Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Analysis-Trump could woo North Korea after midterm setback, but Kim may not respond

The rebuke President Donald Trump suffered in the US midterm elections could prompt him to step up efforts to re-engage North Korea, but any willingness to make major concessions risks creating friction with regional allies. Analysts and officials in Asia expect Trump to focus on foreign policy as ​he seeks to build his legacy in the final two years of his term. With efforts to resolve the wars in Ukraine and Iran yet to produce breakthroughs, he is likely to turn to Asia, where he believes he has room to manoeuvre.

Malaysia attorney ​general intervenes to halt ex-PM Najib's house arrest transfer

Malaysia's attorney general on Friday postponed jailed former premier Najib Razak's transfer to house arrest to review his royal pardon, in ‌a last-minute intervention after ​a court cleared him to leave prison four years into his sentence. Najib, prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was jailed in relation to a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad and was granted approval in a September royal pardon to serve the remaining two years of his sentence at home.

Sweden's far-right party gives up on cabinet posts amid post-election gridlock

The far-right Sweden Democrats party, an ally of the right-wing caretaker government, said on Friday it was dropping demands for ministerial posts, potentially boosting Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's chances to remain in power. Kristersson's bloc lost its majority in a September election but was tasked this week by Sweden's parliament speaker with exploring a government formation as the centre-left election winners failed to agree on a coalition.

Offices of Irish media groups evacuated due to bomb threats, one deemed a hoax

The offices of Irish media groups including national broadcaster ‌RTE were evacuated following bomb threats on Friday that a presenter on one of the impacted radio stations, Newstalk, said had been deemed a hoax. Newstalk resumed programming at 1000 GMT after staff were told they could return to the building in central Dublin, presenter Claire Byrne said on air. The Irish Independent newspaper group reported that its offices in the capital had also been evacuated.

Pope Leo starts South America 'homecoming' tour a month after lung surgery

Pope Leo left on Friday for an ambitious 12-day trip across South America expected to attract millions-strong crowds, as the first US-born pope returns to a Catholic stronghold where he lived for decades as a missionary. Leo, who is 71 and underwent lung cancer surgery last month, will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru through November 17 on one of the most demanding overseas tours taken by a Catholic leader in decades.

Russian Security Council says Starlink/Oneweb satellite services pose risk to sovereign countries, RIA reports

Experts on Russia's Security Council have said that Western satellite communications services such as Starlink and OneWeb could be used to destabilise the socio-political situation in sovereign countries and therefore pose a risk, Russia's state RIA news agency reported on Friday. The statement followed a gathering of the body's presidium of the Scientific ‌and Expert Council where they discussed information security issues and the use of Russia's own low-Earth orbit satellite system and internet access, RIA reported.

Analysis-Pakistan's leaders dread US Democrats' win but its households are praying for it

Pakistan's leaders spent two years courting US President Donald Trump, but after the Democrats' win in Tuesday's congressional vote, they are preparing for scrutiny of their access to the White House. Ordinary Pakistanis see the result differently. Many hope the shift in Washington will ease a cost-of-living crisis intensified by the US-Israel war on Iran.

Russia has seized dozens of Ukrainian hotels. One ‌owner is fighting back

In a sparsely furnished court room in western Ukraine, a clerk called up the defendant. They were met with silence.

Senior Chinese, North Korean officials meet in Beijing, urge closer ties

Senior Chinese official Cai Qi on Friday told a North Korean delegation in Beijing that both sides should enhance strategic communication and coordination, and promote regional peace, stability and development, Chinese state media reported. China is willing to work with North Korea to "implement the important consensus" reached by both sides' top leaders, carry forward traditional friendship and strengthen mutual learning on party governance, Cai told Kim Song Nam, director of the International Affairs Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, which manages party-to-party ties with China's ruling Communist Party.

At least two children killed in bus crash in eastern France, authorities say

At least two people were killed and 16 injured in a bus crash on Friday morning in eastern France near the Swiss border, local authorities said. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote in a post on X that two children had died in the accident.

EU prosecutor searches Spanish rail bodies in fraud probe

The European Public Prosecutor's Office said on Friday it had carried out investigations at the headquarters of Spain's railway infrastructure manager, its railway safety agency and its court of auditors in a probe into possible fraud in the financing of the Madrid-Seville high-speed line. There have been two deadly accidents on the line this year.

Bomb scare forces diversion of Prague-Rome flight to Venice

A Wizz Air flight from Prague ⁠to Rome was diverted to Venice and ​landed there on Friday due to a bomb scare, an airport authority source said. ANSA news agency earlier reported that the bomb alert message came from a ⁠phone call to Rome Fiumicino airport's control tower, but the source denied this was the case.

