Russia pounds Kyiv, Ukraine launches drones, despite talk of renewing negotiations

Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles and Ukraine sent hundreds of drones towards Moscow overnight as the warring sides kept up a barrage of attacks despite the latest US push to end the conflict. Russia said on Wednesday it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Ukraine next month, after President Vladimir Putin hosted US envoy ​Steve Witkoff for talks in St Petersburg.

Israeli fire kills three people in Gaza, medics say

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least three people in the Gaza Strip in separate incidents on Thursday, health officials in the enclave said. In Gaza City, a strike on a car killed at least ​one person, medics said. They earlier said there had been two deaths. A crowd gathered around the burning wreckage, as orange-vested emergency crews sprayed it with water, photos from the scene showed.

As ‌Trump's support slips, white ​evangelicals remain his Republican bedrock

President Donald Trump is losing ground among many of the voters who returned him to the White House in 2024. But Reuters/Ipsos polling and interviews with white evangelical Christians show they remain his most reliable constituency and could prove crucial in the November 3 midterm elections. With Republicans on the defensive amid record-low approval ratings for Trump, strong evangelical turnout could help the party limit losses driven by voter frustration over the cost of living and the war in Iran.

US orders diplomats to depart Saudi Arabia amid Houthi strikes

The US State Department has ordered some diplomats and family members to depart from its missions in Saudi Arabia and plans to withdraw family members from a number of other US missions in the region, US officials told Reuters. The order came as attacks in Saudi Arabia killed at least one person and injured eight others at a civilian airport in Dammam and two people were killed in a drone attack on ‌an oil field.

Saudi Aramco tells staff to evacuate Dhahran as clashes with Yemen's Houthis continue

Saudi state oil company Aramco has told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf, six people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as fighting between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensifies. Clashes between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen's internationally recognised government have raged since the group pushed towards Bab el-Mandeb, a shipping chokepoint at the Red Sea's mouth.

International Criminal Court wins EU's 2026 Sakharov prize

The International Criminal Court and its officials won the EU's 2026 Sakharov human rights prize, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said on Thursday, less than two weeks after former ICC Judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. "The EU is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions," Metsola said, as she announced the award to a standing ovation in the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

Lula hopes older voters can help power him to victory against Flavio Bolsonaro

Rony Amaral, 71, is terrified right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro will slash healthcare and pension spending if he wins Sunday's runoff vote, so he is supporting leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva instead. Amaral and his 91-year-old mother Aisa form part of a growing cohort of voters in fast-ageing Brazil who could play a decisive role in the razor-tight election.

Poland ‌detains second suspect in murder of Russian artist who criticised Putin

Polish authorities have detained a second suspect in the June murder of a Russian artist who had criticized President Vladimir Putin, secret service chief Tomasz Siemoniak said on Thursday. Robert Kuzovkov, also known as Semyon Skrepetsky, died after he was hit by five bullets in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska in June.

What is PHP and why did it take government websites offline?

Government websites across Europe went dark on Wednesday as operators raced to patch two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, one of the most widely used programming languages on the web. The ‌developers of PHP said on Wednesday they would release patches for two critical vulnerabilities, and EU cybersecurity officials warned organisations unable to apply the fixes to take affected websites offline. Here is what you need to know:

Southern Italy truckers ease protests as government lines up aid

Truck drivers' protests that have seriously affected fuel and food supplies in southern Italy were easing on Thursday as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government was lining up aid and taking a harder line against roadblocks. Since last week, hauliers have been blocking roads and motorways to protest against high fuel prices, but their representatives said roadblocks would be lifted in Sicily following talks with the government.

Trump's tax-exempt diesel draws skepticism from farmers, eludes others

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order this month to expand access to tax-exempt diesel as soaring prices frustrate voters ahead of midterm elections. But farmers say it is too risky to use the fuel on public roads, while some other drivers do not have access to it. Trump has sought to lower prices and boost his sagging approval ratings through a series of actions focused on fuel, including an $8 billion financial support program he announced on Monday to offset diesel costs for farmers during the autumn harvest.

Factbox-Governments, companies take websites offline over PHP flaws

Several government, school and hospital websites across Europe and beyond were taken offline on Wednesday as organizations rushed to protect themselves from two critical security flaws in PHP, a programming language that powers a large share of the internet. Cybersecurity agencies across the world warned that organizations unable to apply fixes in time should consider taking affected sites offline. PHP's developers said a set ⁠of new updates fixing two previously identified critical ​vulnerabilities was available.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to son for first time in over five years

The son of Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi said ⁠on Thursday that he had spoken with his mother for the first time in more than five years while she remains under house arrest. Kim Aris, who for years had only received sporadic, second-hand updates about his 81-year-old mother, said he had spoken directly with Suu Kyi.

Far-left leader Melenchon in firing line as France blame-game heats up

Rivals from the centre-left to the far right have turned on Jean-Luc Melenchon and his France Unbowed (LFI) party, accusing them of fuelling France's worst civil unrest in years. Melenchon, who launched his fourth presidential bid in May and remains the hard left's strongest hope of reaching next year's election run-off, has faced mounting criticism since unrest engulfed several French cities, with opponents saying years of confrontational rhetoric helped fuel tensions now spilling onto the streets.

