World News Roundup: Outgoing president says Lebanon at risk of 'constitutional chaos'; Man arrested in attack on U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's spouse faces charges and more

Aoun is set to leave the presidential palace on Sunday, a day before his six-year term ends, but four sessions in the nation's fractured parliament have failed to reach consensus on a candidate to succeed him. Britain prioritising India trade deal but can't give timeline, minister says Britain is prioritising reaching a free-trade agreement with India, its foreign minister told Reuters on Saturday in his first visit to the country, but declined to give a new deadline after missing one this month.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia says U.S. lowering 'nuclear threshold' with newer bombs in Europe

Russia said on Saturday that the accelerated deployment of modernised U.S. B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe would lower the "nuclear threshold" and that Russia would take the move into account in its military planning. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered the gravest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when the two Cold War superpowers came closest to nuclear war.

Man arrested in attack on U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's spouse faces charges

A man who clubbed U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband over the head with a hammer, shouting, "Where is Nancy?", faced charges of attempted murder and other felonies a day after the violent break-in at the couple's San Francisco home. Police initially declined to offer a motive for Friday's attack on Paul Pelosi, 82, who according to his wife's office underwent surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands, though doctors expect a full recovery.

Iran's Guards head warns protesters: 'Today is last day of riots'

The head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, in a sign that security forces may intensify their fierce crackdown on unrest sweeping the country. Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police last month, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

High-profile Haitian politician killed in apparent gang attack -reports

A well-known Haitian politician was killed in an apparent gang attack in an affluent suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, Haitian media reported on Saturday, amid a gang blockade of a fuel terminal that has created a humanitarian crisis. Eric-Jean Baptiste, head of the Rally of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP) political party, was returning to his home in the Laboule 12 area on Friday night when assailants riddled his car with bullets.

Outgoing president says Lebanon at risk of 'constitutional chaos'

Outgoing Lebanese President Michel Aoun told Reuters on Saturday his nation could be sliding into "constitutional chaos", with no one in line to succeed him and a cabinet that is operating in a caretaker capacity. Aoun is set to leave the presidential palace on Sunday, a day before his six-year term ends, but four sessions in the nation's fractured parliament have failed to reach consensus on a candidate to succeed him.

Britain prioritising India trade deal but can't give timeline, minister says

Britain is prioritising reaching a free-trade agreement with India, its foreign minister told Reuters on Saturday in his first visit to the country, but declined to give a new deadline after missing one this month. James Cleverly said after a meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar in New Delhi that ties between the two countries would improve further under Rishi Sunak, who this week became Britain's first prime minister with Indian roots.

Congo's M23 rebels capture key North Kivu town

Fighters from the M23 rebel group seized the town of Kiwandja in eastern Congo on Saturday, residents and a local official said, effectively cutting North Kivu's capital Goma off from the upper half of the province. Three people living in Kiwandja told Reuters that droves of fighters had entered the town without resistance after a short spat of gunfire. Kivu Security Tracker, which maps violence in eastern Congo, tweeted that shots were fired in town early Saturday morning.

Exclusive-United States to put United Nations focus on Iran protests

The United States will next week put the United Nations spotlight on protests in Iran sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody and look for ways to promote credible, independent investigations into Iranian human rights abuses. The United States and Albania will hold an informal U.N. Security Council gathering on Wednesday, according to a note outlining the event, seen by Reuters. Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and Iranian-born actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi are set to brief.

As U.N. mulls sending troops to Haiti, a gang's rise shows how hard that would be

As Haiti's gang-induced humanitarian crisis deepened in October, a group of looters ransacked a supermarket in a well-to-do suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, leading police to arrest over a dozen people and take them to a nearby police station. They were not there for long.

Philippines president orders urgent aid as storm Nalgae kills 45

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Saturday ordered urgent aid distribution in a southern province where landslides have been triggered by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which has killed 45 people across the country so far. Heavy rains and strong winds pounded the capital, Manila, and surrounding areas for most of Saturday as Nalgae forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes and disrupted peak holiday travel in much of the nation.

(With inputs from agencies.)