Reuters World News Summary

Putin spoke in comments to Indian broadcaster India Today, aired hours after landing in New Delhi for a visit during which both countries are seeking to boost mutual trade and expand the variety of items in transactions. Congo, Rwanda leaders affirm commitment to Trump-backed peace deal U.S. President Donald Trump gathered the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace deal in Washington on Thursday even as fighting continued in their war-scarred region.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Putin questions US punishing India for buying Russian oil

Russian President Vladimir Putin challenged heavy U.S. pressure on India not to buy Russian fuel if the U.S. could do so as he began a two-day state visit, where he was embraced on arrival by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Putin spoke in comments to Indian broadcaster India Today, aired hours after landing in New Delhi for a visit during which both countries are seeking to boost mutual trade and expand the variety of items in transactions.

Congo, Rwanda leaders affirm commitment to Trump-backed peace deal

U.S. President Donald Trump gathered the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to sign a peace deal in Washington on Thursday even as fighting continued in their war-scarred region. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi affirmed commitments to an economic integration compact agreed last month, and to a U.S.-brokered peace deal reached in June. They were also due to sign an agreement on critical minerals.

Czech populist Babis to become prime minister next week

Czech election winner and populist ANO party chief Andrej Babis will be appointed prime minister on December 9, the country's president said on Thursday, after Babis said he would shift his Agrofert business group to an independently governed trust structure. President Petr Pavel had said he would be prepared to appoint Babis, 71, once Babis declared how he would resolve the conflict of interest he would face as both the head of government and owner of a business empire.

Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, with an internal State Department memo saying that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech be considered for rejection. H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields, are crucial for U.S. tech companies which recruit heavily from countries including India and China. Many of those companies' leaders threw their support behind Trump in the last presidential election.

Australia says the world will follow social media ban as Meta starts blocking teens

Australia's internet regulator said a teen social media ban would be the first domino to fall in a global push to rein in Big Tech, as Meta's Instagram, Facebook and Threads began locking out hundreds of thousands of accounts ahead of a deadline next week. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she had initially expressed concern about the "blunt-force" approach of blocking under-16s from social media but she had come to embrace it after incremental regulatory changes were not effective enough.

Venezuela asks lawmakers to approve 2026 budget of $19.9 billion

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday presented the government's 2026 budget proposal to the National Assembly, urging lawmakers to approve spending of some $19.9 billion. Nearly 78% of the funding would be spent on social programs, Rodriguez said.

Israel says it strikes two south Lebanon towns

Israel's military said it struck targets in two southern Lebanese towns on Thursday after ordering the evacuation of two buildings it alleged were being used by Hezbollah militants. About an hour after the initial warning, the army's Arabic spokesperson issued another notice instructing residents of buildings in two other towns to leave.

Democrats troubled by video of US strike on Caribbean drug boat, Republicans defend attack

Senior Democratic lawmakers briefed on a U.S. strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean said on Thursday they were troubled by a video showing survivors in distress being killed, though Republican lawmakers there defended the strike as legal. The incident under scrutiny is a September 2 attack by the U.S. military that struck a vessel in the Caribbean, killing 11 suspected drug traffickers. The initial strike left survivors, who were killed in a subsequent strike, prompting critics to ask whether the operation violated laws and whether U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was responsible for it.

Vatican commission says 'no' to women as Catholic deacons

A high-level Vatican commission voted against allowing Catholic women to serve as deacons, maintaining the global Church's practice of all-male clergy, according to a report given to Pope Leo and released on Thursday. The commission, in a 7-1 vote, said historical research and theological investigation "excludes the possibility" of allowing women to serve as deacons at this time but recommended further study of the issue.

Belgian PM hopes to have 'fruitful discussion' on Russian frozen assets with Germany's Merz

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday he hopes to have a "fruitful discussion" with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday about an EU plan to use Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine against Russia's invasion. The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, has proposed a "reparations loan" using Russian state assets frozen in the EU following Russia's invasion. However, Belgium, which holds the majority of the assets, has raised various legal concerns and remains unconvinced by the plan.

NATO must be ready to respond to hybrid threats, top commander says

NATO must be ready to respond to increasing hybrid threats in order to defend its member states' territory, the alliance's top military commander said on Thursday. Hybrid threats refer to both military and non-military tactics designed to undermine an adversary's security and typically include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, sabotage of key infrastructure and use of drones or irregular armed groups.

US approves potential $2.68 billion sale of air strike weapons to Canada

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of air strike weapons and related equipment to Canada for an estimated cost of $2.68 billion, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The principal contractors for the sale will be Boeing Co and RTX Corp, the Pentagon said in a statement.

British police to ramp up facial recognition to catch criminals

Use of facial recognition technology will be expanded across Britain's police forces to help track down criminals, the government said on Thursday, as it proposed a new body to oversee its use. The technology is already used by London's Metropolitan Police, which has made 1,300 arrests using facial recognition in the last two years, including rapists, domestic abusers and violent criminals, and found more than 100 sex offenders who had breached their licence conditions.

USGS says Nevada quake report was false, blaming automatic system's error

The United States Geological Survey said on Thursday its automatic earthquake detection system had erroneously sent out a report earlier in the day that a 5.9 magnitude temblor had struck in Nevada, saying it was likely the first time the USGS had issued a quake report that was completely bogus. Yaareb Altaweel, a geophysicist with the survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, said the USGS was still trying to understand why its automatic ShakeAlert early warning system sent out the erroneous alert of a quake centered near Dayton, Nevada.

Israel cleared to stay in Eurovision; Spain, Ireland and others quit in protest

Israel was cleared on Thursday to enter the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest by the organiser, prompting Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia to withdraw over the Gaza war and plunging the competition into one of the biggest rows in its history. The broadcasters who had threatened to boycott the event cited the death count in Gaza and accused Israel of flouting rules meant to guard the contest's neutrality. Israel accuses its critics of mounting a global smear campaign against it.

Trump 'garbage' rhetoric about Somalis draws cheers from administration, silence from Republicans and alarm from critics

During a closed-door White House meeting in his first term, President Donald Trump demanded to know why the U.S. was accepting immigrants from "shithole countries" like Haiti and some African nations, remarks widely reported at the time by Reuters and other media outlets. Outrage followed. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, condemned the language as offensive. Even Trump sought to do damage control, denying in a social media post that he had used those words.

US says Pentagon review sees opportunities to strengthen AUKUS submarine deal

The Pentagon has completed its review of the AUKUS project to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines and has found areas to put the deal on the "strongest possible footing," a U.S. official said on Thursday. President Donald Trump's administration said in June it had launched a formal review into the AUKUS defense deal, worth hundreds of billions of dollars and also involving Britain - and a U.S. official said the outcome is expected to be discussed next week at a meeting in Washington of the U.S. and Australian defense and foreign ministers.

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