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From Ukraine to EU-UK ties: Big summit of European leaders kicks off

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From Ukraine to EU-UK ties: Big summit of European leaders kicks off

European leaders gather during the European Political Community Summit at the iconic Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, with Ukraine and migration as top items on the agenda.

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European leaders gathered in Blenheim Palace, home of the Churchills as Dukes of Marlborough, on Thursday for a summit overshadowed by concerns about the US’ reliability as an ally if Donald Trump wins a second presidency.

Newly-elected UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed around 45 heads of government to discuss migration, energy security, and the threat from Russia, aiming to mend relations between the UK and its European Union neighbours four years after Brexit.

Starmer has said the summit “will fire the starting gun on this government’s new approach to Europe.”

As he addressed his guests, he emphasised the UK’s commitment to playing a more active role globally, particularly regarding Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion and battling human smuggling gangs.

He assured fellow leaders that under his leadership, the UK would be “a friend and a partner, ready to work with you — not part of the European Union, but very much part of Europe. Not focused on the differences between us, but on the values that we share.”

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“Our primary task today is to confirm our unwavering support for Ukraine, to unite behind our shared values, and to confront aggression on this continent together,” he said, noting that the threat from Russia “extends across Europe.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a key guest at the meeting. He stressed the importance of the event for Ukraine, explaining the country was currently experiencing a “tough period,” adding “it is very important to maintain unity in Europe because always this unity leads to strong decisions.”

‘New chapter to open’ in UK-EU relations

When Britain agreed to host the one-day summit earlier this year, Conservative Rishi Sunak was prime minister. Following his defeat in the 4 July election, it was Starmer who welcomed leaders to the birthplace and residence of World War II PM Winston Churchill.

“It’s an incredibly useful occasion for Starmer, as it allows him to meet many European leaders,” said Jill Rutter, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Government think tank. “It’s like Rishi Sunak organised a dating party for him.”

Attendees included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, her Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

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This is the fourth meeting of the EPC, initiated by Macron in 2022 as a forum for countries inside and outside the 27-nation EU following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted Europe’s sense of security. Previous meetings were held in Prague, Chisinau and Granada.

The UK aims for this to be the most attended summit yet, though European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is staying away as she fights to secure a second term as European Commission president from lawmakers in the European Parliament and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also did not attend.

Starmer’s centre-left government is working to rebuild ties with the EU strained by years of contentious Brexit negotiations. A key priority is a new UK-EU security pact that Starmer hopes to finalise soon.

“We are confident that a new chapter will be opened with the UK,” European Council President Charles Michel said upon arrival.

The UK plans to enhance cooperation with the European police agency Europol against human smuggling as part of measures to strengthen border security following Starmer’s decision to cancel the Conservatives’ controversial plan to send migrants arriving in the UK by boat to Rwanda.

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Orban: Trump win would be ‘best news for everybody’

Many will likely be thinking about the US, where a recent assassination attempt on Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, highlighted the intense and polarised political climate ahead of the 5 November election.

Trump’s scepticism about NATO has long unsettled US allies. His choice of Sen. JD Vance, an opponent of US military aid to Ukraine, as his vice-presidential running mate has heightened concerns.

“European countries must stand on their own legs more than ever,” said Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof.

Several other leaders echoed that sentiment, but not Hungary’s pro-Russian Premier Viktor Orbán, who said a solution to the conflict in Ukraine was “not on the battlefield” but at the negotiation table.

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“They believe that they can destroy militarily the Russians, which I don’t think so, because I think that there is no solution of this conflict on the battlefield,” Orbán told reporters.

Orbán has recently carried out a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As he spoke of Trump, Orbán has said his victory would be “the best news for everybody, because he’s a man of the people.”

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Traffic to resume at Sweden’s second-biggest airport after drone scare

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Traffic to resume at Sweden’s second-biggest airport after drone scare

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Nov 6 (Reuters) – A drone incident that prompted a sabotage investigation and halted traffic at Sweden’s second-largest airport ended on Thursday night with flights preparing to resume.

Drones have caused major disruption across Europe in recent months, forcing temporary airport closures in several countries. Some officials have blamed the incidents on hybrid warfare by Russia. Moscow has denied any connection with the incidents.

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One or more drones were observed at the Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport on Sweden’s west coast around 1641 GMT, authorities said earlier on Thursday, forcing more than a dozen flights to be rerouted or canceled.

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“Police have now informed us that the incident is over and we therefore plan to start traffic back up again,” state-owned airport operator Swedavia told Reuters in a text message.

“We have launched an investigation into suspected aviation sabotage,” the police spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, drone sightings forced closures of airports and a military air base in Belgium in what the country’s defence minister called a coordinated attack.
On Thursday, police in Sweden’s neighbour Norway said they had closed a probe into suspected sightings that caused a shutdown of Oslo’s airport in September, citing insufficient evidence that drones had been present.

In neighbouring Denmark, several airports, including Copenhagen, also closed temporarily in September due to reported drone sightings.

