Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia hits several key Ukraine energy facilities, kills three people

Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least three people and damaging large energy infrastructure facilities in three regions, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles.

Exclusive-US sold sniper rifles to Brazil police unit tied to deadly raid

The U.S. government approved a sale of sniper rifles to a deadly police unit in Brazil last year, overriding concerns from the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats that the arms could be used in extrajudicial killings, according to three current and former U.S. officials and documents seen by Reuters. The Rio de Janeiro police unit that purchased the guns, known as BOPE, played a central role in a raid last week that left 121 people dead, including four police officers. That action drew condemnation from human rights advocates and United Nations experts, who have alleged that some of the killings may have been unlawful.

The roar that haunts him: Japanese bear attack survivor calls for ruthless response

Japanese confectioner Keiji Minatoya's brush with death began when he lifted the shutter of his garage and came face to face with a black bear waiting on the other side. "We locked eyes in silence," he said, staring into the outbuilding beside his shop in rural Kitaakita in northern Japan where he had unwittingly trapped the apex predator. "I thought I was done for."

Putin appoints deputy defence minister Bulyga to security council

President Vladimir Putin has appointed Andrei Bulyga, one of Russia's deputy defence ministers since last year, as deputy secretary of the country's powerful security council, according to a decree published on the Kremlin's website on Saturday. In a separate decree, Putin appointed Colonel-General Alexander Sanchik, who had been serving as commander of Russia's southern military district, as a deputy defence minister, replacing Bulyga.

US, Britain remove sanctions on Syria's president

The United States and Britain removed sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the United Nations Security Council did the same ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, with the European Union confirming it would follow suit. Washington and London also lifted sanctions on Syria's Interior Minister Anas Khattab, according to notices on their websites.

Congo, Rwanda initial economic pact in Washington as part of peace process

Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda said in a statement on Friday that they had agreed an economic pact in Washington, as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to implement a peace deal and spur Western investment in the region. Reuters earlier reported that technical teams from the delegations had initialed the Regional Economic Integration Framework on Friday.

Exclusive-Trump official accusing president’s rivals of crimes tapped a former registered sex offender for federal housing role

The political appointee leveling fraud accusations against perceived opponents of President Donald Trump enlisted a man who’d once been convicted of a felony sex offense as a consultant to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to six people familiar with the role. Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, appointed Mark Zarkin, a Michigan restaurateur and prominent Detroit-area Trump supporter, as a consultant to the two mortgage companies after taking office in March, these people said. Reuters couldn’t determine exactly when Zarkin was recruited, under what terms, or the specific tasks assigned to him in the role.

ICC issues arrest warrant for ally of Philippine ex-President Duterte over drug war, ombudsman says

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who oversaw then-President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, the nation's ombudsman said on Saturday, although the ICC denied the assertion. Duterte, in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested and taken to The Hague in March on a warrant linking him to murders committed during his war on drugs, in which thousands of alleged narcotics peddlers and users were killed.

NATO's Rutte says nuclear drills showed alliance has strong deterrent

NATO chief Mark Rutte said the success earlier this month of the military alliance's annual nuclear exercise gave him "absolute confidence in the credibility of NATO's nuclear deterrence" in the face of Russian threats. "When Russia is using dangerous and reckless nuclear rhetoric, our populations must know that there is no need to panic, because NATO has a strong nuclear deterrent," he was quoted as saying by German weekly Welt am Sonntag.

US judge rules Trump illegally ordered National Guard to Portland, Oregon

U.S. President Donald Trump unlawfully ordered National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, a federal judge ruled Friday in a legal setback to the administration's use of the military in American cities. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut is the first to permanently block Trump's use of military force to quell protests against immigration authorities. Trump is also attempting to do that in Democratic-led Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. It replaces her interim order that had prevented the Portland deployment.

US grants Hungary exemption on Russia sanctions after warm Trump-Orban meeting

The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions for using Russian oil and gas, a White House official said on Friday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pressed his case for a reprieve during a friendly meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. Last month, Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft that carried the threat of further sanctions on entities in countries that buy oil from those firms.

Philippines warns of deadly storm surges as massive Typhoon Fung-wong nears super typhoon strength

The Philippines' weather bureau warned of life-threatening storm surges of up to five metres and destructive winds as Typhoon Fung-wong churns toward the country's eastern coast, where it is forecast to intensify into a super typhoon before making landfall on Sunday night. The typhoon's massive circulation, spanning 1,500 kilometres (932 miles), is already lashing parts of eastern Philippines with heavy rains and winds, PAGASA weather forecaster Benison Estareja said in a briefing.

Russia says house-to-house advance continues in Pokrovsk, tiny village captured

Russia said on Saturday that its forces continued to advance in grinding battles around the key towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, and had captured a tiny village in eastern Ukraine. The Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had taken Vovche, in the southeast corner of the Dnipropetrovsk region. According to Ukrainian census data, the village's population was 13 people in 2001.

Palestinian militants hand over body of another Gaza hostage

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad handed over the body of a deceased hostage on Friday as part of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli military said in a statement on Saturday it had confirmed the body was that of Lior Rudaeff following an identification process.