Reuters World News Summary

The Muslim-majority nation of about 175 million people is due to elect a new parliament in less than two months' time -- a transition many hope will help the country ​recover from nearly two years of instability and reclaim its position as a South Asian development success story. US Epstein files release highlights Clinton, makes scant reference to Trump The U.S. Justice Department released hundreds of thousands of pages of documents related to the late financier and convicted sex ⁠offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday that made scant reference to President Donald Trump but extensively featured Democratic former President Bill Clinton.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine starts new round of talks with US, Kyiv negotiator says

Ukrainian negotiators held a new round of talks on a settlement to the war with Russia with U.S. and European teams on Friday and agreed to pursue their joint efforts, top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said. "We agreed with our American partners on further steps and on continuing our joint work in the near future," Umerov wrote ‌on Telegram of the discussions in the United States.

Takeaways from release of Epstein files

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday released a new cache of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein files have been a significant political problem for President Donald Trump, with many of his supporters and Republicans in Congress demanding their release. It remains to be seen if this partial release will satisfy Trump's critics ⁠on the issue.

Gaza no longer in famine after aid access improves, hunger monitor says

There is no longer famine in Gaza, a global hunger monitor said on Friday, after access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries improved following a fragile October 10 ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants. The latest assessment by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification comes four months after it reported that 514,000 people - nearly a quarter of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip - were experiencing famine, a finding rejected by Israel. The IPC warned on Friday that the situation in the enclave remained critical.

US investigators study Brown University shooter's failed past in academia

A quarter ​of a century ago, Claudio Neves Valente was briefly enrolled as a young, promising doctoral student in the physics department at Brown University before dropping out of the school in Rhode Island. On Friday, police were still trying to figure out why Valente returned to the Ivy League school nearly ‍a week ago, armed with at least one handgun. He killed two students and injured several others before fleeing from the building where he once studied.

Trump administration imposes restrictions on Mexican train crews operating inside US

The U.S. Transportation Department said Friday that it would impose restrictions on Mexican train crews operating in the United States after inspections raised safety concerns about the English proficiency of some personnel. The department's Federal Railroad Administration issued letters Friday to Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited after inspectors discovered inbound crew members appeared to have had difficulty interpreting bulletins and communicating safety requirements in English with inspectors.

Knife-wielding attacker kills three in Taipei, dies during police chase

Three people were killed and five injured when a knife-wielding attacker went on a rampage in central ⁠Taipei on Friday, before ‌then dying during a police chase after falling from a building, the premier said. The ⁠man had let off smoke bombs at Taipei's main train station, and then ran to a nearby subway station in a busy shopping district, attacking people on the way, Premier Cho Jung-tai said.

Bangladesh government urges calm in wake of youth leader's killing, as election looms

Bangladesh's interim government urged people on Friday to resist violence as soldiers and police fanned out across Dhaka and ‍other cities following protests over the killing of a popular youth leader, sparking fears of more unrest ahead of national elections in which he had been due to run. The Muslim-majority nation of about 175 million people is due to elect a new parliament in less than two months' time -- a transition many hope will help the country ​recover from nearly two years of instability and reclaim its position as a South Asian development success story.

US Epstein files release highlights Clinton, makes scant reference to Trump

The U.S. Justice Department released hundreds of thousands of pages of documents related to the late financier and convicted sex ⁠offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday that made scant reference to President Donald Trump but extensively featured Democratic former President Bill Clinton. The release was intended to comply with a law overwhelmingly passed by Congress in November that mandated the disclosure of all Epstein files, despite the Republican president's months-long effort to keep them sealed. Trump for years had promoted conspiracy theories about Epstein, but the case has turned into a ⁠political liability for him since his return to the White House in January.

From Alsatians to autonomy: China seeks home-grown edge in police dogs

China's national security authorities are urging police across the country to favour the use of a home-grown dog breed over German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Malinois and Springer Spaniels, as Beijing relentlessly pursues self-reliance. The Ministry of Public Security on Thursday urged police to help "promote the development goal of 'international first-class' police dog technology," in a statement touting the Kunming dog, a wolf-dog hybrid bred in southern China for decades from Alsatians and local dogs.

Putin sticks to Russian demands on Ukraine, says EU 'robbery' failed

President ⁠Vladimir Putin offered no compromise on Friday on his terms for ending the war in Ukraine and accused the European Union of attempting "daylight robbery" of Russian assets. As U.S. President Donald Trump seeks an end to Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two, Putin said the onus was on Ukraine ⁠and Europe to make the next move towards peace.

Rubio says not concerned about escalation ‌with Russia over Venezuela

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday told reporters that the United States is not concerned about an escalation with Russia when it comes to Venezuela, as President Donald Trump builds up military forces in the Caribbean. The Trump administration has sent thousands of troops to the region, along with an aircraft carrier, warships and fighter jets.

UK author David Walliams dropped by publisher after harassment allegations

David Walliams, a bestselling British children's author, was dropped by ⁠HarperCollins UK on Friday after the Daily Telegraph reported the publisher had investigated claims that he had harassed some of its junior female employees. The newspaper said one of the women who had raised concerns about the ‍54-year-old had been given a five-figure payoff by the publisher and left.

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