Reuters World News Summary

Turkey's ruling alliance has submitted a draft law to parliament to achieve peace with the PKK by protecting former militants from prosecution and suspending prison sentences.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Turkey unveils draft law to re-integrate PKK militants, achieve peace

Turkey's ruling alliance submitted a draft law to parliament on Wednesday meant to achieve peace with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in part by protecting many former militants from prosecution, and suspending prison sentences for many of those convicted of membership. The bill, which is expected to pass the assembly later this week, aims to end a decades-old conflict in part by ​facilitating the return to Turkey of potentially thousands of former PKK militants based in northern Iraq.

EU to use €1.4 billion from interest on frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

The European Union will use €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) taken from interest generated by frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, the European Commission said on ​Wednesday. The money, transferred to the bloc on August 3, came from interest on cash balances, part of Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU in the wake of Moscow's invasion, the Commission ‌added.

Pope Leo to visit Uruguay, ​Argentina and Peru in November, Vatican says

Pope Leo will visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17, the Vatican announced on Wednesday, in a major trip for the Catholic leader who spent decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru before becoming pope last year. The pope will spend November 6-8 in Uruguay, 8-11 in Argentina and 11-17 in Peru, the Vatican said.

Drone debris sparks industrial zone fire in Russia's Ufa, governor says

Falling drone debris sparked a fire in the industrial zone of the Russian city of Ufa, capital of the Bashkortostan region and a major oil-refining hub, local authorities said, without specifying what facilities were in the area. Ukraine has previously struck an oil refinery in Ufa as part of a campaign to target Russian energy infrastructure that has squeezed the domestic fuel market, disrupting daily life in many regions.

Argentina will not act over Brazil diplomatic ties downgrade

Argentina will not take diplomatic action in response to Brazil downgrading diplomatic ties, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on ‌Wednesday during a press conference. Brazil told Argentina its relations will be handled at the charge d'affaires level, the Argentine government announced on Tuesday. The incident occurred after Argentine President Javier Milei again insulted Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Russia steps up disinformation before German elections, security sources say

Russian-backed disinformation campaigns are escalating in Germany ahead of state elections, often targeting local political rivals of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, German security sources said. Opinion polls suggest the AfD, whose leader pledged to restore Germany's ties with Russia, is poised to make substantial gains in next month's ballots in Berlin and the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, including possibly taking power in Saxony-Anhalt.

China complains to Japan over defence white paper, foreign ministry says

China's foreign ministry on Wednesday said it had complained to Japan about Tokyo's newly released defence white paper, accusing it of playing up a Chinese threat and making "unwarranted comments" about Taiwan. The annual Japanese report, released on Tuesday, claims that China has intensified its military activities around Taiwan, the island Beijing claims as its own territory despite Taipei's rejection. The paper states that the "overall military balance between China and Taiwan is rapidly tilting in China's favour."

Exclusive-Under Patel, FBI forges unprecedented law enforcement ties with China, Russia

FBI Director Kash Patel says he has forged new law enforcement partnerships with China and Russia, two longtime U.S. rivals, over the past year in hopes of gaining allies in combating transnational ‌crime including fentanyl, cyber fraud and child sexual exploitation. The partnerships have involved personnel exchanges in which Chinese law enforcement officials have visited the United States and FBI agents have traveled to China to work on cases together and share intelligence. Separately, FBI and Chinese officers have carried out joint raids and arrests under the arrangement.

Exclusive-US has used 'virtually all' of its long-range precision missiles during Iran war, sources say

The U.S. Army has used up much of its global stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, raising concerns about the military's readiness for future conflicts. The missiles are principally ‌the Army's surface-to-surface weapons, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). The U.S. has used "virtually all" of these weapons, according to two of the sources.

Putin names head of new Russian drone forces in military reshuffle

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday named Denis Lyamin to head Russia's Unmanned Systems Forces, a newly established branch of the military that will be responsible for drone warfare. Putin announced the appointment as part of what he called "refinement" of the military structure, mid-way through the fifth year of the war in Ukraine.

Michigan primary cliffhanger tests direction of U.S. Democrats

What had been billed as a defining test of the Democratic Party's direction turned into an election-night cliffhanger, with progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed clinging to a narrowing lead over U.S. Representative Haley Stevens in Michigan's U.S. Senate primary. El-Sayed led throughout the night, but the margin tightened as votes were being counted in Detroit, Flint and other heavily Black communities where Stevens has performed strongly. With nearly eight years in Congress, Stevens had the backing of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus' political action committee.

Mexico's Sheinbaum weighs pilot fracking projects to boost gas production, sources say

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is evaluating potential pilot fracking projects in the northern states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas that could help boost domestic gas production, according to four sources familiar with the discussions. Mexico already produces a small amount of crude oil and gas through fracking, but the government and state company Pemex are evaluating a much broader rollout as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on U.S. gas imports.

China sentences former defence industry regulator to 10 years for graft, influence peddling

A Chinese court on Wednesday sentenced Zhang Jianhua, a former deputy director ⁠of its defence industry regulator, to ​10 years in prison for bribery in part of a wider anti-graft shake-up in China's defence sector and military. From 2008 to 2025, Zhang illegally took in over 55 million yuan ($8.15 million) ⁠during his tenure at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) as well as after retirement, state-run Xinhua news agency cited the court's first-instance verdict as saying.

