Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

The races that will decide control of the US Senate

Democrats need a net gain of at least four seats in November's midterm elections to wrest control of the US Senate from Republicans, with voter discontent over President Donald Trump, the Iran war and rising prices putting races in once-solidly Republican states into play. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, and a Democratic takeover looked unlikely at the start of the year. But ​Democrats are now competitive in states Trump won handily in 2024, even as Republicans seek to capture Democratic-held seats of their own.

Ukraine and Russia say emergency alert apps were hit by hacks

Ukraine and Russia said their emergency alert apps had been hacked overnight, sending false warnings to citizens about impending air ​raids, chemical and nuclear attacks. The warnings coincided with the expiry of a six-day local ceasefire brokered by US first lady Melania Trump in a small area of southern Ukraine — the longest such pause in ‌fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion in ​2022.

Israeli strikes kill four people in Gaza, medics say

Israeli strikes killed at least four Palestinians and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the territory's health officials said. Medics said two people were killed and six others wounded in two separate airstrikes in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave, while a third person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Al-Mussadar.

UK to unveil migrant settlement overhaul after months of debate

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood will on Monday set out reforms to how migrants can settle in Britain, in a bid to balance voter demands for lower immigration with business warnings that tough rules could deter workers who the country still needs. The reforms are the government's latest attempt to toughen the rules after the number of arrivals surged following Britain's departure from the European Union, with post-Brexit immigration policies leading to an influx of healthcare workers and students from around the world.

Argentina's austerity-hit economy reels towards recession, testing Milei ahead of 2027 vote

At a family-owned factory in ‌Buenos Aires, a machine used to wrap packets of colored socks sits silent. Eseka still produces nearly 3 million items a month at the factory, including underwear and swimwear for its Cocot and Dufour brands. But like many local businesses, it is struggling to stay afloat. Since President Javier Milei took office nearly three years ago, sales have fallen around 40%, battered by weak consumer demand and competition from cheaper imports as the government has lifted trade restrictions.

Hungary's governing party backs nominee for chief prosecutor

Hungary's governing Tisza party will approve the president's nominee for chief prosecutor, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Monday, a significant step in Magyar's efforts to reshape public institutions after his April election victory. Appointing a new chief prosecutor is central to Magyar's anti-corruption drive which he has dubbed "Operation Purgatory".

Iran says contacts over ending war continue as talks end with no breakthrough

Contacts between Iran and the United States to end their eight-month war are continuing, Tehran's foreign ministry said on Monday, after days of Iranian talks with Qatari mediators ended with altered proposals but no breakthrough. "I can tell you that the dialogues are continuing. However, the issue is complex," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, adding that the two sides were exchanging messages through mediators.

Lindsay Clancy returns to Massachusetts court for hearing that could shape potential murder retrial

Lindsay Clancy is due back in court on Monday for a hearing that could determine whether she will be retried for killing her three young ‌children at her Massachusetts home in 2023 after a jury deadlocked at her first trial. Judge William Sullivan is scheduled to hear arguments in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Clancy's bid to dismiss the murder charges and to discuss a timetable for a potential new trial if he allows the case to proceed.

Newborn among 15 killed as Myanmar military strikes maternity clinic and school, sources say

A newborn baby was among at least 15 people killed in Myanmar military strikes at multiple locations over the weekend, including a maternity clinic and a school, an ethnic armed group, an aid worker and rights monitors said on Monday. The bombings come as the military-backed government, attempting to rebuild ‌diplomatic ties after years of isolation, escalates its campaign to retake territory lost to resistance groups that now control large areas of the country.

As peacekeepers leave Western Sahara, refugees yearn to end a half-century wait

At 51, Binina Mohamed is as old as the conflict that drove her from the Western Sahara region into a refugee camp in southern Algeria, where she has spent her life among tens of thousands of others facing a similar fate. The confrontation over her native land, often described as Africa's longest-running territorial dispute, was brought back into focus this weekend by a UN Security Council spat that led to the end of a decades-old peacekeeping mission there.

Factbox-Six things to watch as US voters decide control of Congress

Americans head to the polls on Tuesday in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term. The results will serve as the first nationwide verdict on Trump's presidency, revealing whether voters want to check the Republican president's power by giving Democrats control of one or both chambers of Congress or are willing to accept the status quo despite frustrations over the cost of living and the US-led war with Iran.

Charles left without umbrella in rainstorm fit for a king

King Charles flung up his hands in despair as he was caught in a tropical rainstorm in Antigua, while his wife Queen Camilla strolled off with the only available umbrella. The couple's Caribbean tour has been dominated by the debate over Britain's role in the slave trade, but it was the sight of the soaked monarch which made headlines on Sunday.

Michigan Democrat's endorsement of Republican ruffles critical Senate race

A prominent Michigan Democrat endorsed Republican Mike Rogers on Sunday, giving President Donald Trump's ⁠Republicans an unexpected boost in a critical US ​Senate race two days before midterm elections that will decide control of Congress. US Representative Haley Stevens, who lost the Michigan Democrats' Senate primary to Abdul El-Sayed in a bitterly contested race, publicly backed ⁠Rogers and appeared with him at a Detroit church, threatening to worsen divisions in a state viewed as crucial to Democratic hopes of retaking the US Senate.

