Reuters World News Summary

On Monday, during his first trip to Asia as president, Biden said the United States would get involved militarily should China attack democratic Taiwan, seeming to break with a long-held policy of not making clear how the United States might react. London's $24 billion Crossrail finally opens London's long-delayed and over-budget Crossrail finally opens to passengers on Tuesday, offering faster journeys from Heathrow Airport and Berkshire in the west to Essex in the east through a series of new, long tunnels under Britain's capital.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Biden says he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan against China

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression in a comment that seemed to stretch the limits of the ambiguous U.S. policy towards the self-ruled island. While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long followed a policy of "strategic ambiguity" on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

Analysis-Biden's Taiwan remarks show conviction to defend island but carry risks

There is an old saying in politics that a gaffe is when a politician says what they really mean. And critics of U.S. President Joe Biden say he has made his fair share when it comes to Taiwan. On Monday, during his first trip to Asia as president, Biden said the United States would get involved militarily should China attack democratic Taiwan, seeming to break with a long-held policy of not making clear how the United States might react.

London's $24 billion Crossrail finally opens

London's long-delayed and over-budget Crossrail finally opens to passengers on Tuesday, offering faster journeys from Heathrow Airport and Berkshire in the west to Essex in the east through a series of new, long tunnels under Britain's capital. The railway, which has been renamed the "Elizabeth" line in honour of Queen Elizabeth, is expected to carry 200 million people a year and will increase London's rail capacity by 10%, according to Transport for London (TfL).

Three killed in Yemen's capital by downed drone, Houthi officials say

Three people were killed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after Houthi forces downed a spy drone of the Saudi-led military coalition, Houthi officials and medical sources said on Monday. The health minister in the Houthi administration that runs Sanaa said another three people were injured when the drone landed in a commercial area, the official news agency reported.

At Mariupol cemetery, a grieving mother ponders war's human toll

At a cemetery outside Mariupol, a Ukrainian city captured by Russia last week after a destructive three-month siege, a grief-stricken mother sobs inconsolably. Natalya lost her only son, Vladimir Voloshin, on March 26 when shrapnel smashed into his skull and chest in the fight for the city. He was 28.

EU oil embargo 'in days' as Ukraine isolation drives Russia closer to China

The European Union will likely agree an embargo on Russian oil imports "within days," according to its biggest member Germany, as Moscow said it saw its economic ties growing with China after being isolated by the West over its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told global business leaders in Davos on Monday that the world must increase sanctions against Russia to deter other countries from using "brute force" to achieve their aims.

Fresh photos of UK PM Johnson drinking reignite 'Partygate' row

New photographs of Prime Minister Boris Johnson drinking at a leaving party at his Downing Street residence have been published, reigniting opposition accusations that he breached his own COVID-19 lockdown rules. The photographs, obtained by ITV News, were taken at a gathering in honour of Downing Street's outgoing director of communications Lee Cain in November 2020, an event previously investigated by police for potential breaches of the law.

Russian soldier jailed for life in first war crimes trial of Ukraine war

A Ukrainian court sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison on Monday for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's invasion. Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander, had pleaded guilty to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in the northeastern Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on Feb. 28, four days after the invasion.

Exclusive: Four EU countries call for use of Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine

Lithuania, Slovakia, Latvia and Estonia will call on Tuesday for the confiscation of Russian assets frozen by the European Union to fund the rebuilding of Ukraine after Russia's invasion, a joint letter written by the four showed on Monday. On May 3, Ukraine estimated the amount of money needed to rebuild the country from the destruction wrought by Russia at around $600 billion. But with the war still in full swing, the sum is likely to have risen sharply, the letter said.

Militants kill at least 50 in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno

At least 50 people were killed by militants on Sunday around the town of Rann in Nigeria's Borno state, in the country's northeastern tip near the border with Cameroon, witnesses told Reuters by phone on Monday. Since 2009, Nigeria's northeast and Borno state in particular have been the centre of an insurgency led by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. Millions have been displaced and some 350,000 people have died from attacks and the subsequent humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

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