Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Take more prisoners, Zelenskiy urges troops after big exchange

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday urged his troops to take more prisoners, saying this would make it easier to secure the release of soldiers being held by Russia. Zelenskiy made his remarks hours after the two sides carried out one of the biggest prisoner swaps so far, exchanging a total of 218 detainees, including 108 Ukrainian women.

Ethiopian army captures city from Tigray forces -sources

Ethiopian government forces and their allies on Monday captured Shire, one of the biggest cities in the northern region of Tigray, from regional forces they have been battling on and off since late 2020, two diplomatic and humanitarian sources said. The violence in Tigray, which has spilled over into neighbouring regions and drawn in the Eritrean military, has killed thousands of civilians, uprooted millions and left hundreds of thousands now facing possible famine.

Russia fighter hits apartments in city near Ukraine; six dead, six missing

A Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the southern city of Yeysk shortly after take-off on Monday, engulfing apartments in a fireball and killing six people, Tass news agency reported. A further six people were missing and 19 suffered injuries, agencies quoted local officials as saying. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.

Iran prison fire death toll grows as some EU states call for sanctions

Eight prisoners died as a result of a fire at Tehran’s Evin prison over the weekend, Iran’s judiciary said on Monday, doubling the death toll from a blaze that has increased pressure on the government as it struggles to contain mass protests. The fate of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who died in custody on Sept. 16 after she was apprehended by Iran’s morality police for “inappropriate attire”, unleashed a wave of protests that spread rapidly and to all layers of society.

U.S., Mexico call for Haiti security mission to confront gangs

The United States and Mexico said on Monday they will seek support from the United Nations for a security mission to restore order in Haiti amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, but did not identify who would lead the mission. Haiti is facing dire shortages of basic goods and a paralysis of economic activity due to the blockade of a fuel terminal by gangs, which has halted transport and left many without food or clean drinking water amid an outbreak of cholera.

U.S. lawmakers push for more action to help struggling Haiti

Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. Congress announced legislation on Monday intended to help Haiti address a worsening humanitarian and security crisis by punishing members of political elites found to be colluding with criminal gangs. The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2022, introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives, would require the U.S. State Department to investigate the relationship between gangs and elites, and provide reports in Congress.

New UK finance minister Hunt reverses Truss’s economic plan in dramatic U-turn

Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt scrapped Prime Minister Liz Truss’s economic plan and scaled back her vast energy support scheme on Monday, making a historic policy U-turn to try to stem a dramatic loss of investor confidence. Truss’s spokesman denied that Hunt was running the country after his new strategy sent the pound soaring and helped government bond prices start to recover from the rout that followed her government’s Sept. 23 plan for unfunded tax cuts.

U.S. condemns ‘war crimes’ after Russia drone attack hits Kyiv apartment block

The United States will hold Russia accountable for “war crimes”, the White House said on Monday, hours after Russia attacked Ukrainian cities with drones during morning rush hour, killing at least four people in an apartment building in Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his Monday evening video address, said there had been more attacks. “Right now, there is a new Russian drone attack. There are (drones) that have been shot down.”

Italy’s Meloni, Berlusconi make peace, vow to form cabinet quickly

Giorgia Meloni, expected to be named Italian prime minister, and her coalition partner Silvio Berlusconi had a cordial meeting on Monday and aim to quickly form a “cohesive” government, their parties said. Tensions have been running high over the allocation of cabinet posts between Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party led a rightist alliance to victory in a Sept. 25 election, and Berlusconi, who heads the smaller Forza Italia party.

Bolsonaro ally running for Sao Paulo governor says campaign event ‘attacked’

A close ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro running for governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcisio Freitas, said a campaign event was “attacked by criminals” on Monday in the Paraisopolis neighborhood of the state capital. Sao Paulo Public Security Secretary Joao Camilo Campos said that preliminary information suggested there had not been an attack targeting Freitas, although investigators had not ruled out any hypothesis. Officials confirmed a man was killed near the site of the campaign event, but provided no further details.

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