, in a close race for re-election, got an angry reception on Saturday when he briefly ‌showed up for Taiwan's packed annual Pride parade, following a police raid on a city gay bar earlier this month. The raid struck a nerve in Taiwan, which legalised same-sex marriage in 2019 in a first for Asia and is proud of its reputation as a bastion of LGBTQ+ rights in a region where they are often repressed.

When buses stopped running on Brazil election day, 'Lula's Army' grabbed their car keys

When buses in the northeastern Brazilian city of Salvador inexplicably stopped running last Sunday, history teacher Martins Mafra grabbed his car keys and set off to pick up stranded voters across town. Mafra's efforts in Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, were part of a massive get-out-the-vote drive across Brazil that helped power leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to an unprecedented fourth term.

Egypt fears escalation in Iran war would be more destructive, foreign minister says

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Saturday he was "extremely worried" that a new escalation in the war between the United States and Iran would be more destructive and have a major impact. He was speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain.

Abuse survivors to press Church on accountability during pope's trip to South America

As Pope Leo prepares to return to South America, Peruvian abuse survivor Pedro Salinas sees reason for both hope and unease ‌in the pope’s record confronting clerical abuse. For a decade, Salinas watched as the Catholic Church investigated Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, the Peru-founded Catholic community he helped expose. Then, in the final days of Pope Francis' papacy last year, the Vatican dissolved the group and its branches.

Explainer-Gone in 20 minutes: How the biggest heist in crypto history unfolded

Hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, in a record digital asset theft. Here's what we know so far:

Rubio to host meeting of Indo-Pacific Quad, wrap up G20 gathering

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host a meeting with the foreign ministers of ‌Australia, India and Japan on Saturday, their third meeting this year, as plans take shape for a summit of the leaders of the four countries in Manila next month. The leaders' summit, slated to occur during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in the Philippine capital November 15-18, will be the first since 2024, and the first for US President Donald Trump.

Thousands gather in Paris suburb in tribute to victims of shooting

Thousands gathered on Friday evening in a poor Paris suburb to pay tribute to the victims of a shooting, a week earlier, in which the gunman deliberately targeted Muslim or African people.

The attack in Trappes, a southwestern Paris suburb, last Friday, which left one dead and seven wounded, has unleashed a bitter debate over racism in French politics and the media. The country has been grappling with a broad set of social grievances, months ahead of a presidential election.

Trump administration plans to deport some Afghan immigrants to Afghanistan

President Donald Trump's administration plans to deport some Afghan immigrants to Afghanistan, a US official and a coalition of veterans and advocacy groups said on Friday. Many facing removal fled Afghanistan after the 2021 Taliban takeover and US withdrawal, said Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac.

After Louvre heist and string of thefts, Europe's smaller museums are on guard

Two men wearing head torches climbed through a forced-open window at the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum near Parma on the night of March 22 and calmly lifted artworks by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse from the walls. Within three minutes, they had passed the works, valued at about €9 ⁠million ($10 million), to an accomplice and fled. ​At the museum's main gate, a fourth man discharged a fire extinguisher when the alarm sounded, distracting the custodian.

Trump administration accelerates criminal probe into Alaska Senate race

President Donald Trump's ⁠administration stepped up criminal and civil investigations into allegations that Democrats conspired to recruit a spoiler candidate in a critical Senate race in Alaska, officials said on Friday, injecting fresh uncertainty into Tuesday's midterm elections. The top federal prosecutor in Alaska, US Attorney Michael Heyman, said at a press conference that a Wednesday New York Times article about the effort had driven a "surge" of FBI resources, adding that he had assigned several prosecutors to the case and that investigative steps were taking place "intensely and swiftly."

Rubio urges G20 cooperation amid rifts over wars in Ukraine, Middle East

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged fellow G20 foreign ministers on Friday to work together for greater geopolitical stability and economic prosperity, warning that a series of crises posed serious threats to the global ⁠economic order. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's participation in the two-day gathering in Atlanta - at Rubio's invitation - has roiled many G20 ministers, aggravating deep rifts over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East during a meeting that is expected to end without a joint declaration. Such statements require consensus that has been elusive if not impossible since Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Competing US, Russia resolutions on Western Sahara defeated in UN Security Council

Russia vetoed a US-drafted resolution on Western Sahara at the Security Council on Friday, leaving the UN peacekeeping mission there without a renewed mandate just a day before it expires. The resolution would have extended the mission for another year while cementing Morocco's autonomy plan ​as the only basis for talks to settle the half-century-old conflict and scaling back its military component.

