World News Roundup: Residents search for missing after Hurricane Ian rips through Florida's Gulf Coast; Putin set to proclaim annexation of seized Ukrainian territory on Friday and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Residents search for missing after Hurricane Ian rips through Florida's Gulf Coast

Rescue workers and residents of Florida's Gulf Coast searched for missing people and picked up the pieces from wrecked homes on Thursday after Hurricane Ian tore through the area with howling winds, torrential rains and raging surf. One of the mightiest storms to hit the U.S. mainland in recent years, Ian flooded communities and left more than two million homes and businesses without power before barreling on across the peninsula to the Atlantic seaboard.

Putin set to proclaim annexation of seized Ukrainian territory on Friday

President Vladimir Putin will sign formal documents on Friday proclaiming Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions, as Moscow rushes to lock in territorial claims that the Ukrainian army is threatening to reverse on the battlefield. The move, one of the legal steps Russia says will lead to the formal annexation of 15% of Ukraine's territory, confirms that Putin is doubling down on his war against Ukraine despite suffering a major military reversal this month.

Late Sultan's heirs ask Dutch court to enforce $15 billion award against Malaysia

Heirs of a late Southeast Asian sultan filed a request in a Dutch court on Thursday to recognise and enforce a $15 billion arbitration award granted to them against Malaysia's government, their lawyer said. The petition was filed in The Hague Court of Appeal, said lawyer Paul Cohen, a lead co-counsel for the sultan's heirs from British law firm 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

Harris denounces N.Korea's 'brutal dictatorship,' missile test

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said North Korea is a country with a "brutal dictatorship", an illegal arms programme and rampant human rights violations, issuing unusually strong criticism during a visit to the inter-Korean border on Thursday.

Harris, in her first visit to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, said the heavily armed border area offered a stark reminder of the "dramatically different paths" the two sides have taken.

North Korea fired ballistic missile off east coast, South Korea says

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, following the firing of two short-range ballistic missiles a day earlier. The launch came as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea to staunch the U.S. ally and amid worries that the North is about to conduct a nuclear test – the seventh since 2006 and its first since 2017.

Wider image: As grocery bills soar, hungry Brazilians may seal Bolsonaro’s fate

The specter of hunger hangs over Brazil's presidential race this year like few before it. Rampant inflation and fallout from the pandemic have pushed food insecurity here to levels nearly unrecognizable a decade ago. One in three Brazilians say they have struggled recently to feed their families.

Myanmar court jails Suu Kyi, Australian economist for 3 years - source

A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday jailed deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, for three years for violating a secrets law, a source familiar with the proceedings said. Turnell was also found guilty of violating immigration law, and was ordered to concurrently serve another three-year sentence, according to a second source and media. A former British envoy, an American journalist, and a Japanese filmmaker have also faced charges under the same law.

Long-awaited Rwanda genocide trial starts despite suspect's boycott

A U.N. tribunal in The Hague opened the genocide trial on Thursday of a Rwandan businessman captured two years ago after decades on the run, with judges saying the hearing must go on despite the suspect's decision to boycott it from his jail cell. Felicien Kabuga, a former businessman and radio station owner, is one of the last suspects sought by a U.N. tribunal prosecuting crimes committed in the 1994 genocide, when ruling Hutu majority extremists killed more than 800,000 minority Tutsis and Hutu moderates in 100 days.

Israel's president cautions against violence in the election run-up

Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged an intensely divided public to keep its cool ahead of the country's parliamentary election, warning that heated tempers could easily spin out of control. Israelis head to the polls on Nov. 1 for an unprecedented fifth election in four years. There is no guarantee the vote will break the deadlock between former premier Benjamin Netanyahu and bitter rivals who unseated him last year.

Russia says Nord Stream 'sabotage' likely to be a state-sponsored act

Russia said on Thursday leaks spewing gas into the sea from pipelines to Germany appeared to be the result of state-sponsored "terrorism", as an EU official said the incident had fundamentally changed the nature of the conflict in Ukraine.

The European Union is investigating the cause of the leaks in the Gazprom-led Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea and has said it suspects sabotage.