Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Trump threatens to double tariffs on Mexico if it does not halt migrants

President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to double tariffs on Mexico if it does not stop more than a thousand migrants walking north toward the United States after last week's US election, ​warning that they would not be allowed to enter. "Here we go again!" the Republican president wrote on social media. "They will not be accepted! MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not ​do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED. MEXICO, THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, THE VERY LIBERAL NEW GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, OUR GREAT ‌BORDER PATROL, & ​ICE, HAVE BEEN SO INFORMED. There will be no leniency!"

Venezuela, Colombia to collaborate on border security following kidnappings

The governments of Colombia and Venezuela said on Thursday they are willing to coordinate security efforts to combat transnational crime following two recent high-profile kidnappings along their 2,219-kilometer shared border. Colombia is seeking Venezuelan help locating the wife of a Colombian mayor and an army officer.

Democrat Colom wins Mississippi Senate seat, becomes state's first Black senator since 1874

Democratic challenger Scott Colom defeated incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in the Mississippi election for the US Senate, media projected on Wednesday, making him the Southern state's first Black senator since the Reconstruction era that followed the US Civil War. The result was a ‌stunning upset in the heavily Republican state and expanded on the national drubbing the Democrats delivered to President Donald Trump's Republicans in the November 3 midterm elections. It was also a historic victory for African Americans in a former slave state that was a hotbed of repression during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Putin lets Europe join Ukraine peace talks, as Kyiv says Starshield disrupted again

President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to let European representatives join the next round of Ukraine peace talks, a US envoy said, though the Russian leader said Washington must work with its European allies to understand if they want peace or war in Ukraine. The move to give Europe a seat at the negotiating table at the next round of talks, which US envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters after the talks, is a breakthrough. But Putin's comments underlined how difficult the negotiations could become, given sharp differences between Moscow and European capitals.

Climate change made Indonesian fires more severe, ‌scientists say

Wildfires that hit large parts of Indonesia from August to October and plunged much of Southeast Asia into hazardous smoke were made much worse by "record-breaking" heat caused by human-induced climate change, scientists said on Friday. While a very strong El Niño was the dominant factor in determining the extremely low levels of rainfall across Indonesia from July, human-induced climate change contributed around 1.6 degrees Celsius of additional heat during the fire season, said a ‌report by climate research group World Weather Attribution.

Putin lets Europe join Ukraine peace talks, as Kyiv says Starshield disrupted again

President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to let European representatives join the next round of Ukraine peace talks, a US envoy said, though the Russian leader said Washington must work with its European allies to understand if they want peace or war in Ukraine. The move to give Europe a seat at the negotiating table at the next round of talks, which US envoy Steve Witkoff announced after the talks, could mark a breakthrough. But Putin's comments underlined how difficult the negotiations could become, given sharp differences between Moscow and European capitals over the way the war should end.

US House Democratic Leader Jeffries wants 'dramatic change' in Middle East

US House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called on Thursday for "dramatic change" in the Middle East and reiterated his support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Democrats' sweeping victories in last week's midterm elections could lead to the curbing of US support for its close ally Israel, putting the spotlight on party leaders' views as they prepare to take control of both houses of Congress on ⁠January 3.

Visa barriers push students ​from US and UK to Asia and Europe, global survey shows

International students are turning away from the United States and Britain ⁠in favour of universities in Asia and continental Europe, a global university survey showed on Thursday, as tighter visa rules redraw the global map of higher education. International students typically pay far higher fees than domestic ones and are a major source of revenue, helping offset their host countries' teaching and research costs.

Russia says it launched a massive overnight strike on Ukrainian military factories

Russia's military said on Thursday that it had carried out a massive overnight strike on military factories across Ukraine, including Kyiv, where the mayor said a Russian drone had struck an apartment block. Explosions ⁠were heard in the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Thursday, a Reuters witness said.

Vance, Rubio, Ossoff and Buttigieg lead 2028 White House hopefuls, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Four potential contenders in the 2028 race for the White House have caught American voters' attention with their early jockeying: Republicans JD Vance and Marco Rubio and Democrats Jon Ossoff and Pete Buttigieg, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. None of the four has yet formally launched a campaign and the parties' 2028 nominating contests are more than a year away, leaving ​plenty of time for new contenders to emerge and for voters' views to change.

World leaders set out clashing priorities as COP31 turns to negotiations

World leaders have set out competing positions and made clashing demands in two days of intense speech-making at the COP31 climate change talks in Turkey, leaving negotiators with a tough task to draft a meaningful deal that all can agree. Small island states, among the ⁠most vulnerable in the world as global warming makes sea levels rise, pleaded for urgent cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

Publication of air crash probes falls short, safety advocates say

National agencies around the world have not published enough air accident reports to generate recommendations that could improve safety for the flying public, advocates said on the sidelines of an industry conference on Thursday. Final reports are published for only about half of all aviation accidents that are investigated under international rules, despite calls by airline trade groups to improve those results, said an executive with one such group, IATA.

A Ukrainian army unit ⁠pioneered drone ​evacuations. Now it's scaling up

The first time Ukrainian drone pilot "KVN" guided a giant unmanned hexacopter to rescue a wounded comrade, preparations for the operation took seven days. Just two weeks later, a similar mission came together in only 12 hours, highlighting how quickly a potentially transformative new tactic is taking hold on a rapidly evolving battlefield.

Gunman kills one, wounds four in busy Washington, DC, neighborhood

A gunman killed one person and wounded four others in a busy Washington, DC, neighborhood on Thursday before barricading himself in his apartment and eventually taking his own life following a standoff, officials said. The suspect, whom police identified as Matt Lambert, 55, had been embroiled in a longstanding dispute with his condominium association over mold and moisture in his apartment.

Italian schools defy new wave of bomb threats to remain open

More than 3,700 Italian schools received hoax bomb warnings on Thursday but the vast majority of them opted to remain open, following new ⁠advice from the government for handling such security threats. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government said public buildings should be cleared only if there is concrete evidence of danger after a wave of fake bomb alerts on Wednesday triggered school closures across Italy.

Crowds fill Lima streets for Pope Leo's emotional return to Peru

Crowds flooded Lima's streets on Thursday, the second day of Pope Leo's emotional return to Peru, which has already broken crowd records in ⁠the country where he lived for about 20 years. Pilgrims, families and church groups packed much of Lima's historic center, which effectively ⁠shut down as people lined streets for miles, pressing against police and security barriers as Leo toured in an open-air popemobile.

Saudi Arabia puts pressure on EU to label Yemen's Houthis a terrorist group

Saudi Arabia is pressing the EU to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation, but has yet to overcome European concerns that this could undermine a future peace process, according to six European officials. The campaign reflects a broader effort by Riyadh to increase international pressure on the group, which has been carrying out near-daily attacks on the kingdom in recent weeks after the resumption of war that began more than a decade ago.

Four tankers struck by explosions in ‌Strait of Hormuz, Iran says

Four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait ‌of Hormuz, Iran's military said on Thursday, adding that the vessels had ignored warnings and entered what it considers restricted areas of the strategic waterway. Tankers are still facing attacks across the strait, despite a rebound in traffic and expectations of ​a de-escalation in the war between the United States and Iran that have been reflected in falling oil prices.