Reuters World News Summary

Students and teachers abandoned classes from California to New York on a national day of protest, which came amid mixed messages from the Trump administration about whether it would de-escalate Operation Metro Surge. Syria to close camps housing thousands linked to Islamic State Syria plans to permanently close two displacement camps in the northeast that hold civilians, including foreigners, linked to Islamic State militants, a government official said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

We can't ignore China, says UK's Starmer after Trump criticises trade push

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday it would be foolish for Britain not to engage with China, rejecting an assertion from U.S. President Donald Trump that it was dangerous to get into business with Beijing. Starmer is the latest Western leader to visit China seeking an economic and geopolitical hedge against Trump's unpredictability, angering the U.S. leader. Last week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney struck economic deals with Beijing.

Commerce Secretary Lutnick planned lunch on Epstein's island, new release shows

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday published millions of new files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including emails that show Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's commerce secretary, apparently visited Epstein's private island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties. Todd Blanche, the ‌U.S. deputy attorney general, said Friday's massive batch of documents marked the end of the Trump administration's planned releases under a law passed in November that mandated the release of all Epstein investigative documents. The new cache includes more than three million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images, he said at a press conference.

Mexico seeks to avoid US tariffs on states shipping oil to Cuba

Mexico will seek diplomatic solutions and alternatives to help Cuba, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on countries supplying the Caribbean island with oil. The White House executive order on Thursday could prove devastating for Cuba, while also backing Mexico into a tight corner as one of its last remaining oil suppliers.

UN says Houthi seizure of telecom gear threatens Yemen aid

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi paramilitary has removed critical telecommunications equipment belonging to the U.N., the global body said on Friday, ⁠warning that further restrictions on its work would fuel a worsening humanitarian crisis The Houthis, who control areas in north Yemen, entered at least six unstaffed U.N. offices in the capital Sanaa and took telecommunications equipment and several vehicles to an unknown location, the U.N.'s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Julien Harneis said in a statement.

US Justice Dept opens civil rights probe into Alex Pretti shooting, official says

The U.S. Justice Department has started a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, a senior official said on Friday. The department's investigation could potentially lead to criminal charges against the officers involved, though there is a high legal bar to bring such a case.

Luigi Mangione will not face death penalty after US judge dismisses murder charge

Luigi Mangione will not face the death penalty after a U.S. judge on Friday dismissed murder and weapons charges against the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in a major blow to federal prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan said she felt constrained by Supreme Court precedents to dismiss the murder charge, calling it legally incompatible with the two federal stalking charges Mangione still faces.

Exclusive-US slows transfers of Islamic State detainees to Iraq, sources say

Transfers of Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq by the ​U.S. military have slowed this week, seven sources familiar with the matter said, following calls by Baghdad for other countries to repatriate thousands of foreign jihadists. The U.S. military said on January 21 it had started to transfer the detainees. Its announcement followed the rapid collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria, which caused uncertainty about the security of prisons and detention camps they were guarding.

Tunisia extends state of emergency by 11 months until Dec 31

Tunisian President Kais Saied has extended a long-running state of emergency by 11 months until December 31, the official gazette ‍showed on Friday. The North African country has been under a state of emergency since 2015 after an attack in which several presidential guards were killed.

More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in east Congo, official says

More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday. Rubaya produces around 15% of the world's coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. The site, where locals dig manually for a few dollars per day, has been under the control of the AFC/M23 rebel group since 2024.

US energy assistance for Ukraine stalls as winter bites

U.S. and European officials are growing increasingly worried as hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. energy assistance previously pledged for Ukraine remain unreleased, even as a bone-cold winter pushes the nation's war-damaged power grid to the brink, said several sources familiar with the matter. The funds in question were originally slated to be distributed by the U.S. Agency for International Development to help Ukraine import liquefied natural gas and rebuild energy infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes, said the sources, who include a U.S. official and a Ukrainian official.

Argentina in advanced talks to become destination for US deportations, New York Times reports

The United States and Argentina are in advanced talks to sign an agreement that would allow the U.S. ⁠to deport immigrants from other countries to ‌the South American nation, the New York Times reported on Friday. An Argentine government official filed a proposal earlier this month to finalize the third-country deal with the U.S., according ⁠to the report.

Thousands demonstrate in Minnesota and across US to protest ICE

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the United States staged walkouts on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens. Students and teachers abandoned classes from California to New York on a national day of protest, which came amid mixed messages from the Trump administration about whether it would de-escalate Operation Metro Surge.

