Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-Trump officials tried to ban half of U.S. voting machines, citing conspiracy theories

U.S. President Donald Trump’s election-security czar last year sought to ban voting machines used in more than half of U.S. states by asking whether the Commerce Department could declare their components national-security risks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. White House adviser Kurt Olsen, a lawyer Trump has tasked with proving widely debunked ​election-rigging conspiracy theories, pushed the plan to target Dominion Voting Systems machines. The idea emerged, the sources said, as Olsen and other officials brainstormed about how the federal government could take control over elections from U.S. states, an idea publicly aired by Trump.

WHO Africa head warns against underestimating risk ​of Ebola spread

It would be a mistake to underestimate the risk posed by the Ebola outbreak, the WHO regional director for Africa said on Friday, warning that just one case could spread the ‌virus beyond the Democratic Republic of ​Congo and Uganda. The outbreak has resulted in 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases, and 61 of the cases have been confirmed, according to DRC health ministry data published on Thursday. Two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.

Cubans gather before US embassy in Havana to protest Raul Castro indictment

Thousands of Cubans gathered on Friday morning before the U.S. embassy in Havana to protest a U.S. decision to indict former president Raul Castro in the downing of two civilian airplanes 30 years ago. The pro-government demonstration, which began shortly after sunrise on Havana's waterfront, comes as Cuban officials rallied this week around the island's revolutionary hero amid spiraling tensions with the United States.

UN refugee agency says $1 million worth of aid lost in Russian strike in Ukraine

The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it had lost $1 million worth of aid when a Russian missile struck one of its warehouses in Dnipro in eastern Ukraine earlier this week. The warehouse, which contained emergency shelter ‌materials, including sleeping mats, and hygiene kits was destroyed on Wednesday, and two people were killed, Bernadette Castel-Hollingworth, the UNCHR Representative in Kyiv, said via video link from Poland.

On London's streets, facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty

Tourists, shoppers and office workers in a busy London street on an ordinary weekday found themselves part of a digital identity check as live facial recognition cameras scanned faces against a police watchlist. The operation was an example of a technology the Metropolitan Police say is transforming policing, helping officers arrest around 2,500 wanted people since the start of 2024, including suspects accused of violent and sexual offences.

Housing squeeze in Swiss boom region fuels support for population cap

Since 1990, the population in the Swiss village of Knonau has more than doubled, driven by an economic boom in one of the country's most business-friendly and prosperous cantons, Zug. The concerns voiced by some residents there that housing and public infrastructure are being overwhelmed are central to the wider arguments behind a referendum next month on whether Switzerland should approve a population cap.

Mother of Greek train crash victim launches political party

Maria Karystianou, a doctor whose daughter died in Greece's worst train crash in 2023, launched a political party on Thursday as she seeks to harness widespread frustration against Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government. Karystianou emerged as a leading justice campaigner for victims of the Tempi train crash that killed 57 ‌people, including her 20-year-old daughter Marthi, and stoked deep mistrust of Greece's political class.

Volunteers go door-to-door in Congo to tackle Ebola rumors, aid network says

Volunteers are going door-to-door to combat misinformation about Ebola in the area at the centre of the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on Friday. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization on Sunday.

NATO alliance has to be good for all involved, Rubio says

NATO has to be good for all ‌those involved, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday ahead of a NATO meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, adding that he expects the meeting will set the groundwork for the NATO leaders summit in Ankara, Turkey later this year. "Like any alliance, it has to be good for everyone who's involved. There has to be a clear understanding of what the expectations are," Rubio said.

Man jailed for shouting death threats at Jews in London

A man, arrested for shouting "I will kill you Jews," who then threatened to blow up Jewish schools an hour after being released from custody, was jailed in a London court on Friday after admitting antisemitic hate crimes. Tavius Jean-Charles, 36, made repeated threats to six victims between October 2025 and March 2026, with the incidents occurring near synagogues in an area of north London with a large Jewish community, police said.

Investigation into King Charles' brother Andrew will be lengthy, UK police say

The British police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be long and complex, senior officers said on Friday, after his arrest earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an offence that can include sexual impropriety. King Charles' younger brother was interviewed under caution for hours by detectives after he was arrested at his home in Norfolk in February following the release of millions of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice relating to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump pledges extra troops for Poland as Rubio cautions allies

U.S. President Donald Trump surprised NATO allies by pledging to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned alliance ministers that Washington's frustration with some of them would still need to be ⁠discussed. "The President's views of, frankly, disappointment at ​some of our NATO allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East are well documented," Rubio said on Friday at a gathering of NATO foreign ministers ⁠in the Swedish town of Helsingborg.

Ankara court rejects Turkish main opposition's appeal against ruling to oust leader, media says

An Ankara court on Friday rejected an appeal by Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) against a ruling to oust its leader, the Cumhuriyet daily and other Turkish media said. The CHP has appealed also to a higher court, as well as the Supreme Election Board (YSK), but no rulings have yet been made on those. The ousting of CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel has inflamed a political crisis and rattled markets.

