MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military-run supply boat Sunday off a contested shoal, Philippine officials said, in an encounter that heightened fears of an armed conflict in the disputed South China Sea.

A top Philippine security official told The Associated Press there were no injuries among the Filipino crew members and an assessment of the damage to both vessels was underway.

LONDON (AP) — Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through a rainy London on Saturday to demand Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza, and similar calls were heard in cities around the world as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third week.

On the day a trickle of aid entered Gaza, where more than 1 million people have left their homes because of the conflict, protesters gathered in at Marble Arch near London’s Hyde Park before marching to the government district, Whitehall.

MANILA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- A fire broke out on a motor tanker while anchored off Batangas province, south of Manila, on Sunday, killing two people, officials said.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) initially reported that one died from the blaze that razed the vessel Motor Tanker Sea Horse at around 9 a.m. local time. The fire raged for two hours before firefighters extinguished it.

Joselito Sinocruz, the manager of Port of Batangas, said in an updated report that two died and two others were still missing from the accident.

WASHINGTON, October 21. /TASS/: The United States’ intelligence assessment of Moscow’s alleged attempts to erode public faith in the integrity of elections worldwide is nothing but "a compilation of outright speculations," Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

"We are not familiar with such a document. However, as they say it in the West, it is ‘highly likely’ that this piece is a compilation of outright speculations, gossip and Russophobic outbursts," the envoy noted, commenting on related media reports.

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit synagogue president was found stabbed to death outside her home Saturday, police said. The motive wasn’t known.

Emergency medical personnel declared the woman, identified in a statement from Mayor Mike Duggan as Samantha Woll, dead at the scene, Cpl. Dan Donakowski said.

“While at the scene, police officers observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred,” Donakowski said.

DUBAI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A teenage Iranian girl, who fell into a coma earlier this month following an alleged encounter with officers over violating the country's hijab law, is said to be "brain dead", Iranian state media reported on Sunday.

Right groups such as Kurdish-Iranian Hengaw were the first to make Armita Geravand's hospitalisation public, publishing photos of the 16-year-old girl on social media that showed her unconscious with a respiratory tube and bandage over her head, visibly on life support. Reuters could not verify the pictures.

CARACAS, Oct 22 (NNN-ABN) – Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister, Yvan Gil, thanked international support for the progress made in Venezuela’s national conciliation talks, and the temporary suspension of U.S. sanctions against the country.

“We welcome the message of support that comes to us from … Russia, in reference to the resumption of dialogue and the right of our country to live free of foreign interference, blackmail and unilateral sanctions,” Gil wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

SEOUL, Oct 22 (Reuters) - South Korea, together with Japan and the United States, held a joint aerial exercise near the Korean peninsula on Sunday, the South Korean military said, marking the first such collaboration between the three countries.

The drill aimed to expand the countries' response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's air force said in a statement.

It involved a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber as well as fighter jets of the three nations.

ONJUKU, Japan (AP) — Scientists from the U.N. nuclear agency watched Friday as Japanese lab workers prepared samples of fish collected at a seafood market near the Fukushima nuclear plant to test the safety of treated radioactive wastewater released from the damaged plant into the sea.

The discharge of wastewater began on Aug. 24 and is expected to continue for decades. It has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries, including China and Russia, which have banned all imports of Japanese seafood.

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - China's top spy agency said on Sunday a Chinese citizen who worked for a defense institute had been accused of spying for the United States and his case had been transferred to a court in the southwestern city of Chengdu for trial.

The case is the latest to underscore Beijing's heightened commitment to national security, its expanded anti-spying laws and crackdown on domestic corruption.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans get a chance Sunday to pick who they think can end the decade-long crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolás Maduro.

They will cast ballots in a primary election independently organized by the country’s opposition despite government repression and other obstacles.

The contest is in itself an exercise in democracy because it required the deeply fractured opposition to work together to give the South American country its first presidential primary since 2012. But it could prove an exercise in futility if Maduro’s government wishes.

LONGMEADOW, Mass. (AP) — Two juveniles have been charged after several slides at a Massachusetts park were doused with acid in this summer and four children were injured, the Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said.

The juveniles, whose identities cannot be released due to their ages, have been charged with four counts of assault and battery on a child with injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon as well as vandalism, Gulluni said. His office did not say whether the pair have been arrested.