Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Turkey says it will not bow to U.S. sanctions over S-400 deal

Turkey will never bow to U.S. sanctions over its agreement to purchase Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense systems, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Sunday regarding a deal that has strained ties between the NATO allies. Washington says the systems are not compatible with NATO equipment and may compromise its Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. It has warned of possible U.S. sanctions if Ankara pushes on with the Russian deal. Netanyahu pledges 'massive strikes' in Gaza in third day of border fighting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he ordered the military to continue "massive strikes" against militants in Gaza as a surge in cross-border hostilities ran into a third day. A rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli civilian on Sunday while four Palestinians, at least two of them gunmen, were killed in Israeli strikes in the most serious border clashes since a spate of fighting in November. Deserted beaches, empty rooms: Sri Lanka tourism takes a hit after bombings

Sri Lanka's $4.4 billion tourism industry is reeling from cancellations as travelers shun the sun and sand Indian Ocean island after multiple suicide bombings that killed over 250 people two weeks ago. Suspected suicide bombers from little-known Islamic groups in Sri Lanka attacked churches and luxury hotels in the country on Easter Sunday, killing worshippers, tourists and their families. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. North Korean leader Kim oversaw testing of multiple rocket launchers: KCNA

North Korea has conducted a "strike drill" for multiple launchers, firing tactical guided weapons into the East Sea in a military drill supervised by leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, the North's state media reported on Sunday. The purpose of the drill was to test performance of "large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by defense units," the Korean Central News Agency said. With focus on Hodeidah, Yemen's war rages on elsewhere

With global attention on Yemen focused on a fragile truce in its main port of Hodeidah, fighting between rival forces in the country's four-year war has surged elsewhere. Escalating hostilities in the southwestern al-Dhalea area have disrupted the main south-to-north goods route, displaced thousands and complicated efforts to battle a cholera epidemic and feed millions on the brink of starvation. Pope says emigration, low birth rates have brought 'Ice Curtain' on Europe

Pope Francis urged European leaders on Sunday to address wealth inequality and low birth rates which he said had created an "ice curtain" between Europe's richer and poorer states and was fuelling emigration. Francis was speaking during a two-day visit to Bulgaria, his first and the first by a pope in 17 years. He also met with leaders of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He moves to North Macedonia on Tuesday. Get your children vaccinated or face fine: German health minister

German Health Minister Jens Spahn has drawn up draft legislation to oblige parents to get their children vaccinated against measles or else face fines and their exclusion from daycare. Spahn's initiative comes amid a highly charged debate in Germany about whether the measles vaccine should be obligatory, and as the number of cases of the once-eradicated disease in the United States hit the highest levels since 2000. India cyclone kills at least 33, hundreds of thousands homeless

Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless after a cyclone packing winds of about 200 km per hour slammed into eastern India, ripping out tin roofs and destroying power and telecom lines, officials said on Sunday. At least 33 people were killed after cyclone Fani struck the state of Odisha on Friday but a million people emerged unscathed after they moved into storm shelter ahead of landfall. Woman with cancer dies in UAE jail after rights groups, U.N. call for release

A woman with terminal cancer who was serving a 10-year prison sentence in the United Arab Emirates has died in jail, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday, two months after the United Nations called for her release on medical grounds. United Nations human rights experts in February called on UAE authorities to release Alia Abdulnoor to live her final days at home and said they were concerned about reports that she was suffering degrading treatment, including being chained to a bed under armed guard. Thailand's king to greet subjects in coronation parade

Thailand's newly crowned King Maha Vajiralongkorn will greet his subjects on Sunday in a royal procession, a day after completing ornate rituals to become the country's first new divine monarch in nearly seven decades. The grand procession will cover 7 km (4 miles) in a route from the Grand Palace to three royal temples, where he will pay homage to each temple's main Buddha images, and back.

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