Reuters World News Summary

Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy's first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading the conservative alliance to a triumph in Sunday's election. Pakistan’s new finance minister wants to take country out of ‘economic rut’ Pakistan prime ministerial aide Ishaq Dar said on Monday he would take up the role of finance minister for the fourth time, adding that he wanted to get Pakistan out of its economic rut and stressing he wanted a strong and stable rupee.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Swastika-wearing ex-pupil kills 15 in Russian school shooting

A gunman with a swastika on his teeshirt killed 15 people, including 11 children, and wounded 24 at a school in Russia on Monday before committing suicide, investigators said.

The attacker, a man in his early thirties who was named by authorities as Artem Kazantsev, killed two security guards and then opened fire on students and teachers at School Number 88 in Izhevsk, where he had once been a pupil.

Ukraine annexation votes to end amid Russian mobilisation exodus

Russian-organized referendums that could lead to annexing 15% of Ukraine's territory were due to end on Tuesday as the Kremlin said it made no decisions on closing its borders as the first mobilisation since World War Two prompted some to flee. Voting in the Ukrainian provinces of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the east and southeast began on Friday and have been dismissed as a sham by Western nations, which have pledged not to recognise the results.

Italy election victors target era of political stability

The right-wing alliance that won Italy's national election will usher in a rare era of political stability to tackle an array of problems besieging the euro zone's third largest economy, one of its senior figures said on Monday. Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy's first woman prime minister at the head of its most right-wing government since World War Two after leading the conservative alliance to a triumph in Sunday's election.

Pakistan's new finance minister wants to take country out of 'economic rut'

Pakistan prime ministerial aide Ishaq Dar said on Monday he would take up the role of finance minister for the fourth time, adding that he wanted to get Pakistan out of its economic rut and stressing he wanted a strong and stable rupee. Ahead of his formal appointment, the rupee had risen throughout the day after reports that he would take up the role, a change that comes in the midst of an economic crisis in Pakistan that has been exacerbated by deadly floods.

Iran says U.S. attempting to use unrest to weaken country

Iran faced more international criticism on Monday over the death of a woman in police custody that triggered nationwide protests after Tehran accused the United States of using the unrest to try to destabilise the country. Iran has cracked down on the biggest demonstrations since 2019, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 after she was detained by morality police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict restrictions on women's dress. The case has drawn widespread condemnation.

New coins, banknotes, stamps and cypher for Britain's King Charles

Britain will gradually see coins, banknotes and stamps bearing the image of King Charles, while the new monarch's cypher will also appear on government buildings and red mail pillar boxes, manufacturers and Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday. As the country begins adapting to its first new head of state for 70 years, the makers of its currency and stamps said they would begin the slow process of switching from using an image of the late Queen Elizabeth to the new king.

Cubans approve gay marriage by large margin in referendum

Cubans approved gay marriage and adoption overwhelmingly in a Sunday referendum backed by the government that also boosted rights for women, the national election commission said on Monday. More than 3.9 million voters voted to ratify the code (66.9%), while 1.95 million opposed ratification (33%), Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, president of the commission, said on state-run television on Monday.

Latin America's road to legalizing same-sex marriage

Cubans overwhelmingly approved gay marriage and adoption in a government-backed referendum on Sunday, a landmark vote half a century after a wave of state persecution sent many homosexual people to forced labor camps and into exile. Here is a timeline on same-sex marriage across Latin America and the Caribbean:

New cypher for Britain's King Charles unveiled

The new cypher for Britain's King Charles - the sovereign's monogram that will appear on government buildings and red mail pillar boxes - has been revealed by Buckingham Palace. The cypher, selected by the new monarch from a series of designs prepared by the College of Arms, consists of the initials 'C' and 'R' - representing Charles's name and "Rex", the Latin for king - alongside a depiction of the crown.

Japan prepares to bid farewell to slain Abe with controversial state funeral

Japan will honour on Tuesday its assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a polarising figure who dominated modern-day politics as its longest-serving leader, with a rare state funeral that has become nearly as divisive as he was. Abe's killing at a July 8 campaign rally set off a flood of revelations about ties between lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) he once ran and the Unification Church, which critics call a cult, sparking a backlash against current premier Fumio Kishida.

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