North Korea's army of world-class hackers is secret weapon that took down Binance

North Korea rewards its top hackers, tasked with heists like the Binance crypto hack that netted a cool $6.3 billion, with perks such as a spacious apartment in the capital of Pyongyang and huge hard currency awards. Leader Kim Jong Un has assembled an army of world-class hackers using such incentives in a programme more than a decade old that picks 200 of the smartest middle school students each year to study computer engineering, defectors and analysts say.

Kenyan court sentences cult leader to 200 years in prison for murder of 190 children

A Kenyan court sentenced cult leader ⁠Paul Mackenzie on Friday to 200 years in prison for the murders of 190 children starved to death on his orders and buried in a forest, among 500 suspected victims of one of the worst ceremonial massacres of modern times.

What do we know about the wave of bomb threats against flights in Europe?

Airlines across Europe received a new wave of bomb threats on Thursday, the second this week, with flights making unplanned landings and others escorted by fighter jets, though none of the threats has proved genuine. There has been no claim of responsibility and officials have not attributed blame.

Trump says he met Putin envoy, sees Ukraine deal soon

US President Donald Trump said ​he met privately on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin's envoy after the Russian official appeared with representatives from Ukraine at a White House event organized by US first lady Melania Trump. Trump would not disclose what he discussed with Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev but predicted a deal could emerge soon aimed at resolving the Russian war in Ukraine.

Iran sent nuclear proposal to the US via Qatar, senior Iranian official tells Reuters

Iran has sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar, to be discussed only after Washington meets ⁠Tehran’s seven demands, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US was reviewing the proposal but declined to provide further details.

China's marriage rate in third quarter tumbles to 18-year low

China's marriage rate for the first nine months of this year plummeted to its lowest level in 18 years, fueling concerns about declining births and demographic strain in a country where childbearing remains closely tied to wedlock. A total of 4.65 million couples got married from January to end September, while 2.08 million couples divorced, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs published this week

Greek national pleads not guilty in UK court to assisting a foreign intelligence service

A Greek man appeared in a London court on Friday and ⁠pleaded not guilty ​to carrying out surveillance on behalf of a foreign intelligence service on a journalist working for the London-based television station Iran International. Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, who was born in Georgia and lived in Munich, Germany, at the time of his arrest, was charged in May under Britain's National Security Act. He was remanded in custody ahead of his trial in May next year.

Italian prosecutors target China-linked network accused of tracking dissident

Italian prosecutors have wrapped up an investigation into a network they say is linked to Chinese authorities and spent years tracking, intimidating and harassing a prominent Italy-based critic of Beijing. The case centres on Li Ying, better known as "Teacher Li", an artist who has lived in Italy since 2015 and whose @whyyoutouzhele X account is a popular source of uncensored news about China.

Russell Brand, convicted of rape, now likely to face more allegations, says UK police chief

Russell Brand, once a high profile British comedian and star of several Hollywood movies, is likely to face further allegations as more victims come forward in the wake of his rape conviction, the country's top policeman said on Friday. Brand, the former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, is facing a lengthy jail term after being convicted ⁠in a London court on Thursday of raping a woman and sexually assaulting three more.

'We have nothing': Displaced mothers in Yemen's Taiz collect plastic to survive

Two single mothers who fled their village three weeks ago are struggling to keep their children fed and warm in the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz, where they live in a damaged building and sell plastic bottles to get by. Taiz hosts about half of the 300,000 people displaced across Yemen by the latest fighting, according to the UN. The city has been largely isolated since October 3, ⁠following an escalation in clashes between the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis. The fighting has prevented humanitarian supplies from entering and civilians from leaving.

Democrats' election win spooks AI ⁠investors, hammering stocks

Democrats' sweeping midterm election victory unleashed a rout of tech stocks on Thursday, with investors worried the party will use its gains in state capitols and the US Congress to impose new regulations that will slow the AI infrastructure buildout that has fueled this year's market gains. Two days after Democrats flipped seven seats in the Senate, gained at least 39 in the House of Representatives and picked up five governorships, stocks sold off across the board, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite notching a 5.56% drop, its most dramatic fall in 19 months.

Migrant surge to Spain's Canary Islands is unsustainable, authorities say

Migrant arrivals to Spain's Canary Islands accelerated this week, with maritime rescue services rescuing 3,261 migrants in the first six days of November, and regional authorities warned on Friday that the numbers arriving were unsustainable. The migrant surge was approaching the record-breaking levels seen in 2024, regional leader ‌Fernando Clavijo said, adding that on some days the current pace was even higher.

Millions of displaced Sudanese risk ‌losing shelter as funds run low, UN warns

Millions of people displaced by Sudan's civil war risk being left without emergency shelter as funding shortfalls deplete aid stocks, the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration said on Friday. The agencies said an estimated 15.4 million people across Sudan urgently ​need emergency shelter and basic household items, but funding constraints mean humanitarian agencies can prioritize assistance for only about 10% of those in need.