World News Roundup: Ukraine says troops hold on in Sievierodonetsk, advance in south; German investigators question driver after 'dark day' for Berlin and more

Though the Southeast Asian country has a defence treaty with the United States, their ties were left shaken by Duterte's recent overtures to China. U.S. mission to Palestinians renamed, will report directly to Washington The U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in Jerusalem said on Thursday that it had been redesignated and will report directly to Washington "on substantive matters", signalling an upgrade in ties ahead of a planned visit by President Joe Biden.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine says troops hold on in Sievierodonetsk, advance in south

Ukrainian troops claimed on Thursday to have pushed forward in intense street fighting in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk but said their only hope to turn the tide was more artillery to offset Russia's massive firepower. In the south, Ukraine's defense ministry said it had captured new ground in a counter-attack in Kherson province,aiming at the biggest swathe of territory Russia has seized since its invasion in February.

German investigators question driver after 'dark day' for Berlin

German investigators are trying to make sense of "confused" statements from a 29-year-old man who rammed his car into a group of schoolchildren and killed a teacher in Berlin, the city's mayor, Franziska Giffey, said on Thursday. The authorities have established that the German-Armenian man was severely mentally ill but had yet to understand any motive for Wednesday's incident, or any possible connection to posters about Turkey found in the back of his car, she said.

Prince Harry's lawyers say paper implied he had lied, UK court hears

A newspaper article about Prince Harry's legal battle with the British government over his security arrangements implied that he had lied and tried to manipulate public opinion, lawyers for Queen Elizabeth's grandson said on Thursday. Harry is suing Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday, for libel over an article in February which alleged he had tried to keep secret details of his legal fight to reinstate his police protection, and his aides had then tried to put a positive spin on it.

U.N. calls for justice after fatal shooing of Myanmar WHO worker

The United Nations condemned on Thursday the fatal shooting of a World Health Organization (WHO) employee in eastern Myanmar, the latest in a string of assassinations underlining the chaos in the country since last year's coup. The U.N. and the WHO said Myo Min Htut, a WHO driver for five years, was shot dead on Wednesday while riding his motorcycle in Mawlamyine in Mon State, close to Thailand, in unclear circumstances.

Power restored in crisis-hit Sri Lanka, UN unveils $47m aid plan

Striking power sector workers returned to work in Sri Lanka on Thursday after the president promised to listen to their concerns, ending widespread blackouts and bringing some respite to an economy hit by its biggest crisis in decades. About 900 out of around 1,100 engineers of the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) went on strike at midnight, stalling operations at eight hydropower plants and triggering power cuts across the island nation.

Top U.S. official meets Philippines' Marcos to boost "longstanding alliance"

Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos met with a top U.S. official in Manila on Thursday, underscoring efforts to preserve an alliance strained by incumbent leader Rodrigo Duterte's animosity toward Washington and his embrace of Beijing. The Philippines is a fulcrum of the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. Though the Southeast Asian country has a defense treaty with the United States, their ties were left shaken by Duterte's recent overtures to China.

U.S. mission to Palestinians renamed, will report directly to Washington

The U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in Jerusalem said on Thursday that it had been redesignated and will report directly to Washington "on substantive matters", signaling an upgrade in ties ahead of a planned visit by President Joe Biden. The former "Palestinian Affairs Unit" (PAU) was renamed the "U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs" (OPA) under the move. Prior to becoming the PAU, it had been the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem and a focus of Palestinian statehood goals in the city.

Biden lines up clean energy growth plan at troubled Americas summit

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday will lay out a pitch to leaders from the Americas for an environmentally-friendly economic partnership as he gears up for a first formal encounter with his Brazilian counterpart, a noted climate change skeptic. Biden will meet Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, a gathering intended to underline renewed U.S. commitment to Latin America after years of comparative neglect under the former Trump administration.

UK confident its plan for N. Ireland does not break international law

Britain is confident it will not break international law with plans to introduce legislation to unilaterally deal with problems caused by the post-Brexit arrangements that cover trade with Northern Ireland, a minister said on Thursday. The legislation is expected to come to parliament soon as a dispute over how to deal with the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, which governs post-Brexit trade and was agreed as part of Britain's deal to leave the European Union, drags on.

Israeli troops kill Palestinian in West Bank confrontation, medics say

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian and wounded six others during confrontations with stone-throwers in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian medical officials said. Witnesses said the incident in the town of Halhoul, near the city of Hebron, came after Israeli troops entered and sealed off a currency exchange office.