World News Roundup: Swastika-wearing gunman kills 13 at Russian school; Power outages cripple eastern Canada two days after storm Fiona and more

Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy's first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading the conservative alliance to triumph at Sunday's election. Iran accuses U.S. of trying to use unrest to undermine country Iran accused the United States on Monday of using unrest triggered by the death of a woman in police custody to try to destabilise the country, and warned it would not go unanswered, as the biggest protests since 2019 showed no signs of abating.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Swastika-wearing gunman kills 13 at Russian school

A gunman with a swastika on his teeshirt killed 13 people, including seven children, and wounded more than 20 at a school in Russia on Monday before committing suicide, investigators said. Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, said it was looking into the attacker's suspected neo-Nazi links. It named him as Artem Kazantsev, a man in his early thirties, and said he was a graduate of the school.

Power outages cripple eastern Canada two days after storm Fiona

More than a third of customers the in Canadian province of Nova Scotia were without power on Monday, two days after powerful storm Fiona battered the east coast of the country, sweeping homes into the sea and leaving one person dead. Fiona was one of the worst storms to hit Canada, and government officials have said it could take months before infrastructure could be fully restored. The army has been sent to Nova Scotia to help with rescue and clean-up efforts, with other impacted provinces including Newfoundland & Labrador and Prince Edward Island being offered federal assistance.

Sheikh Qaradawi, Islamist champion of Arab revolts, dies at 96

Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, a spiritual guide to the Muslim Brotherhood who championed the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and unsettled rulers in Egypt and the Gulf with his Islamist preaching, died on Monday. He was 96. Born in Egypt, Qaradawi spent much of his life in Qatar, where he became one of the most recognizable and influential Sunni Muslim clerics in the Arab world thanks to regular appearances on Qatar's Al Jazeera network.

Russians flee to Georgia after Putin's mobilization order

Russian men are fleeing into neighboring Georgia to avoid being called up to fight in a war they do not agree with following Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to mobilize hundreds of thousands of reservists for the conflict in Ukraine.

At one point on Sunday, the estimated wait to enter Georgia hit 48 hours, with more than 3,000 vehicles queuing to cross the frontier, Russian state media reported, citing local officials.

EU has "serious questions" as Serbia enters regular consultations with Russia

The EU on Monday denounced a decision by Serbia to hold regular foreign policy consultations with Russia, saying the move raised "serious questions" at a time when Brussels has told membership candidates not to continue business as usual with Moscow. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selakovic signed a document on Friday dubbed a "plan on consultations".

Kremlin in 'sporadic' contact with US over nuclear weapons issue after Washington warning

The Kremlin said on Monday it was in "sporadic" contact with the United States on nuclear issues, a day after Washington warned of "catastrophic consequences" if Moscow used nuclear weapons to protect Ukrainian regions it looks set to annex. Citizens in four regions of Ukraine were voting for a fourth day on Monday in Moscow-organised referendums on joining Russia, a plan Kyiv and the West have branded a sham. They say the outcomes are pre-determined and they will not recognize the results.

Italy election victors aim for rare political stability

The right-wing alliance that won Italy's national election will usher in a rare era of political stability to tackle an array of problems besieging the euro zone's third-largest economy, one of its senior figures said on Monday. Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy's first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading the conservative alliance to triumph at Sunday's election.

Iran accuses U.S. of trying to use unrest to undermine country

Iran accused the United States on Monday of using unrest triggered by the death of a woman in police custody to try to destabilize the country, and warned it would not go unanswered, as the biggest protests since 2019 showed no signs of abating. Iran has cracked down on nationwide demonstrations sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini after she was detained by morality police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict restrictions on women's dress.

US's Harris, and Japan's Kishida condemn China's actions in Taiwan Strait

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Japan's defense during a meeting on Monday with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in which they condemned China's actions in the Taiwan Strait. "They discussed the People's Republic of China's recent aggressive and irresponsible provocations in the Taiwan Strait, and reaffirmed the importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the White House said in a statement.

U.S., Britain seek U.N. human rights debate on China's Xinjiang

The United States, Britain and other countries are calling for a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council to discuss China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims in the far western region of Xinjiang, a document showed and diplomats said on Monday. The move, which needs a majority vote to pass in the deeply divided Geneva council, would be the first time that alleged abuses by powerful permanent Security Council member China featured on the U.N. rights body's agenda in its 16-year history.

(With inputs from agencies.)