Reuters World News Summary

He said this was part of a sustained campaign of slander against him and his family by political opponents. Zelenskiy says Russia targeted gas facilities that secure EU supply Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a Russian attack on his country's energy sector on Saturday had targeted gas facilities important for supply to the European Union.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Rocked by spy scandal, Germany's far-right reprises old themes at campaign launch

Buffeted by sliding poll ratings and reeling from allegations that it had harboured a Chinese spy in its ranks, Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany sought to recover lost momentum at the Saturday launch of its campaign for June's European Parliament elections. Support for the AfD, which at the start of the year was vying with the conservatives to top opinion polls in Germany, was ebbing even before the arrest this week of an assistant to its lead candidate Maximilian Krah on espionage charges.

Haiti transitional government to vote for president on Tuesday

Haiti's transition council on Saturday said it will vote for the country's next president on Tuesday as part of efforts to bring the Caribbean country under control amid rampant gang violence. The transition council took power in a ceremony on Thursday, formalizing the resignation of former Prime Minster Ariel Henry.

Socialist supporters call on Spanish prime minister to stay

Thousands of Socialist Party supporters travelled from across Spain for a rally in Madrid on Saturday to call on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to stay on, after he stunned the country this week by saying he might quit the premiership. Sanchez said on Wednesday he would step back "for a few days" to decide whether he wants to continue leading the government after a court launched a business corruption probe into his wife's private dealings. He said this was part of a sustained campaign of slander against him and his family by political opponents.

Zelenskiy says Russia targeted gas facilities that secure EU supply

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a Russian attack on his country's energy sector on Saturday had targeted gas facilities important for supply to the European Union. Russia continues to supply gas to the EU via Ukraine under a transit deal with Russia's Gazprom that is set to expire in December. Ukraine's energy minister said last month that Kyiv had no plans to extend or replace the arrangement with Moscow, which pays Ukraine to export its gas to the EU.

Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships with maximum 15 years in prison

Iraq's parliament passed a law criminalising same-sex relationships with a maximum 15-year prison sentence on Saturday, in a move it said aimed to uphold religious values but was condemned by rights advocates as the latest attack on the LGBT community in Iraq. The law aims to "protect Iraqi society from moral depravity and the calls for homosexuality that have overtaken the world," according to a copy of the law seen by Reuters.

Some US officials say in internal memo Israel may be violating international law in Gaza

Some senior U.S. officials have advised Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they do not find "credible or reliable" Israel's assurances that it is using U.S.-supplied weapons in accordance with international humanitarian law, according to an internal State Department memo reviewed by Reuters. Other officials upheld support for Israel's representation.

Russian missiles pound power plants in central and western Ukraine

Russian missiles pounded power facilities in central and western Ukraine on Saturday, increasing pressure on the ailing energy system as the country faces a shortage of air defences despite a breakthrough in U.S. military aid. The air strike, carried out with long-range missiles, including cruise missiles fired by Russian strategic bombers based in the Arctic Circle, was the fourth large-scale aerial assault targeting the power system since March 22.

Portugal's government rejects paying reparations for colonial, slavery legacy

Portugal's government said on Saturday it refuses to initiate any process to pay reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, contrary to earlier comments from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. From the 15th to the 19th century, 6 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported across the Atlantic by Portuguese vessels and sold into slavery, primarily in Brazil.

Chile's President Boric declares national mourning period after 3 police officers killed

Three police officers were killed on Saturday in southern Chile during what President Gabriel Boric called a cowardly attack that led him to declare three days of national mourning. The attack occurred in the municipality of Canete, in Arauco province, when the officers responded to three false emergency calls, authorities said.

Police arrest scores of pro-Palestinian protesters on US university campuses

Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on a handful of U.S. university campuses on Saturday, as activists vowed to keep up the movement seeking a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas among other demands. The Indiana University police department in Bloomington said in an emailed statement that 23 protesters were arrested there.

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