Uganda says it has started withdrawing troops from Somalia

Uganda said on Monday it had begun withdrawing its troops from Somalia as part of a phased drawdown that will end an almost two-decade deployment helping Mogadishu fight the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgency. Uganda has about 4,500 troops deployed in Somalia under the African Union-mandated AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), according to state media, though it is unclear how many additional forces are deployed under a separate bilateral arrangement

German ministers vow tough response to Frankfurt riots and looting

German ministers threatened tough penalties for looters and rioters who damaged stores and injured more than 100 police officers in Frankfurt overnight, while praising security forces for ⁠preventing wider violence. Frankfurt emerged as the main flashpoint on Saturday after tens of thousands of people rallied in dozens of German cities to demand better education and lower living costs in protests organised by campaign group "Gen Z regelt" — "Gen Z takes charge".

As Europe's right advances, Germany's AfD rethinks its anti-euro roots

The far-right Alternative for Germany, founded more than a decade ago in opposition to the EU's handling of the euro crisis, is recalibrating its vision for Europe as it and its right-wing allies abroad gain influence. After a historic victory in a regional election in Saxony-Anhalt in September, Germany's most popular party in nationwide surveys now appears closer than ever to entering government at national level before the end of the decade.

Trump Justice Dept breaks with tradition to intervene in midterms

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department ​has shown a willingness to intervene directly in Tuesday's midterm elections, breaking with decades of practice meant to avoid the appearance that its law enforcement powers are being used to benefit a political party or candidate. In California, the Justice Department sought to set aside mail-in ballots from about 20,000 voters it alleges are likely non-US citizens ineligible to vote.

UK adventurer returns home after 28-year trek around the world

A British adventurer who has been walking around the world for almost three decades is due to finish his trek on Monday, ending a 31,000-mile journey at the house where he grew up. Karl Bushby has hacked ⁠through jungles in Central America, crossed the ice between Alaska and Russia and last month swam across the English Channel on the final stretch of a voyage made entirely under his own steam.

European supermarkets hit by new fridge cyber attack

Ahold Delhaize and Colruyt said on Monday that an IT incident overnight hit fridges and freezers in dozens of stores in Belgium and Luxembourg, while Swedish grocers ICA and Coop reported similar temperature spikes, with one store blaming a cyberattack. The incidents follow an attack in France last month, in which police said hackers seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, raising temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and causing fires and food losses.

Netherlands offers €2 million bounty for capture of fugitive cocaine kingpin

Dutch prosecutors are offering a record €2 million ($2.2 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of convicted cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers, one of Europe's most-wanted fugitives, ⁠the authorities ​said on Monday. Leijdekkers is a Dutch national who has been living in Sierra Leone for the past years, the Dutch prosecution service said. Prosecutors have demanded his extradition, but Sierra Leone has refused to cooperate, prompting the European Union to cut some aid to the West African country.

Court extends actor Imran Khan's stay in India after he apologises for protesting, LiveLaw reports

An Indian court allowed Bollywood actor Imran Khan to remain in the country until early next month after he apologised on Monday for taking part in a protest, local media reported, a move that had led the government to ask him to leave for breaching immigration laws. Khan, 43, is a US citizen and was asked to leave the country by October 28 after he was accused of joining protests in Mumbai against the country's election chief last month

Accused arsonist in Los Angeles' deadly Palisades fire returns for federal retrial

Jury selection was due to begin on Monday in the federal retrial of a man prosecutors say deliberately set a blaze that grew into one of the deadliest, most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, whose initial three-week trial ended in a hung jury in late June, was slated to return to US District Court in downtown Los Angeles to face a scaled-down version of the charges previously leveled against him.

Analysis-Trump's Iran threat renews Gulf fears of a war it didn't ⁠choose

US President Donald Trump’s threat to strike Iran again confronts America’s Gulf allies with a stark prospect: another war decided in Washington in which the US bases built to protect them could instead make them targets for harsh Iranian reprisal.

Iranian missiles that struck US military bases and Gulf energy facilities in the last round of fighting exposed a vulnerability at the heart of Washington’s decades-old security architecture. Rather than deterring Tehran, America’s sprawling regional footprint gave Iran fixed targets and the Gulf states hosting them pressure points it can exploit.

Ukraine says Russia used Oleshky truce to rearm, Moscow assumes Kyiv did same

Ukraine's General Staff said on Monday ⁠that Russian forces had used a humanitarian ceasefire last week in the Russian-held southern town of Oleshky to strengthen their military positions, which Moscow said it assumed Kyiv had also done. The six—day ceasefire — brokered ⁠through US first lady Melania Trump — was meant to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations from the frontline town. In total, nearly 800 people were evacuated, Melania Trump said on X.

French school protests resume on smaller scale as students return from break

French high school student protests resumed on Monday on a much smaller scale than in past weeks as pupils returned from a two-week break, with youngsters trying to blockade a few high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes, French media reported. By 0830 GMT some 41 high schools — about 1% of those nationwide — were blockaded, the Education Ministry said.

China's Xi says Middle East should not become battleground for great power rivalry

The Middle East and Gulf region should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry and China is willing to work with Arab nations to achieve lasting peace, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Oman's sultan on Monday. China has traditionally played a low-key diplomatic role in the Middle East, but has stepped up efforts to try to help end tensions amid the ‌US-Israeli war on Iran, which has snarled the Strait of Hormuz and driven up global energy and shipping costs.

Military production ‌for navies up 50% in past two years, Naval Group says

Military production for navies, including ships and submarines, has surged nearly 50% in value over the past two years, France's Naval Group said on Monday, as Western governments respond to threats from Russia and instability in the Middle East. Speaking at the opening of the Euronaval defence trade show ​in Paris, Naval Group CEO Pierre-Eric Pommellet cited a Euronaval study showing the value of naval military production rose to $122 billion in 2024-2025 from $82 billion two years earlier