World News Roundup: Ukraine says it shot down 29 of 30 missiles in overnight Russian attacks; NATO reaches back to Cold War past with first major defence plans in decades and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Ukraine says it shot down 29 of 30 missiles in overnight Russian attacks

Ukraine shot down 29 of 30 missiles launched by Russia in overnight air strikes but one person was killed in an attack on the southern city of Odesa, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday. Black smoke filled the sky over Kyiv during the ninth attack on the capital this month. