World News Roundup: Iraq wedding fire kills more than 100, relatives identify bodies; U.S. astronaut Rubio and two Russian cosmonauts land in Kazakhstan and more

Their Soyuz MS-23 capsule undocked from the ISS a minute earlier than scheduled, and took around three and a half hours to make it down to Earth, landing southeast of the city of Zhezqazghan Exclusive-Biden officials kept immigration jails despite internal cost concerns Biden administration officials last year recommended closing or downsizing nine immigration detention centers because of high costs and staffing shortages, a move that could have saved $235 million, a draft U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo reviewed by Reuters shows.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Iraq wedding fire kills more than 100, relatives identify bodies

A fire ripped through a packed wedding hall in northern Iraq late on Tuesday, killing more than 100 people in a Christian town that had survived Islamic State occupation as authorities announced an investigation into the blaze. Fire fighters searched the charred skeleton of the building in Qaraqosh, also known as Hamdaniya, through Wednesday morning and bereaved relatives gathered outside a morgue in the nearby city of Mosul, wailing and rocking in distress.

U.S. astronaut Rubio and two Russian cosmonauts land in Kazakhstan

U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio, who broke the record for the longest continuous space flight by an American, and two Russian cosmonauts landed in the steppe of Kazakhstan on Wednesday after more than a year on the International Space Station (ISS). Their Soyuz MS-23 capsule undocked from the ISS a minute earlier than scheduled, and took around three and a half hours to make it down to Earth, landing southeast of the city of Zhezqazghan

Exclusive-Biden officials kept immigration jails despite internal cost concerns

Biden administration officials last year recommended closing or downsizing nine immigration detention centers because of high costs and staffing shortages, a move that could have saved $235 million, a draft U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo reviewed by Reuters shows. But ICE ultimately only ended contracts with two of the detention centers flagged in the memo. Six of the nine detention centers identified in the August 2022 memo were operated by private companies. Among the for-profit detention centers was the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico, where a government watchdog earlier had called for the relocation of all detainees due to "critical staffing shortages that have led to safety risks and unsanitary living conditions."

Philippines urges fishermen to keep up presence at China-held shoal

The coastguard of the Philippines urged the country's fishermen on Wednesday to keep operating at the disputed Scarborough Shoal and other sites in the South China Sea, pledging to step up patrols there despite an imposing Chinese presence. On Monday, the Philippine coastguard cut a 300-m (980-ft) floating barrier installed by China that blocked access to the Scarborough Shoal, a bold response in an area Beijing has controlled for more than a decade with coastguard ships and a fleet of large fishing vessels.

Brazil police carry out raids as part of Jan. 8 riots probe

Brazil's federal police said on Wednesday they were carrying out fresh raids and arrests as part of an investigation into the Jan. 8 riots in Brasilia, in which supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings. Police, according to a statement, were serving three arrest warrants and 10 search-and-seizure warrants ordered by the Supreme Court in four states - Sao Paulo, Parana, Minas Gerais and Goias.

Shutdown countdown: US Congress has four days to fund government

The fourth partial shutdown of the U.S. government in a decade was four days away on Wednesday, with House Republicans preemptively rejecting a bipartisan bill advancing in the Senate that would fund agencies through mid-November. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be furloughed and a wide range of services, from economic data releases to nutrition benefits, if Congress fails to pass legislation that Democratic President Joe Biden can sign into law by midnight Saturday (0400 GMT on Sunday).

North Korea to expel U.S. soldier Travis King over illegal border crossing

North Korea has decided to expel American soldier Travis King who it said has admitted to illegal intrusion into the country and was "disillusioned about unequal U.S. society," state media KCNA said on Wednesday. The decision was contained in the final results of an investigation into King's July border crossing published by KCNA. Last month it reported interim findings that he wanted refuge in North Korea or elsewhere because of maltreatment and racial discrimination within the army.

Azerbaijan arrests former top Karabakh official as Armenian exodus grows

A former head of the breakaway ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh was arrested by Azerbaijan on Wednesday as he tried to escape into Armenia as part of an exodus of tens of thousands of people that has triggered a humanitarian crisis. Ruben Vardanyan, a billionaire banker and philanthropist, headed Karabakh's separatist government between November 2022 and February 2023.

China says drills near Taiwan target 'arrogance' of separatists

China said on Wednesday its recent series of drills near Taiwan aimed at combating the "arrogance" of separatist forces, while the frontrunner to be Taiwan's next president said China was trying to "annex" the island. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has said this month that it had observed dozens of fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby.

French ambassador to Niger leaves as relations nosedive after coup

France's ambassador to Niger left the country early on Wednesday morning, around one month after the military government ordered his expulsion and days after President Emmanuel Macron said the diplomat would be pulled out and French troops withdrawn. Relations between Niger and France, its former colonial ruler which maintained a military presence in the country to help fight Islamist insurgents, have broken down since army officers seized power in Niamey in July.