Reuters World News Summary

Images of Biden and Trudeau standing side by side in Ottawa announcing agreements including on semiconductors and migration represented a counter point to the scene in Moscow days ago. Biden warns Iran after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans, after the U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Biden, Trudeau united against authoritarian regimes after China-Russia summit

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented a united front on Friday against authoritarian regimes as Biden visited the Canadian capital days after the leaders of China and Russia held a Moscow summit. Images of Biden and Trudeau standing side by side in Ottawa announcing agreements including on semiconductors and migration represented a counter point to the scene in Moscow days ago.

Biden warns Iran after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria

President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans, after the U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria. Later, officials said that another U.S. service member was wounded on Friday in the latest tit-for-tat strike between Iran-backed forces and U.S. personnel in Syria.

U.N. hopes water meeting can create 'rippling effect' to stave off crisis

The United Nations' first meeting on water in nearly half a century drew towards a close on Friday with hopes it would spur political momentum and fears that too little is being done to tackle chronic water stress globally. There is no international binding agreement for water like the one reached for climate in Paris in 2015, or framework like that established to protect nature in Montreal last year, despite dire warnings of the risks humanity faces if water is not managed better.

Spanish cathedral holds mass for victims of clerical sex abuse

Bilbao Cathedral in northern Spain held a mass on Friday to recognise and apologise to victims of sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in the diocese, in one of the first services of its kind in Spain. Spain has been confronting cases of sexual abuse since El Pais newspaper reported in December 2021 more than 1,200 alleged cases of abuse by clergy spanning seven decades.

'Hotel Rwanda' hero Rusesabagina freed from Rwandan jail

Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the film "Hotel Rwanda," was released from a Rwandan prison on Friday, U.S. officials said, after his sentence was commuted following intense diplomacy by the United States.

Rusesabagina, a U.S. permanent resident, was accompanied by a U.S. embassy official as he was moved from prison to the residence of Qatar's ambassador in Kigali late on Friday, according to two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters in Washington.

Little room for maneuver as U.S.-China ties slide further

President Joe Biden said last month after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that he planned to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the episode and clear the air between the rival superpowers. Five weeks later, the call still hasn't happened.

Man behind guns in Haitian president's assassination pleads guilty

A dual Haitian-Chilean citizen pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Friday to three charges involving his role in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, gunned down in his home in 2021. According to court documents, Rodolphe Jaar is one of 11 defendants in the case, which includes businessmen accused of helping obtain vehicles and firearms from Florida and former Colombian soldiers accused of killing Moise in his bedroom.

Trump warns of 'death & destruction' if charged with a crime

Former U.S. President Donald Trump warned of potential "death & destruction" if he faces criminal charges, hours after New York prosecutors probing his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels said they would not be intimidated. The early Friday post on Trump's Truth Social media site was the latest in a string of verbal attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg since last Saturday when Trump wrongly predicted he would be arrested three days later.

Pro-Iranian forces in Syria warn they can respond to further U.S. strikes

Pro-Iranian forces in Syria said in an online statement late Friday that they have a "long arm" to respond to further U.S. strikes on their positions, after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria over the last 24 hours. The statement, signed by the Iranian Advisory Committee in Syria, said U.S. strikes had left several fighters dead and wounded, without specifying their nationality.

Russia presses along Ukraine front after reports of Bakhmut slowdown

Russian forces attacked northern and southern stretches of the front in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region on Friday, even as Kyiv said Moscow's assault was flagging near the city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian military reports described heavy fighting along a line running from Lyman to Kupiansk, as well as in the south at Avdiivka on the outskirts of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.

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