Reuters World News Summary

The official newspaper of the governing Communist Party also issued a seven-point rebuttal after top U.S. negotiators suggested Beijing could avert President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods by scrapping the measures set to take effect on November 8. Trump says he will meet Putin in Budapest, touting progress in Ukraine talks U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to another summit on the war in Ukraine, a surprise move that came as Moscow feared fresh U.S. military support for Kyiv.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russian air attacks hit Ukraine's gas sector, force Kyiv to import more gas

Russian attacks have forced Ukraine to suspend activities at several major gas facilities this month, the state energy company said on Thursday, leaving Kyiv in need of more imports. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to meet U.S. Donald Trump on Friday, with potential U.S. energy procurement for Kyiv as well as weapon sales believed to be on the table.

Chinese sanctions on Hanwha's US shipbuilding units aim to 'coerce' South Korea, State Dept says

Chinese sanctions imposed this week on U.S. affiliates of shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean aim to undermine South Korea-U.S. cooperation and "to coerce" Washington's Asian ally, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Friday. China announced the sanctions on Tuesday as the U.S. and China began charging additional port fees on each other's vessels in the latest exchange in a protracted trade war ahead of a planned meeting of the two countries' leaders.

Zelenskiy hopes Middle East agreement can lead to peace with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, on the eve of talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, that momentum in the Middle East peace process would help end his country's more than 3-1/2-year-old war with Russia. "We have a meeting planned with President Trump tomorrow and we are counting on the impulse to curb terror and war which worked in the Middle East to help end Russia's war against Ukraine," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Turkey puts ex-disaster chief in charge of Gaza aid, in sign of big new role

Turkey has put a former head of its disaster management agency in charge of its aid to Gaza, a Foreign Ministry source said, a sign it intends to ramp up its role as a guarantor of the new ceasefire after sitting out earlier rounds of diplomacy.

President Tayyip Erdogan, a critic of Israel's assault on Gaza, joined long-term mediators Qatar and Egypt this week in signing off on U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the war, after largely steering clear of negotiations for two years.

One dead, dozens injured as Peru's new president faces widespread protests

At least one person was killed and dozens of police officers injured in widespread protests overnight in Peru against President Jose Jeri, who assumed power just days ago, the state ombudsman's office said on Thursday. The protest on Wednesday night, called by young Gen Z protesters, transport workers and civil groups, was the latest in a series of demonstrations against corruption and rising crime, which led to the dramatic midnight ouster of former President Dina Boluarte last Thursday.

EU proposes 'flagship' defence projects to counter drones, protect eastern border

The European Commission on Thursday proposed four flagship European defence projects, including a counter-drone system and a plan to fortify the eastern border, as part of a drive to get the continent ready to defend itself by 2030. The proposals, in a defence policy "roadmap", reflect fears fuelled by the war in Ukraine that Russia may attack an EU member in the coming years, and calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for Europe to do more for its own security.

US, UK ramp up pressure on India, China to cut Russian oil imports

Western powers have ramped up pressure on Russia's oil sales amid its war with Ukraine as U.S. President Donald Trump said India would stop buying and Britain imposed sanctions on top Russian oil firms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is schedule to meet Trump in Washington on Friday to push for military and energy support at a time when Kyiv and Moscow are escalating the war with attacks on energy infrastructure.

French PM faces fraught budget talks after surviving no-confidence votes

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament on Thursday, winning a temporary reprieve for his days-old government and the chance to deliver a budget for 2026. Lecornu's survival came at a hefty price. Earlier this week he pledged to suspend President Emmanuel Macron's contested pension reform to secure crucial support from the Socialist Party in France's deeply fragmented National Assembly.

John Bolton, former Trump adviser, charged with sharing classified information

John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, was charged on Thursday in a sweeping indictment that accuses him of sharing sensitive government information with two of his relatives for possible use in a book he was writing. The indictment marked the third time in recent weeks the Justice Department has secured criminal charges against one of Trump's critics.

Kremlin says Rubio and Lavrov to speak in coming days to prepare Putin-Trump summit

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will speak in the coming days to prepare a new summit between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday. The official, Yuri Ushakov, said the timing of the summit would depend on how the preparatory work progressed.

China blames US for global panic over rare earths controls

China on Thursday accused the U.S. of stoking panic over its rare earth controls and said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had made "grossly distorted" remarks about a top Chinese trade negotiator, rejecting a White House call to roll back the curbs. The official newspaper of the governing Communist Party also issued a seven-point rebuttal after top U.S. negotiators suggested Beijing could avert President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods by scrapping the measures set to take effect on November 8.

Trump says he will meet Putin in Budapest, touting progress in Ukraine talks

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to another summit on the war in Ukraine, a surprise move that came as Moscow feared fresh U.S. military support for Kyiv. Trump and Putin may meet within the next two weeks in Budapest, the U.S. president said, after a more than two-hour phone conversation he called productive. The Kremlin confirmed plans for the meeting, though neither side provided a date for when it would occur.

G20 vows to keep focus on developing countries' debt issues

The Group of 20 major economies, led this year by South Africa, said on Thursday the risk of a systemic debt crisis appears to be broadly contained, but many vulnerable low- and middle-income countries still faced high financing costs and other challenges limiting their ability to boost growth. G20 finance officials issued a declaration on debt during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, calling for further work to boost debt sustainability, increase transparency and give borrowing countries more of a voice in the process.

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton indicted, CNN reports

John Bolton, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser who later became a critic, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland, CNN reported on Thursday, citing two sources.

Pakistan says it's ready for talks with Afghanistan, Kabul residents recall airstrike shock

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Islamabad was ready to hold talks with Afghanistan to resolve their conflict, as a temporary ceasefire that halted days of fierce fighting between the former allies largely held. The South Asian neighbours engaged in ground fighting and Pakistan launched airstrikes across their contested frontier, killing dozens and wounding hundreds before agreeing to a 48-hour truce from 1300 GMT on Wednesday.

Four dead after Kenyan forces fire shots, teargas to disperse crowds at Odinga viewing

Four people were killed in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Thursday after security forces fired shots and teargas to disperse huge crowds at a stadium where the body of deceased opposition leader Raila Odinga was lying in state, local media reported. Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)