Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
100 dead or missing in Mexico from hurricane, food and water worries persist
The number of people dead and missing due to Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm which hammered the Mexican Pacific resort city of Acapulco last week, has risen to 100, the government of the southern state of Guerrero said on Monday. Otis battered Acapulco with winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km per hour) on Wednesday, flooding the city, tearing roofs from homes, hotels and other businesses, submerging vehicles, and severing communications as well as road and air connections.
As wars rage, Biden administration to make case for $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel
Two of President Joe Biden's top advisers will try to convince U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that it is in the country's best interest to provide billions more dollars to Ukraine and Israel despite huge budget deficits and divisions over his administration's policies toward both countries. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Biden's request for $106 billion to fund ambitious plans for Ukraine, Israel and U.S. border security.
No ceasefire in Gaza, no votes, Muslim Americans tell Biden
Muslim Americans and some Democratic Party activists say they will work to mobilize millions of Muslim voters to withhold donations and votes towards President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection unless he takes immediate steps to secure a Gaza ceasefire. The National Muslim Democratic Council, which includes Democratic Party leaders from hotly contested states likely to decide the election, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, called on Biden to use his influence with Israel to broker a ceasefire by 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Tuesday.
Pakistan urged to identify, protect thousands of at-risk Afghans -sources
Western embassies and the United Nations are urging Pakistan to incorporate into its plan to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants a way to identify and protect Afghans who face the risk of persecution at home, officials told Reuters. Pakistan has set Nov.1 for the start of the expulsions, which could leave more than 1.7 million Afghans vulnerable in the South Asian nation, of a total of more than 4 million migrants and refugees from its neighbor.
Drones target Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase, no casualties, damage - sources
Two armed drones targeted Iraq´s Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts U.S forces and other international forces in western Iraq, a security source and a government source told Reuters on Tuesday. The attack in the early hours of Tuesday, which the sources said did not cause casualties or damage, is the latest in a series of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, as tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel says it attacked Hamas gunmen inside Gaza tunnels
Israel said its forces attacked Hamas gunmen inside the militants' vast tunnel network beneath the Palestinian enclave of Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a halt to fighting to ease a worsening humanitarian crisis. The tunnels are a prime objective for Israel as it expands ground operations inside Gaza to wipe out Hamas, which rules Gaza, following its deadly surprise attack on southern Israel three weeks ago.
Afghans return to Taliban rule as Pakistan moves to expel 1.7 million
As the clock ticked down to the Nov. 1 deadline Pakistan set for undocumented migrants to leave the country, Muhammad Rahim boarded a bus from Karachi to the Afghan border. "We'd live here our whole life if they didn't send us back," said the 35-year-old Afghan national, who was born in Pakistan, married a Pakistani woman and raised his Pakistan-born children in the port city - but has no Pakistani identity documents.
Suspected gunman takes hostages in Japanese post office - authorities
A suspected gunman took at least two people hostage in a post office in Japan after wounding two other people in a shooting at a hospital, authorities and media said on Tuesday. The government of the city of Warabi, just north of Tokyo, said in a statement an undetermined number of hostages were taken by a man "in possession of something like a handgun."
Russia tightens security in Muslim-majority south after weekend airport riot
Russia tightened security in its Muslim-majority North Caucasus region on Tuesday after a weekend anti-Semitic riot there, and the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya ordered that rioters be shot dead if they fail to heed warnings. President Vladimir Putin held an emergency meeting with top security officials on Monday evening after rioters in the southern region of Dagestan stormed an airport on Sunday to "catch" Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv.
Woman shouting 'You're all going to die' shot by police in Paris metro
Paris police shot and critically wounded a woman wearing a hijab who was behaving in a threatening manner and shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "You're all going to die" in a metro station on Tuesday morning, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said. France is on its highest state of alert after the Oct. 13 murder of a schoolteacher in a suspected Islamist attack, which officials have linked to what they called a "Jihadist atmosphere" linked to the Israel-Gaza war.