Mexico, EU to sign stalled trade deal as they aim to diversify from US

Mexico and the European Union are set to sign a long-stalled free trade agreement on Friday as they seek to decrease dependence on the U.S. and partially insulate themselves from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The accord, ⁠which they reached broad agreement on in 2025 but have delayed signing, expands a Mexico-EU trade accord from 2000, which covered only industrial goods. The new pact adds services, government procurement, digital trade, investment and farm produce.

In Spain's greenhouses, migrant amnesty brings hope of better conditions

After seven years living as an undocumented migrant in Spain, doing day jobs and staying in shanty towns, Moroccan Abdelmoujoud Erra hopes a mass amnesty launched by the leftist government may finally turn his fortunes around. "Without documents you work for five euros ($5.80) an hour. With documents, you work legally, with more money - maybe seven or eight euros an hour," said Erra, 27, in the southern Spanish province of Almería. Undocumented migrants there gather at roundabouts hoping to be hired to pick fruit and vegetables ​in Europe's largest concentration of greenhouses.

Spain to introduce job-matching plan for migrants granted legal status

Spain will introduce a plan to match migrants to jobs under a programme to grant legal status to about 500,000 undocumented workers to help drive economic growth, the country's top immigration official told Reuters. The programme, announced in January, has been criticised by far-right leaders in Spain and across Europe, but the Socialist-led coalition government argues migration will help the Spanish economy continue to outpace its European peers by creating a younger workforce as the general population ages.

Four killed, 35 children injured in Ukrainian drone attack on Luhansk, ⁠Russian officials say

At least four people were killed and 35 children were wounded in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on a student dormitory in Russian-controlled Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, Russian officials said on Friday. Reuters was not able to immediately verify what happened independently and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which is fighting to try to return Luhansk, one of four regions Russia unilaterally claimed as its own in 2022 in what Kyiv said was an illegal land grab.

Pakistan seeks breakthrough in US-Iran peace talks

Iran's foreign minister met Pakistan's interior minister on Friday to discuss proposals to end the U.S.-Israeli war, Iranian media reported, with Tehran and Washington still at odds over Tehran's uranium stockpile and controls on the Strait of Hormuz.

Two days after presenting the Iranians with the latest U.S. message in the negotiations, Syed Mohsin Naqvi held another round ⁠of talks ​with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim and ISNA news agencies reported.

Former premier Attal enters race for French president, sparking battle for centrist vote

Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Friday formally launched his bid for the presidency, joining a crowded cast of centrist candidates who risk being overtaken by far-right and far-left rivals in next year's election. The race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron — who cannot run again — is shaping up as a fragmented contest, with polls placing the far-right National Rally (RN) in a leading position, and a crowded field raising the risk of a run-off dominated by political extremes.

US Ebola patient in Berlin hospital not critically ill, family tests negative

A U.S. citizen who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak of a rare strain has killed over 130 people, is not critically ill and his wife and four children have tested negative, the Berlin hospital where the family is being treated said on Friday. "Because the course of the illness can change, he remains under close observation and is receiving treatment," Charite university hospital said in a statement. "He is being cared for in the high-security area of the specialized isolation unit."

Freed Gaza flotilla activists allege Israeli abuse including rape

Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza were ⁠subjected to abuse, organisers said on Friday, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the allegations.

Russia says four killed, 35 children wounded in Ukrainian attack on Luhansk region

Russian officials said at least four people had been killed and 35 children wounded in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. Reuters was not able to verify what happened independently and there was no immediate comment on Friday from Ukraine, which wants to recapture Luhansk, one of four eastern regions that Moscow unilaterally claimed as ⁠its own in 2022 in what Kyiv denounced as an illegal land grab.

Paul McCartney helps Stephen Colbert say goodbye to 'Late Show'

Comedian Stephen Colbert signed off from his late-night talk show on Thursday ⁠after 11 seasons with a sentimental chat with Beatles musician Paul McCartney and pointed jokes about his forced departure from CBS. The final installment of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" began with the comic thanking the in-person and television audience for watching his nightly take on current events, often punctuated by verbal jabs at Republican President Donald Trump.

UAE's Gargash sees '50-50' odds of US-Iran deal, warns against renewed fighting

There is a "50-50 chance" of a U.S.-Iran peace agreement, the United Arab Emirates' presidential advisor said on Friday, but stressed that any political settlement must address the root causes of instability in the region to avoid future conflict. Pakistan has been mediating a U.S.-Iran ceasefire to end the war that has shaken the global economy and disrupted trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Soccer-Ebola risk minimal for World Cup fans, logistics challenges remain

The risk of Ebola affecting fans at the World Cup is low, according ‌to Dr Oliver Johnson, a global health academic at King's College London, but heightened screening and travel restrictions could complicate ‌logistics. The expanded 48-team tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, runs from June 11 to July 19.

China to expand public service access for migrant workers

China issued guidelines on Friday to expand coverage of basic public services to people who don't have household registration in the cities where they work, a move that could help ​more migrant workers access urban public services. The changes could provide a stronger social safety net for households and potentially bolster consumer demand in the export-reliant Chinese economy.