Mass protests sweep Italy during nationwide strike

Tens of thousands of people, mostly students and workers, took to the streets across Italy on Friday to demand higher wages and stronger public services, protest against the rising cost of living and oppose increased military spending. Grassroots union Unione Sindacale di Base called a 24-hour general strike, with protests planned in more than 40 cities.

Gen Z protests reach Germany as over 160,000 expected at Halloween rallies

More than 160,000 people ⁠across Germany are expected to join demonstrations on Saturday, organisers say, as a youth-led movement inspired by protests elsewhere in Europe takes to the streets to demand better education and lower living costs. The protests follow a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country's long-time leader at the ballot box, while protests in France have descended into rioting and looting.

Residents of Russian-controlled Ukrainian town arrive in Belarus

Four planes carrying residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky landed in Belarus on Saturday, the Belarusian Belta state news agency and a senior Ukrainian official said. Hundreds of starving and exhausted residents left the town of Oleshky on Friday during a US-backed local ceasefire, the first of its kind and the longest humanitarian pause in the war, which is ⁠nearing its ​fifth year.

Bangladesh death toll from dengue rises, unlikely to ease before December

Bangladesh recorded its highest monthly dengue death toll of the year in October, with experts warning the outbreak is unlikely to ease significantly before December. The outbreak has killed 418 people and led to more than 133,000 hospital admissions this year as of October 30, according to health ministry data. October alone accounted for 173 deaths, surpassing September's 148 and making it the deadliest month of 2026 so far.

Jordan stops fighters attempting to enter from Syria, armed forces say

Jordanian border guards stopped a group of 14 armed individuals attempting to cross into northern Jordan from Syria, the armed forces said in a statement on Saturday. The group tried to infiltrate on Friday under heavy fire and direct engagement, causing numerous casualties among the armed group, while the remaining members fled back into Syria, the armed forces said.

US approves $2.1 billion Patriot missile sale to Ukraine

The US State Department said on Friday it had approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1 billion, in what would be one of the most significant steps to supply defensive weapons to Kyiv since the start of the second Trump administration. Delayed missile deliveries have added to Ukraine's tensions with the US after ⁠President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for Ukraine's unwillingness to stop attacks on Russian refineries.

Russia's Lavrov says inviting Poland to attend G20 meeting breaks diplomatic rules

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Friday that inviting Poland to attend G20 meetings was counter-productive and broke with diplomatic practice of seeking consensus at such gatherings. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters in Atlanta that the US had made a motion to make Poland a permanent G20 member and Warsaw was lobbying for that.

Iranian official says US attacked fishing ⁠boats off Qeshm Island, state media reports

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, citing a Hormozgan province official, said on Saturday that the US had attacked two fishing boats near Qeshm Island. There was no ⁠immediate US confirmation of the attack. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

UK PM Burnham says he is 'open' to formal apology for slavery, but rules out reparations

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he is open to calls for a formal apology for Britain's historical role in slavery, before attending next week's Commonwealth summit at which he is likely to face demands for financial reparations. Writing in the Guardian newspaper, Burnham said Britain was "offering a structured dialogue with those affected by the transatlantic slave trade", in which at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery.

Pakistan military 'cautiously optimistic' on Iran-US mediation

Pakistan’s military is “cautiously optimistic” about its mediation between Iran and the United States, its spokesman said on Friday in his first interview since a high-level delegation visited Tehran this week. Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir — Pakistan's chief mediator in its efforts to de-escalate the now ‌eight-month-old Iran war — has been to Tehran twice this month, most recently on Monday alongside Saudi and Turkish officials.

Poland's president ‌accuses Tusk of forced takeover of country's top court

Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Saturday accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of staging a forced takeover of the country's top court after the head of the court, an ally of the previous far right government, was suspended. Late on Friday, the Constitutional Tribunal said its longest-serving judge ​Anna Korwin-Piotrowska had suspended Bogdan Swieczkowski, the tribunal's president and an appointee of Tusk's hard-right predecessor, and was now in charge of the court.