World News Roundup: Putin says Russia will not attack NATO, but F-16s will be shot down in Ukraine; Greek PM faces no-confidence vote over 2023 train crash and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-China's WuXi AppTec shared US client's data with Beijing, US intelligence officials told senators

U.S. intelligence officials in late February told senators working on a biotech security bill that Chinese pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec had transferred U.S. intellectual property to Beijing without consent, according to two sources. The U.S. government is concerned that certain Chinese biotech companies are contributing technology or research and development for use by China's military, and the proposed legislation would restrict U.S. government funds going to those Chinese companies.

Putin says Russia will not attack NATO, but F-16s will be shot down in Ukraine

Russia has no designs on any NATO country and will not attack Poland, the Baltic states or the Czech Republic but if the West supplies F-16 fighters to Ukraine then they will be shot down by Russian forces, President Vladimir Putin said late on Wednesday. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has triggered the deepest crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Israeli soldiers play with Gaza women's underwear in online posts

Israeli soldiers have been posting photos and videos of themselves toying with lingerie found in Palestinian homes, creating a dissonant visual record of the war in Gaza as a looming famine intensifies world scrutiny of Israel's offensive.

In one video, an Israeli soldier sits in an armchair in a room in Gaza grinning, with a gun in one hand and dangling white satin underwear from the other over the open mouth of a comrade lying on a sofa.

Greek PM faces no-confidence vote over 2023 train crash

The government of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis faces a no-confidence vote on Thursday over the handling of a train crash last year that killed 57 people, after media reports emerged this week alleging manipulation of evidence. Leftist opposition parties submitted a censure motion against the conservative government this week accusing it of "trying to hide the truth" after a freight train collided head-on with a passenger train in central Greece, the worst accident in the country's history.

Lawsuits over Baltimore bridge collapse likely, though limited, lawyers say

The owner, operator and charterer of the container ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday are likely to face lawsuits over its collapse and the people killed or injured, but legal experts say U.S. maritime law could limit the companies’ liability. U.S. laws pertaining to open-water navigation and shipping, which are created through court decisions and by acts of Congress, could restrict the kinds of lawsuits filed against the registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship, Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, its manager Synergy Marine Group and its charterer Maersk, and could limit the damages they would have to pay, three legal experts told Reuters.

Italian woman held in Hungary to remain in jail

An Italian woman charged in Hungary with taking part in an anti-fascist group's assaults on people they viewed as far-right activists will remain in jail after a judge denied her attorney's request that she be released into house arrest. Ilaria Salis, a 39-year-old teacher, is accused of taking part in a serious assault on two far-right militants by a group of anti-fascist activists in Budapest last February. She pleaded not guilty at a hearing in January.

Kremlin says silence essential for any Gershkovich prisoner exchange

The Kremlin said on Thursday complete silence was needed when it came to discussions about possible prisoner exchanges involving Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia a year ago on suspicion of espionage. Gershkovich, 32, became the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29.

Freighter pilot called for tugboat help before plowing into Baltimore bridge

The pilot of the cargo freighter that knocked down a highway bridge into Baltimore Harbor had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes earlier, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship's "black box" data recorder. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a traffic artery over the harbor built in 1976, lacked structural engineering redundancies common to newer spans, making it more vulnerable to a catastrophic collapse.

Philippines ups stakes in China row, vows countermeasures to coastguard 'attacks'

The Philippines will implement countermeasures against "illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks" by China's coastguard, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday, upping the stakes in an escalating row in the South China Sea. The Philippines is furious over what it calls repeated hostilities by Chinese vessels around disputed features inside Manila's 200-mile exclusive economic zone. The United States has weighed in with moral support for its former colony and military ally.

Obama, Bill Clinton to join Biden to raise $25 million at event with Queen Latifah and Lizzo

President Joe Biden will get a boost from Democratic predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on Thursday at a fundraiser in New York slated to raise more than $25 million and add some oomph to Biden's 2024 re-election campaign. Biden and the two former commanders-in-chief will take part in a discussion moderated by "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall in front of thousands of guests at what Biden's re-election campaign said would be the most successful political fundraiser in history.

(With inputs from agencies.)