New UK PM Burnham takes to social media to challenge populist parties' dominance

From discussing the merits of various pub snacks to making fun of his own appearance, Britain's new prime minister is taking on populist parties such as Reform UK on the social media platforms where they have built a huge following. Andy Burnham's natural ease in communicating with voters was one of the main reasons why his Labour Party unceremoniously dumped its previous leader and prime minister, ex-lawyer Keir Starmer, and replaced him with the mayor of Greater Manchester.

Ukraine says missile interceptor deliveries have fallen to third of 2025 level

Allies have supplied just a third of the ⁠air defence missiles to Ukraine in 2026 compared with 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday, as Russia escalates strikes on the capital of Kyiv and its southern port hub. Ukraine has been short on U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles since the start of the war. But in recent weeks, the acute shortage came into focus, with Moscow pummelling Kyiv, on average, every three days in July alone.

German DHL cargo plane hits object as drone found at Leipzig airport

A DHL cargo aircraft hit an unknown object as it was climbing away from Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany overnight, prompting an unscheduled landing in Hanover, a source familiar with the incident told Reuters on Wednesday. Authorities said they were investigating a drone found near a runway at the ​airport during the night, which the Bild newspaper said contained a detonator.

Piece of SpaceX rocket believed to have crashed into the moon

A SpaceX rocket piece floating in space since last year was expected to have smashed into the moon at high speed early Wednesday morning, though the impact was unlikely to be confirmed for at least several hours. The school-bus-size object is the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had launched a lunar lander from Firefly Aerospace toward the moon in January 2025.

Blast destroys car of Russian drone maker, wounding him and killing his driver

The head of a ⁠Russian drone factory was seriously wounded and his driver killed when their car was blown up near the city of Yekaterinburg, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of targeted attacks linked to the war in Ukraine. State news agency TASS cited a source in the emergency services as saying that Vladimir Tkachuk, head of the Uraldronzavod company, was in intensive care and that medics were fighting for his life.

UK Conservatives defend selection of former neo-Nazi as a candidate

The leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi who had been jailed for hate crimes as a local election candidate, saying on Wednesday that he was rehabilitated and could help fight antisemitism. Joshua Bonehill-Paine in 2015 was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of Luciana Berger, then a Labour member of parliament, and had also been imprisoned for stirring up hatred against ⁠a north ​London Jewish community.

Proposed Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic, sources say

A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran. Despite the apparent step towards yielding to Iranian demands, the sources pushed back against assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump that a deal reopening the strait was imminent, saying important details still had to be agreed.

Lula leads Bolsonaro but gap narrows ahead of Brazil election, poll shows

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva continues to lead Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, although the right-wing challenger has narrowed the gap with the leftist incumbent ahead of October's election, a Quaest poll commissioned by brokerage Genial showed on Wednesday. In a simulated second-round runoff, Lula would receive 44%support compared with 39% for Bolsonaro.

Russia kills 17 in missile strikes on Ukraine, destroys warehouses, logistics

Russia fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and destroying warehouses and logistics centres of major retailers, Ukrainian officials said, as a shortage of air defence missiles leaves Ukraine vulnerable. Multiple explosions ripped through the area during the night, and fires lit up the dark skies over the Ukrainian capital, which has come under missile attack every ⁠three to four days in recent weeks as Russia has escalated its air war.

Exclusive-North Korean missile unit deploys in Russia for Ukraine war, Kyiv says

A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers for strikes against Ukraine, an official at Ukraine's military intelligence agency said. Ukraine is very short of high-end air defences and Russia has tried to exploit this by using more ballistic missiles, which are particularly hard to shoot down.

Strong El Niño could push 49 million more people into acute hunger, UN agency says

A powerful El Niño weather event could ⁠push an additional nearly 49 million people into acute food insecurity across some of the world's most vulnerable regions by the end of next year, the World Food Programme said on Wednesday. The U.N. ⁠agency said in a report that there was an 81% chance of a very strong El Niño event, with sea surface temperatures at their warmest levels since at least 1982 and potentially making it the strongest such event since 1950.

Myanmar civil war nears a rare opening for talks as diplomacy gains ground

After more than five years of fighting, a rare window for talks over Myanmar's devastating civil war is appearing, driven by a shift on the battlefield where the military has regained ground and mounting regional pressure to engage. Analysts say the change is most visible in the position of an umbrella body that brings together several major ethnic armed organisations and the shadow government that includes remnants of the last elected administration.

UN rights chief says Iran executed at least 56 people since March

At least 56 people have been executed in Iran on national security-related charges since March 19, including 27 in cases linked to protests at the start of the year, United Nations human rights chief ‌Volker Tuerk said on Wednesday. "I am alarmed by the rise in executions and death sentences issued in Iran since March, and ‌that capital punishment continues to be used to instil fear among the population and suppress dissent," Tuerk said in a statement.

Albania battles blazes, Hungary cuts power as Europe feels the heat

Albanian emergency services battled a wildfire in the southern region of Mallakaster, while Hungarians cut power consumption as a heatwave and drought continued to grip large parts of ​southern and eastern Europe. Europe, the world's fastest warming continent, has been ravaged by record-breaking heat and destructive wildfires this summer, with France and Spain particularly hard hit.