Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

US midterm campaign enters final weekend as Alaska, California ballot fights heat up

President Donald Trump's administration pressed a criminal investigation into Alaska’s pivotal US Senate race and said on Saturday it would likely take its fight over thousands of California mail-in ballots to the Supreme Court, as ​the midterm campaign for control of Congress entered its final weekend. In Alaska, federal prosecutors are investigating whether aides to Democratic challenger Mary Peltola helped to recruit a retired schoolteacher, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., to run because his ​name is similar to the Republican incumbent, Senator Dan S. Sullivan. The closely contested race is seen as crucial to Democrats’ hopes of taking the ‌Senate in Tuesday’s ​vote.

Isolated clashes in France after peaceful marches, as police brace for Halloween night violence

Scuffles broke out in Paris and other French cities on Saturday evening at the end of nationwide demonstrations driven by anger over living costs and strained public services, while authorities warned of possible further violence overnight with Halloween celebrations under way. The protests, which were largely peaceful through the afternoon, continued for a third weekend after riots and looting on October 17 that caught security forces off guard, leaving a trail of damage to shops, public buildings and businesses across the country.

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.

US, Canada see growing interest in limited ceasefire in Black Sea

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday said there was growing interest by the international community in facilitating a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea to ensure unfettered energy and grain shipments by Russia and Ukraine. Rubio told a news conference that the US is reviewing proposals by Turkey and India to get grain shipments moving, even as the US continues to press for a broader, negotiated settlement of the war, which is now in its fifth year.

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.

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.

Ghana says Russia to back 2,000 MW nuclear plant, deepen ties

Russia has agreed to work with Ghana on developing a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant following talks at the Russia-Africa Summit, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Saturday. The project is aimed at strengthening energy security and industrialization, Ablakwa said in a statement on X.

Indo-Pacific Quad ministers work on supply chains, denounce arbitrary export restrictions

Foreign ministers from the US, Australia, India and Japan on Saturday pledged to work on building reliable global supply chains and expressed grave concerns about what they called "economic coercion" through export restrictions and non-market practices, but stopped short of calling out China. The joint statement by the foreign ministers of the Indo-Pacific "Quad" came at a time when Japan has been extremely critical of Beijing over its restrictions on critical mineral exports, and the US has been assembling a coalition aimed at uniting G20 countries concerned about China's dominance in rare earths and other critical minerals.

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.

Rioters loot stores in Frankfurt as Gen Z-led protests in Germany turn violent

Hooded rioters looted stores in Frankfurt late on Saturday after tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Germany's biggest cities to demand better education and lower living costs. The protests followed a wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations across Europe this ⁠year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country's longtime leader at the ballot box, while protests in France have descended into rioting and looting.

Rubio, Brazil's foreign minister to meet again as diplomatic tensions simmer

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday he spoke with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira at a Group of 20 meeting, and that they will see each other again in a few weeks, a sign that Washington and Brasilia could de-escalate their diplomatic feud. Vieira took part in the G20 foreign ministers' meeting, which was hosted by Rubio in Atlanta. ​The two men spoke briefly, and agreed to meet in the coming weeks before a G20 leaders summit in Miami in December, a source familiar with the plans said.

Starved residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky return to Ukraine during a rare local ceasefire

Starved and exhausted residents from the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky crossed into Ukraine on Saturday in a major return of civilians under the first humanitarian truce of its kind in more than four ⁠years of the war. The six-day local ceasefire in Oleshky was reached after mediation efforts by US first lady Melania Trump and with the pope's involvement. It is the longest local pause in fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Nigeria reports two suspected Ebola cases in northeast region

Health authorities in Nigeria are investigating two suspected Ebola cases in the country's northeast region, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. The two individuals have been isolated while officials carry out contact identification, listing and laboratory testing, authorities said in a post on X.

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.

Thousands return to Lisbon square, press government to scrap rental bill

Thousands of housing protesters returned to one of Lisbon's main squares on Saturday, stepping up pressure on Portugal's minority centre-right government to scrap a rental bill they say would worsen the country's affordability crisis. Portugal is grappling with one of Europe's worst housing crises, with young people among those hardest hit. House prices have more than doubled since 2017 and rents for new leases have nearly doubled.

Pope Leo tries to stay neutral as basketball rivals descend on Vatican

Popes have received heads of state, royalty ⁠and pilgrims by the busload in the Vatican's Paul VI Audience Hall. On Saturday, Pope Leo received his old college basketball team and, in a show of sportsmanship that went only so far, their opponents. Leo, the first American pope, greeted the men's and women's teams from his alma mater Villanova, where he graduated in 1977, and from their rival Notre Dame, before roughly 7,000 players, guests and supporters.

Iranian envoys meet Qatari mediators as threat looms of US strikes ⁠after midterms

Iranian negotiators held talks in Doha with Qatari mediators on Saturday to discuss paths out of war in the Gulf, a ⁠source who was briefed on the negotiations told Reuters, as diplomats try to avert new fighting after the US midterm elections this week. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that President Donald Trump has not decided whether to launch new strikes against Iran, but would prefer to resolve the conflict diplomatically.

China's coast guard conducts patrols east of Taiwan, CCTV reports

China's coast guard carried out what it described as routine law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan island on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The coast guard has continued to strengthen control over the waters since the start of October to protect the lawful rights and safety of Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, its spokesperson Jiang Lue said

UN says Yemeni staff member ‌dies in Houthi custody, demands investigation

A Yemeni staff member of the UN Human Rights ‌Office has died in Houthi custody after being arbitrarily detained for more than two years, the UN human rights chief said on Saturday, calling for an independent investigation and the release of other detained personnel. Mohammad el Shami had been held by ​the Houthi militant group since June 6, 2024, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.