World News Roundup: Analysis-With defiant summit, Putin and North Korea's Kim send rivals a warning; Libya flood survivors pick through ruins in search of missing thousands and more

The customs authority said it had stopped for inspection in July two containers carrying 54 tons of what were supposed to be bags of plaster. Satellite images show damage to Russian naval vessels struck in Ukraine attack A Ukrainian missile attack on the Sevastopol Shipyard in Russian-annexed Crimea this week caused heavy damage to a large Russian landing ship and submarine, commercial satellite imagery showed.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Analysis-With defiant summit, Putin and North Korea's Kim send rivals a warning

Whatever practical cooperation emerges from this week's summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, their deepening relationship is aimed at sending their rivals a warning, analysts said. Calling each other "comrade", the men toasted their friendship on Wednesday after Putin showed Kim around Russia's most modern space launch facility and they held talks alongside their defence ministers.

Libya flood survivors pick through ruins in search of missing thousands

Survivors of a flood that swept away the centre of the Libyan city of Derna picked through the ruins on Thursday in search of loved ones from among thousands of dead and missing, while authorities feared an outbreak of disease from rotting bodies. A torrent unleashed by a powerful storm burst dams on Sunday night and hurtled down a seasonal riverbed that bisects the city, washing multi-storey buildings into the sea with sleeping families inside.

India's Nipah virus trackers gather samples from bats, fruit

Experts have fanned out in India's southern state of Kerala to collect samples of fluid from bats and fruit trees in a region where the deadly Nipah virus has killed two people and three more have tested positive. The state is battling its fourth outbreak since 2018 of a virus for which there is no vaccine, and which spreads through contact with the body fluids of infected bats, pigs or people, killing up to 75% of those infected.

Russia expels two US embassy staff

Russia said on Thursday it was expelling two U.S. diplomats it accused of working with a Russian national accused of collaborating with a foreign state. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had summoned U.S. envoy Lynne Tracy and told her that embassy first secretary Jeffrey Sillin and second secretary David Bernstein must leave Russia within seven days.

Danger lurks behind 'every bush' for brigade in Ukrainian counteroffensive

For soldiers in Ukraine's "Spartan" brigade, danger could lurk behind every bush and in every field as they fight in Kyiv's counteroffensive against deeply entrenched Russian forces. Progress through vast Russian minefields and heavily fortified defences has been slower than many Ukrainians had hoped since the counteroffensive began in early June.

Houthi envoys heading to Riyadh for ceasefire talks with Saudis - sources

Houthi and Omani envoys are planning to head to Saudi Arabia on Thursday night to try to negotiate a permanent ceasefire with Saudi officials to end the war in Yemen, two people involved in the talks said. Houthi officials will travel to Riyadh with the Omani mediators, who landed in Sanaa on Thursday, the sources said.

UK government says China attempting to headhunt Britons in sensitive positions

Chinese spies are targeting British officials in sensitive positions as part of an increasingly sophisticated spying operation to gain access to secrets and their specialised knowledge, the British government said on Thursday. The government, responding to a parliamentary report in July which found the government's approach to the threat posed by China was inadequate, said measures were in place to stop officials from being recruited, including regular vetting and software to help them identify fake profiles on social media.

Israel says it found 16 tons of rocket-making substance headed from Turkey to Gaza

Israel's customs authority said on Thursday it found 16 tons of material used for rocket production during an inspection of a shipment from Turkey headed to Gaza, which the ruling Hamas group dismissed as a fabrication. The customs authority said it had stopped for inspection in July two containers carrying 54 tons of what were supposed to be bags of plaster.

Satellite images show damage to Russian naval vessels struck in Ukraine attack

A Ukrainian missile attack on the Sevastopol Shipyard in Russian-annexed Crimea this week caused heavy damage to a large Russian landing ship and submarine, commercial satellite imagery showed. Kyiv said on Wednesday the two vessels were likely beyond repair after the pre-dawn missile attack on the port city of Sevastopol. Russia's defence ministry confirmed the strike, but said the vessels would be fully repaired and return to service.

Putin 'gratefully' accepts Kim invite to visit North Korea - Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Kim Jong Un's invitation to visit North Korea, stoking U.S. concerns that a revived Moscow-Pyongyang axis could bolster Russia's military in Ukraine and provide Kim sensitive missile technology. The invite was made during a summit in eastern Russia at which they discussed military matters, the war in Ukraine and helping North Korea's satellite programme.