Syria to close camps housing thousands linked to Islamic State

Syria plans to permanently close two displacement camps in the northeast that hold civilians, including foreigners, linked to Islamic State militants, a government official said on Friday. The al-Hol and Roj camps hold more than 28,000 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, ‍according to the U.N. About 6,000 foreigners are housed in al-Hol and a further 2,000 in Roj.

Russia, Ukraine halt energy strikes, but differences emerge on moratorium

Russia and Ukraine said on Friday they had halted strikes on each other's energy infrastructure but differences emerged over the timeframe for the moratorium and there was uncertainty about the next step in talks to end the nearly four-year-old war. The Kremlin said it had agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's request to halt strikes on energy targets, which have knocked out power and heating to hundreds of Kyiv apartment buildings. But spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the measure would end on Sunday.

US imposes sanctions on Iran's interior minister, businessman

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions ​on Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and a businessman it said helped launder money for Tehran, as President Donald Trump's administration ramps up pressure on the Islamic Republic. The Department of the Treasury, announcing the move, said Momeni was responsible for a brutal security crackdown in Iran this month as he oversees law enforcement forces it said were responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protesters.

Putin envoy Dmitriev to travel to Miami, meet members of Trump administration, sources say

Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, will travel to Miami on ⁠Saturday for meetings with members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, two sources with knowledge of the visit told Reuters.

Venezuela proposes amnesty law for prisoners, interim president says

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced a proposed "amnesty law" for hundreds of prisoners in the country, according to El Pais newspaper. "I am announcing a general amnesty law and I am instructing that this law be brought before the National Assembly to promote peaceful coexistence in Venezuela," she said at an event at Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice.

Polish officials blame Russian domestic spy agency for Dec 29 cyberattacks

Russia's domestic spy agency was likely responsible for cyberattacks late last month on 30 Polish renewable energy facilities, a manufacturing firm and a plant supplying heat for nearly 500,000 customers, Polish officials said on Friday. A report by Poland's Computer Emergency Response Team on the incident - ⁠which a Polish minister said was the worst of its kind in years - pointed to a team of hackers from Russia's Federal Security Service, known by its Russian acronym FSB.

Rohingya survivors expect UN's highest court to find Myanmar committed genocide

Rohingya survivors of the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar expect the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' highest court, to rule the country committed genocide against them, they said on Friday. A judgment is expected in three-to-six months' time following three weeks of hearings at the court in the Hague that is also known as the World Court.

25 killed in Nigeria's deadliest reported Islamist attack since US Christmas strikes

At least 25 people were killed when suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a town in northern Nigeria, relatives of victims said, the deadliest reported Islamist attack since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered air strikes on Christmas Day. The victims were labourers who had travelled to Sabon Gari town in northeastern Nigeria's Borno State to work at a construction site, when gunmen swept in on Thursday and opened fire, relatives Hassan Usman and Auwal Isa told Reuters.

Islamic State claims deadly attack on airport in Niger capital

Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on the airport in Niger's capital Niamey in ⁠a statement on Friday, according to SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity and communications worldwide. The Islamic State affiliate in the region has been linked to high-profile attacks in Niger in recent months, killing over 120 people in the Tillaberi region in September and abducting an American pilot in October.

Putin praises Russian military exports despite Western pressure

President Vladimir Putin praised the export record of Russia's military industries on Friday, saying it had expanded its markets and prospects, particularly in Africa, despite Western pressure. "Russian production of military goods was supplied last year to more than 30 countries and the amount ⁠of foreign exchange earnings exceeded $15 billion," Putin told a meeting on military-technical cooperation in the Kremlin in a pool video.

Exclusive-European crisis fund worth over $500 billion could be used for defence, says ‌ESM chief

A European crisis fund with more than 430 billion euros ($514 billion) of firepower could lend money to countries for defence, the head of the European Stability Mechanism told Reuters, as the bloc scrambles to reinforce its military. Pierre Gramegna, managing director of the European Stability Mechanism, said the ESM could give credit lines for defence and would not demand stringent economic reform in return, in part to dispel any stigma that might arise from asking the emergency euro zone fund for money.

Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt to reopen on Sunday, Israel says

Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing on Sunday for people to travel between Gaza and Egypt, a government agency said, the first opening of effectively the sole route in or out of the Palestinian territory since May 2024. The Israeli government agency that coordinates civilian policy in Gaza, COGAT, did not say how many of Gaza's more than 2 ⁠million people would be allowed to cross the border per day.

US judge temporarily blocks end of Ethiopians' deportation protections

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from ending protections from deportation that had been granted to thousands of Ethiopians living in the United States. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston said he would issue an order delaying the February 13 effective date of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ‍termination of the Temporary Protected Status granted to over 5,000 Ethiopians in order to provide more time for a legal challenge to be heard.

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