Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Sonia Gandhi accused of whitewashing India's history in memoir

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has accused opposition leader Sonia Gandhi of whitewashing historical wrongs by her Congress party in a memoir, sparking a new faceoff between the two sides ahead of key state elections. Congress party leaders have in turn accused Prime ​Minister Narendra Modi's BJP of trying to create a spectacle and give the book a "political spin".

Israeli strikes kill three people including two brothers in Gaza, medics say

Israeli airstrikes killed three Palestinians, including two brothers, in the Gaza Strip on ​Wednesday, local health officials said. Medics said one man was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the rooftop of a residential building in Gaza City. Another airstrike ‌in the nearby Sheikh ​Radwan neighbourhood killed two brothers, Mahmoud and Jamil Al-Absi, at a tent housing displaced people.

Threats sent to UK and Irish schools dismissed as hoax

Authorities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland said a threatening email which was sent to a large number of schools on Wednesday was a hoax originating from outside the United Kingdom. The emails were reported after the evacuation of at least 300 schools in Italy.

Nvidia puts Singapore's chip hub in firing line

The fallout from Jensen Huang’s affair puts Singapore firmly in the hot seat. The alleged spy, with whom the Nvidia CEO had an affair, facilitated at least $7.5 billion worth of silicon shipments to China, according to The Information, citing sources. It spotlights how Singapore is used to help firms skirt US ‌export controls. How the city-state responds risks angering Washington, Beijing or both. Singapore has made an art of retaining the trust of both Washington and Beijing: the US is its largest source of foreign investment, while China is its biggest trading partner. But the duo's race to dominate in AI was bound to test the city-state’s balancing act sooner or later. Huang’s scandal suggests it may be sooner.

Iran designates Argentina's navy and air force as 'terrorist organizations'

Tehran has designated Argentina's navy and air force as "terrorist organizations," Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, in a reciprocal move following Buenos Aires' designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity in April. Argentina had designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, following a push from US President Donald Trump's administration for allies to do so.

Exclusive-India ordered website takedowns on fake court orders, Reuters finds; police launch probe

India's government ordered internet providers to block 129 illegal betting websites this year based on two state high court orders that Reuters has found were fake, findings that have triggered at least one police investigation. The forgeries are ‌the latest sign that fake orders are slipping past India's official content removal mechanism, considered one of the world's strictest, and could impact the online presence of any organisation operating in the country.

World leaders speak at COP31 climate conference

World leaders including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan set out their climate priorities in speeches at COP31 in Turkey on Wednesday. Below are selected quotes:

Nvidia faces deepening scrutiny over China chip ties, CEO affair

Nvidia shed about $430 billion in market value over two sessions as new reports ‌deepened questions about CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with a Chinese businesswoman alleged to be a spy for Beijing. The controversy escalated on several fronts on Tuesday as allegations emerged that Huang's relationship with Alice Huang aided at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to China and that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously briefed President Donald Trump on the affair.

Russia, Ukraine and US start second day of Abu Dhabi peace talks

Russian, Ukrainian and US officials began a second day of peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, resuming meetings which Kyiv and Washington depicted on Monday as constructive but produced no early signs of a breakthrough. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators gave no details after Monday's US-brokered talks, the first between the two warring sides since February, and Moscow and Kyiv went into the talks far apart on terms for a possible settlement.

Iran will not allow enriched nuclear material to leave the country, security chief says

Iran will not allow even a single particle of enriched nuclear material to leave the country and there will be consequences in the event of any new US strikes on the Islamic Republic, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said in televised remarks. Rezaei was speaking to Lebanon's pro-Iranian Al Mayadeen TV after US officials downplayed the need for additional military action against Iran, with analysts ⁠noting President Donald Trump's more conciliatory ​tone since the Republicans' defeat in the November 3 midterm elections.

Workers across Spain stage first general strike in 14 years as anger rages ⁠over housing

Spanish workers went on a general strike on Wednesday, enduring stormy weather to set up picket lines in a mass protest against the country's housing affordability crisis less than three weeks before a snap general election. It is the first general strike since workers downed tools in 2012 against austerity measures during the euro zone debt crisis. The walkout is backed by Spain's two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, representing more than a million workers, as well as tenants' associations angry about rising rents and evictions.

