Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Toronto police say hate crimes spiked since start of Gaza conflict The number of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes in Toronto, Canada's largest city, has spiked significantly since the start of the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, authorities said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Toronto police say hate crimes spiked since start of Gaza conflict

The number of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes in Toronto, Canada's largest city, has spiked significantly since the start of the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, authorities said on Friday. Police chief Myron Demkiw said 78 hate crimes had been reported between Oct. 7 and Nov. 20, compared to 37 in the same time frame in 2022. The real number was undoubtedly higher since some people were hesitant to come forward, he added.

Ukraine's farmers pin hopes on export corridor as war cost mounts

Ukraine's efforts to revive sea exports in defiance of Russia's military blockade have given a glimmer of hope to a teetering farm sector in which loss-making producers are abandoning some land in one of the world's biggest grain belts. With no end in sight to the war with Russia, access to the Black Sea is critical if Ukraine is to preserve an agricultural industry that was the fourth-largest grain supplier globally before the conflict and in value terms accounted for half of Ukraine's total exports last year.

Riots erupt in Dublin after children stabbed

Three young children were among five people injured in a knife attack in Dublin on Thursday that sparked riots in the city centre and which police have not yet ruled out any motive over, including whether it could be terror-related. Public transport was suspended and patients advised not to travel to a nearby maternity hospital unless absolutely necessary after clashes between riot police and anti-immigrant protesters, who arrived at the scene of the attack beside the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street.

Haiti human rights group suspends operations after threats

Haiti's Center for Human Rights Analysis and Research (CARDH) is provisionally suspending its work due to imminent danger to its staff, its executive director said on Thursday, as gang wars escalate in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince. Gedeon Jean, who heads the 16-person operation, said a co-worker who had been kidnapped on Oct. 29 and freed on Nov. 17 had warned that the group that kidnapped him was targeting the organization, whose work was "disturbing" certain sectors.

Romania is not ready to uphold same-sex couples' rights - PM

Romanian society is not ready to uphold the rights of same-sex couples in line with a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling, leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said late on Thursday. The ECHR ruled in May Romania had failed to enforce the rights of same-sex couples by refusing to recognise their relationships, in a ruling which could eventually force policymakers to expand protections for the LGBT community.

Investigators still probing cause of fiery car crash at US-Canada border

U.S. police said on Thursday they were still investigating a fiery crash on the bridge linking New York state and Ontario on Wednesday, which sparked a security scare that closed four U.S.-Canadian border crossings. The Niagara Falls Police Department's Crash Management Unit has taken over the investigation of the incident, which was determined by U.S. federal agencies, including the FBI, not to have been a terrorist event.

Far-right's Wilders aims to be Dutch PM after shock election win

Far-right populist Geert Wilders wants to be the Netherlands' next prime minister and would focus his efforts on curbing immigration, he said following a landmark election win that will have repercussions in the Netherlands and beyond. Wilders' win sent a warning shot to mainstream parties across Europe ahead of European Parliament elections next June, which will likely be fought on the same issues as the Dutch election: immigration, cost of living and climate change.

Muslims in shock over anti-Islam party's Dutch poll win

Dutch Muslims expressed shock on Thursday at the election win of far-right populist Geert Wilders, who has previously called for mosques and the Koran to be banned in the Netherlands. Wilders and his Freedom Party (PVV) beat all predictions on Wednesday night by winning 37 seats out of 150 in the Dutch parliament, well ahead of a Labour/Green combination and the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservatives.

Israel and Hamas to start four-day truce on Friday -Qatar mediators

Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas will start a four-day truce on Friday morning with a first group of 13 Israeli women and child hostages released later that day, mediators in Qatar said. World powers gave the news a cautious welcome. But fighting raged on, with local officials saying a hospital in Gaza City was among the targets bombed as the hours counted down to the start of the first break in a brutal, near seven-week-old war. Both sides also signalled the pause would be temporary before fighting resumes.

Mediator Qatar says truce in Gaza to start on Friday

A truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will start on Friday at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), with a the first batch of hostages to be released at 4 p.m., a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry said on Thursday. The truce would include a comprehensive ceasefire in both the north and south of the Gaza Strip, Majed Al-Ansari told reporters in Doha, adding that Palestinians would also be released from Israeli jails as part of the deal.

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