Reporting by Johan Ahlander in Gothenburg and Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Copenhagen; editing by Anna Ringstrom, Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

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Violent mob attacks pro-Israel gathering in Toronto days after mayor’s ‘genocide in Gaza’ remarks

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Violent mob attacks pro-Israel gathering in Toronto days after mayor’s ‘genocide in Gaza’ remarks

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A pro-Israel event in Toronto turned violent on Wednesday when anti-Israel activists stormed a private venue, injuring one speaker and damaging property. The attack came just days after Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow faced criticism for describing “the genocide in Gaza,” a remark that Jewish groups warned could inflame tensions in the city.

The event, organized by the student group Students Supporting Israel at Toronto Metropolitan University and featuring Israeli military veterans, was moved off campus at the last minute for safety reasons. Despite the secrecy, about 40 masked agitators found the venue and forced their way inside, breaking glass and attacking participants.

Israeli-American speaker Jonathan Karten, who divides his time between Israel and New York, said he had come to Toronto to talk to students about his uncle, Sharon Edri, an Israeli soldier kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in 1996. “As soon as we got there, we were attacked by roughly forty protesters—terrorists, whatever you want to call them,” he told Fox News Digital. “Five managed to get into the main room. One had a drill bit. A guy broke through the glass door, I got knocked in the face, and we barricaded ourselves with tables and chairs until police came.”

CANADA’S ANTISEMITISM ENVOY RESIGNS, CITING EXHAUSTION AMID HATE SURGE

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Masked pro-Palestinian protesters storm a pro-Israel event in Toronto, breaking glass and attacking attendees, Nov. 5, 2025.

He said the protesters seemed to know the location in advance. “They were waiting for us before we even started speaking,” he said. “It’s not something I assumed would happen in a civilian population in a Western country.”

The assault took place less than a week after Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said during an event that “the genocide in Gaza impacts us all.” The remark drew immediate outrage from Jewish organizations. “It’s shocking and dangerous language,” said Michael Levitt, CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, who urged Chow to apologize and clarify that Israel is not committing genocide. “Words like these validate hate and normalize the harassment of Jews,” he told The Algemeiner.

UK SYNAGOGUE ATTACK AND HAMAS HOSTAGE CRISIS UNDERSCORE DEADLY YOM KIPPUR

Toronto antisemitism attack

Masked protesters violently disrupted a pro-Israel event in Toronto, breaking glass and attacking participants, Nov. 5, 2025.

According to the Toronto police statement, a group of protesters entered the private event without permission, damaged property, and caused attendees to fear for their safety. One person was injured by broken glass.

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Police arrested five people in connection with the attack. All are scheduled to appear in court in January.

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A Toronto police spokesperson told Fox News Digital that while antisemitic incidents remain the most frequently reported hate-motivated category in the city, they have declined 41% compared to last year.

Toronto antisemitism

Students try to block entrance from extremist protesters attacking an event organized by Jewish students in Toronot, Canada.

Despite his injuries, Karten said he intends to keep speaking on campuses. “We’re cautious, but not scared,” he said. “We have to make sure Jewish and Israeli voices are heard without fear.

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ICC confirms war crimes charges against Uganda’s rebel leader Joseph Kony

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ICC confirms war crimes charges against Uganda’s rebel leader Joseph Kony

The International Criminal Court confirmed 39 charges against Kony, paving the way for a trial if he is ever captured.

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Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have confirmed war crimes and crimes against humanity charges against Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, nearly two decades after the court first issued a warrant for his arrest.

Kony, who remains at large, faces 39 charges, including murder, sexual enslavement and rape, making him the ICC’s longest-standing fugitive.

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Judges from the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber III said there are “substantial grounds to believe that Mr Kony is criminally responsible for the crimes” committed in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005, when he commanded the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Besides crimes committed by his rebels, the judges said Kony could also be held responsible for 10 crimes he allegedly committed himself, linked to two women he forced to become his wives.

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“Mr Kony issued standing orders to attack civilian settlements, kill and mistreat civilians, loot and destroy their property and abduct children and women to be integrated into the LRA,” the judges said in their ruling.

The ruling marks the first time the ICC has confirmed charges in a suspect’s absence, meaning the case can formally proceed to trial if Kony is ever captured. Under ICC rules, a full trial cannot begin without the defendant’s presence in court.

Prosecutors said efforts to track down and arrest Kony, now 64, are ongoing.

Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) soldiers pose during peace negotiations between the LRA and Ugandan religious and cultural leaders in Ri-Kwangba, southern Sudan, in 2008 [File: Reuters]

The ICC’s decision followed a three-day hearing in September in which prosecutors and victims’ lawyers presented evidence and testimony without Kony present – an unusual procedure that set the stage for Thursday’s ruling.

Years of investigations and witness accounts formed the basis of the decision.

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Emerging from northern Uganda’s Acholi region in the late 1980s, Kony’s LRA combined Christian mysticism with an armed rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni’s government.

The United Nations estimates about 100,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced during the conflict.

Even after being pushed out of Uganda, LRA fighters launched deadly raids across South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic, burning villages, looting communities and abducting tens of thousands of children – the abducted boys forced to fight and girls forced into sexual slavery.

Kony came back into international focus in 2012 when a viral video about his crimes led to the #Kony2012 campaign on social media.

Despite the global attention and years of military operations to apprehend Kony, he remains at large.

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