North Korean troops in Russia

Pentagon chief offers first official US confirmation.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas The US defense secretary says there is evidence that North Korea troops are in Russia, Israeli forces step up their pressure on northern areas of Gaza, and the Trump campaign accuses Britain's Labour Party of election interference. Plus, Starbucks baristas and customers have one message to the company's new CEO: change. Today's Top News   Smoke billows after an Israeli strike in Tyre, southern Lebanon. REUTERS/Aziz Taher Middle East US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed for a halt to fighting in the Middle East during his first trip to the region since Israel killed the leader of Hamas last week, which Washington hopes can provide a new impetus for peace talks. So far, there was no respite. Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 20 people as Israeli forces stepped up pressure on northern areas of the enclave, besieged hospital and refugee shelters, and ordered residents to head south. Follow our coverage of the war. US election Donald Trump's campaign has accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party of "blatant foreign interference" in the election after some volunteers traveled to help campaign for Kamala Harris. Starmer denied that the complaint would damage relations with Trump if the former president wins on Nov. 5. US officials say Russia, China and Iran are intent on fanning narratives to divide Americans ahead of the vote. On today's Reuters World News podcast, National Security Correspondent Jonathan Landay discusses why fears over foreign actors are high. In other news US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said there is evidence that North Korea troops are in Russia, and it remained to be seen what they would be doing there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has cited intelligence about the preparation of two units with possibly up to 12,000 North Korean troops. NASA and Chinese officials are engaged in talks to let American scientists analyze rocks retrieved by China from the moon's far side, as Washington pursues improved communication with Beijing on issues involving space. Devastating rains that triggered deadly floods in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan in recent months were worsened by human-caused climate change, a team of international scientists said. Make sense of how governments are grappling with the climate crisis, sign up to the Sustainable Switch newsletter. Business & Markets   Tokyo Metro's shares closed at 1,739 yen, giving it a valuation of roughly 1 trillion yen. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Tokyo Metro's shares shot up 45% in their market debut. The subway operator's performance is the best to follow a large initial public offering in Japan since e-commerce company Mercari, which popped 77% in its debut in 2018. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company notified the US that one of its chips had been found in a Huawei product after tech research firm TechInsights took apart the product, revealing a possible violation of export restrictions on the Chinese company. HSBC's history-making new chief financial officer Pam Kaur is a battle-hardened risk and audit veteran who credits her success to the "Power of Chi". She joined HSBC in 2013, rising to the role of group chief risk and compliance officer before landing her latest promotion in a sweeping revamp. Tasked with reassuring investors that Starbucks' coffee shops are still hugely popular in the United States, new CEO Brian Niccol also has to contend with baristas and hardcore customers who say they want plenty of changes. Shares of McDonald's fell nearly 6% in premarket trading after an E. coli outbreak linked to the restaurant chain's Quarter Pounder hamburgers resulted in the death of one person and sickened 49 people in the United States. In Pictures   A live ammunition training exercise of the graduates of the 75th class of O Jin U Artillery Academy, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, October 2024. KCNA via REUTERS North Korea, which is estimated to have 1.28 million active soldiers and about 600,000 reservists, appears to be readying thousands of troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine. We take a look inside its reclusive army. See our photo gallery And Finally... Breaking the grass ceiling? REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo Young women are consuming more pot than men for the first time in a historic shift in the $30 billion US cannabis industry, prompting companies to revamp products and step up investments. Top cannabis retailers told Reuters they've started refocusing shelf space toward products that have proved popular with women. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. 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