Reuters World News Summary

The eruption in Southwestern Iceland late on Monday followed weeks of seismic activity that had already led to a complete evacuation of a town with 4,000 inhabitants. Spain's Madrid region partially revokes trans, LGBTQ rights laws Madrid's regional assembly on Friday passed a proposal by the Spanish capital's ruling conservative People's Party (PP) to strip back protections for transgender people, sparking outcry from the opposition and LGBTQ activists.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Iceland downgrades volcano threat level

Iceland's national police commissioner on Friday downgraded the threat level from the volcano that erupted earlier this week, the country's Civil Protection Agency said. The eruption in Southwestern Iceland late on Monday followed weeks of seismic activity that had already led to a complete evacuation of a town with 4,000 inhabitants.

Spain's Madrid region partially revokes trans, LGBTQ rights laws

Madrid's regional assembly on Friday passed a proposal by the Spanish capital's ruling conservative People's Party (PP) to strip back protections for transgender people, sparking outcry from the opposition and LGBTQ activists. The bill, which amended a regional trans rights law and an LGBTQ rights law - both passed in 2016 with the PP's backing - makes Madrid the first Spanish region to roll back such legislation.

Romanian court rejects Andrew Tate's bid to leave the country while awaiting trial

A Bucharest court on Friday rejected a request by internet personality Andrew Tate to temporarily leave Romania while awaiting trial on human trafficking charges to visit his mother in London. Tate was indicted in June along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, allegations they have denied.

Congo releases first provisional election results after messy vote

Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday released a few early results from general elections after an unscheduled day-long ballot extension that has prompted some opposition candidates to cry foul and call for a rerun. The provisional results from the few thousand voters in the Congolese diaspora showed President Felix Tshisekedi with a comfortable lead over challengers.

'Shoot here!': reporter screams at Prague gunman to help people flee

"Hey, you fucker, here I am, shoot here!" screamed a Czech reporter trying to distract a gunman who killed 14 people at a university building in Prague on Thursday, helping people to flee the country's worst mass shooting. Jiri Forman, a reporter for a small security-focused news outfit who said he had experience in war zones, evaded fire from the gunman who was perched on a balcony on the top floor of Charles University's Faculty of Art.

Israelis dig in for unprecedentedly long war, with some doubts

As the war in Gaza enters an 11th week, Israelis appear resigned to a long road before the military achieves its stated aim of destroying Hamas and bringing more than 100 hostages back home. For days, in the face of growing international pressure to halt the fighting and increase the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued video statements reiterating his determination to win the war.

UN pushes for more aid into Gaza, Israel widens offensive

The U.N. Security Council approved a toned-down bid to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday that stopped short of a call for a ceasefire, hours after Israel signalled it was widening its ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave. The U.S., which is Israel's main ally and had threatened to veto the Security Council motion during days of wrangling, chose instead to abstain after language was changed on hostilities and monitoring aid, a move that let the vote go through.

Ukrainian investigators say they uncover fraud in arms procurement

Ukraine's SBU security service and the Defence Ministry said on Friday they had uncovered a scheme for fraudulent purchase of artillery shells that involved embezzlement of the equivalent of nearly $40 million. Corruption in Ukraine, more than 30 years after the end of Soviet rule, has become an even more crucial issue as Kyiv proceeds with its application to join the European Union.

Trump recorded pressuring Michigan officials to toss Biden's 2020 win -report

Donald Trump urged two Michigan election officials not to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the state following the 2020 presidential election, personally calling them in a pressure campaign reminiscent of his Georgia tactics, the Detroit News reported. In a Nov. 17, 2020, phone call, the then-president told two fellow Republicans on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to sign the state election's certification, saying they would look "terrible" and must "fight for our country," according to recordings of the call reviewed by the Michigan news outlet.

Czechs mourn victims of university shooting as police patrol public areas

Czechs mourned the victims of the country's worst mass shooting as police tightened security around schools and other public buildings across the country on Friday after a student gunman killed 14 people at a Prague university building on Thursday. At the Charles University headquarters, crowds that included Prime Minister Petr Fiala and U.S. Ambassador Bijan Sabet paid tribute to the victims. Some knelt to light candles and lay flowers while others stood crying and hugging each other.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)