Reuters World News Summary

The drone attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships as they prepared to arrive there to load with Ukrainian grain in defiance of a de-facto blockade Russia reimposed in mid-July. Niger junta says it will not back down despite 'inhumane' sanctions The self-declared new leader of Niger on Wednesday said the junta would not bow to pressure to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, intensifying a standoff with the West African bloc which has threatened to intervene after last week's coup.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia strikes Ukraine's Danube port, driving up global grain prices

Russia attacked Ukraine's main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday, sending global food prices higher as it ramped up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain. The drone attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships as they prepared to arrive there to load with Ukrainian grain in defiance of a de-facto blockade Russia reimposed in mid-July.

Niger junta says it will not back down despite 'inhumane' sanctions

The self-declared new leader of Niger on Wednesday said the junta would not bow to pressure to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, intensifying a standoff with the West African bloc which has threatened to intervene after last week's coup. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed sanctions on Niger and said it could authorise the use of force if the coup leaders do not restore Bazoum's presidency within a week from last Sunday.

Trump legal risks deepen with charges of plot to reverse 2020 election

U.S. efforts to hold Donald Trump criminally responsible in a plot to overturn the 2020 election were gaining steam, as the former president prepared to face federal charges in a Washington courtroom on Thursday while Georgia state prosecutors looked poised to issue their own charges in coming weeks. Trump - the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination - was indicted on Tuesday on four counts, including conspiring to defraud the U.S., obstructing an official proceeding and conspiring to deprive voters of their right to fair elections.

Pope, in Portugal to rally young Catholics, says Church needs purification

Pope Francis on Wednesday said the Catholic Church needs a "humble and ongoing purification" to deal with the "anguished cries" of victims of clerical sexual abuse, who he met privately on the first day of his visit to Portugal. Francis was speaking in Lisbon at the start of a five-day visit to the country in which he hopes to energize young Catholics during World Youth Day, the world's largest Catholic festival.

Ukrainians forced to become Russian citizens, US-backed research finds

Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face harsh retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, U.S.-backed research published on Wednesday said. Yale University researchers said that as part of a plan by Moscow to assert authority over Ukrainians, residents of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions are being targeted by a systematic effort to strip them of Ukrainian identity.

Canada PM Trudeau and wife Sophie separate after 18 years of marriage

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie said on Wednesday they were separating in an unexpected announcement that appeared to mark the end of the couple's 18-year high-profile marriage. The couple had talked frankly in the past about difficulties in their relationship and in recent years were seen less often together in public.

New Zealand reports on defence and security expected to call for more spending

New Zealand will on Friday outline its defence plans, which are expected to include more money and resources to bolster forces that have long been seen as underfunded relative to those of defence partners. Chris Hipkins' Labour government will release the country's first National Security Strategy, along with part of a review undertaken over the past 10 months to examine what investments are needed to carry out that strategy.

UN calls for regional solutions to curb record migration through Darien Gap

The United Nations on Wednesday called on countries to join efforts to contain the record-high traffic of U.S.-bound migrants and refugees crossing the treacherous jungle region linking Panama and Colombia, known as the Darien Gap. Official data shows 248,901 people crossed the dangerous stretch between January and July, surpassing the record high seen for all of 2022.

Eyeing China in the Pacific, US studies explosives to make missiles fly further

U.S. officials want to tinker with the mix of chemicals fueling missiles and rockets to gain an advantage in the Pacific by increasing the range of its front line munitions so U.S. forces can operate further away from China. The Pentagon and Congress are looking at a retrofit that could extend ranges for some current weapons as much as 20% by using more powerful propellants and lighter warheads, two congressional aides and two U.S. officials said who spoke to Reuters under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Haiti hospital cares for kids amid gang violence, hunger and scarce aid

Marie Michelle Joseph's 9-month-old daughter is weak and has a persistent fever. After being turned away from Haiti's only general hospital, her daughter Myleisha was finally accepted at Fontaine Hospital, a UNICEF-sponsored facility in the capital Port au Prince - in an area the rest of her family considers too unsafe to visit.

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