Ukraine's path to EU accession narrows as war drags on

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, Polish farmer Miroslaw Halej ⁠wanted to help refugees who flooded across the border near the village where he lives in eastern Poland. He did so initially by helping distribute food and clothing for them but, as the war ground on, his views began to shift.

Tight security as thousands gather for far-right Polish march

Poland deployed extra police in the capital Warsaw as thousands of far-right supporters, expected to include many from across Europe, gathered for an annual march on Wednesday against a backdrop of political tension over a mass shooting in Krakow. The Independence Day march has long caused friction between right-wing parties and ​the now-ruling centrists, who say it is a platform for racism and antisemitism. Participants deny those allegations, saying that the gathering, held under the motto "A Pole is the host in Poland," is an expression of national pride.

EU explores deeper Syria partnership, flags concern over Russia role

The European Union is weighing a broad upgrade in ties with Syria, including security sector reform, investment and a revival of a long-frozen trade accord, according to an EU document seen by ⁠Reuters, as the bloc seeks to draw Damascus closer to Europe and counter lingering Russian influence after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow. The discussion paper, prepared by the bloc's diplomatic service ahead of a November 16 meeting of EU foreign ministers, sketches one of Brussels' most ambitious efforts yet to normalise ties with Syria, less than two years after Assad's fall ended decades of authoritarian rule and reshaped regional alliances.

Russia's bear attack death toll rises to 35 since spring, RIA reports

Bear attacks across Russia have claimed 35 lives since the start of the spring, with the latest victim a security guard at a holiday camp in Kamchatka, according to data compiled by Russia's RIA state ⁠news ​agency released on Wednesday. Russia has struggled to control bear numbers in some regions, prompting authorities to draw up measures to cull their numbers after a series of fatal attacks.

US envoys Witkoff and Kushner may visit Russia in coming days, TASS reports

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could visit Russia in the coming days, Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported, citing a source on Wednesday. TASS did not provide details on the timing or purpose of the possible trip.

Eleven Pakistani police personnel feared killed in attack, rescue group says

Eleven Pakistani police personnel were feared killed in an attack in the Kohat region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the spokesman of a rescue group said on Wednesday. Pakistan's Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pope Leo to end Argentina tour celebrating Mass with millions, ahead of Peru homecoming

Pope Leo is wrapping up his visit to Argentina on Wednesday with a final event expected to draw millions, before continuing on his 12-day South America tour with a visit to Peru in an emotional homecoming ⁠for the first Peruvian citizen to lead the Catholic Church. Leo, on a three-nation tour through November 17, will celebrate an outdoor Mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Lujan, Argentina's most important Catholic devotional site, where throngs of pilgrims have been gathering for days to see him.

Russian diplomat says Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts with NATO member states

A senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday that Moscow could conclude non-aggression pacts with NATO member states as part of a new security ⁠architecture for Europe being discussed as part of the Ukraine peace process. Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's chief negotiator at those Ukraine peace talks - which resumed this week for ⁠the first time since February - said on Wednesday that the idea of a new security framework for Europe had been the central theme of two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi, but did not provide details of what had been discussed.

Russian negotiator reports some progress after Ukraine talks, sees no EU role in process for now

Russia's chief negotiator at Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi said on Wednesday after their conclusion that mutual understanding had been achieved on some issues but not on others, and that more negotiations would take place. Vladimir Medinsky, in remarks broadcast on Russian state television, said that a new potential future European security framework had been a central theme in the two-day talks.

Indonesia's vice president has resigned, three political sources say

Indonesia's vice ‌president Gibran Rakabuming Raka has resigned, two political sources at the parliamentary upper house and Gibran's ‌political aide Budi Arie Setiadi told Reuters.

Threats sent to UK and Irish schools dismissed as hoax

Authorities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland said a threatening email which was sent to a large number of schools on Wednesday was ​a hoax originating from outside the United Kingdom. The emails were reported after the evacuation of at least 300 schools in Italy.