How would a Netanyahu election ⁠loss change Israel's policies toward the Palestinians?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main opponent Gadi Eisenkot both oppose an independent Palestinian state, meaning next week's election is unlikely to produce a sweeping shift in policies that have hampered a decades-old peace process. Three years since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, they also share hawkish positions towards Gaza, saying they would resume the war there if the militant group, whose founding charter calls for Israel's destruction, doesn't disarm.

Beatings, cyberattacks and threats darken Vucic's Serbia ahead of elections

Serbian activist Marko Marjanovic was on his way back from the supermarket in Belgrade when masked officers bundled him into a car and took him to a police station basement where he was held in solitary confinement for two days ​under bright lights. Marjanovic, a popular social media commentator and vocal opponent of Serbia's long-time leader Aleksandar Vucic, said he was terrified, and it wasn't the first time. Days before that, in August 2025, police had beaten up Marjanovic during anti-government protests, part of what he and his lawyer describe as a campaign to silence him.

Trump heads to Iowa as Republicans fight for seats in longtime stronghold

President Donald Trump heads to Iowa on Thursday to shore up Republicans in a state he won by 13 percentage points two years ago, but where his weakened standing and voter ⁠anxiety over his policies have complicated the party's prospects in the November 3 midterm elections. Trump will hold a rally in Sioux City as Republicans defend a Senate seat, three House districts and the governor's office, giving Democrats an opening after years of Republican gains.

Canada's Carney visits Turkey in push to ease US trade dependence

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet President Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey on Thursday, in the first bilateral visit by a Canadian leader, as he seeks to expand trade ties and reduce reliance on the United States. Carney and Erdogan are expected to sign a declaration deepening cooperation in four areas including defence and energy, a person briefed on the matter said. A Turkish diplomatic source said the bilateral ties will be upgraded to a "strategic partnership."

Rahul Gandhi's nephew says he was forced to remove protest artwork from Delhi exhibition

The nephew ⁠of Indian ​opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said he was forced to remove several pieces of art documenting youth protests from his exhibition at a government-run cultural centre in New Delhi this week, as they were deemed "objectionable." Raihan Vadra, 26, the son of Gandhi's sister, lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said the management at Bikaner House forced him to remove the artwork just hours before his exhibition opened on Wednesday.

WHO was not told that Nigeria's Ebola patient travelled to Congo, official says

The World Health Organization was not told that Nigeria's Ebola patient had travelled to Congo, the WHO's representative in Nigeria said on Thursday, after Uganda said she had visited the country. Nigeria's government has said the country's first Ebola case in more than a decade involved a Ugandan woman who had recently arrived from a trip there.

UN expert urges Indonesia to reconsider involvement in Trump's Gaza board

Indonesia should reconsider its involvement in US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan because it is being shaped by Israel and the US and lacks a Palestinian voice, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories told Reuters on Thursday. Trump announced in January that he was setting up a "Board of Peace" to address global conflicts typically handled by the UN. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, has said it would be a member ⁠of the new body and it has also pledged troops to be deployed to Gaza as part of an international stabilisation force.

Rivals from the centre-left to the far right have turned on Jean-Luc Melenchon and his France Unbowed (LFI) party, accusing them of fuelling France's worst civil unrest in years. Melenchon, who launched his fourth presidential bid in May and remains the hard left's strongest hope of reaching next year's election run-off, has faced mounting criticism since unrest engulfed several French cities, with opponents saying years of confrontational rhetoric helped fuel tensions now ⁠spilling onto the streets.

Factbox-Who are the Americans detained in Russia?

Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher, from prison on Wednesday, as Moscow and Washington held a new round of talks about ⁠settling the war in Ukraine. At least nine publicly identified Americans are believed to remain imprisoned in Russia, although the full number may be higher.

Late detection in Nigeria raises alarm as Ebola spreads across Africa

Nigeria's first Ebola patient in over a decade was not tested for the disease until 13 days after falling ill, officials said, a delay that raises questions about authorities' ability to contain an outbreak already spanning four African nations. The epidemic, first detected 3,000 km away in Democratic Republic of Congo in May, is the second-largest on record and had already hit Uganda and Kenya before the Nigerian case was confirmed on Tuesday — the widest known spread on the continent.

South African police investigate killing of foreign national by crowd

South African police said on Thursday they were investigating the killing of a foreign national by a crowd of about 50 people in the city of Durban. The South African Police Service said in a post on X that the ‌victim, thought to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was beaten by the crowd and declared dead at ‌the scene

France reports first human case of livestock virus Shamonda after patient dies

France on Thursday reported the first human case of the Shamonda virus usually found in livestock in a patient who later died, with authorities adding there was no risk to the general population at this stage. It is suspected that the victim was bitten ​by a midge carrying the virus in eastern France where it had circulated among animals this spring and summer, the government said in a statement.

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

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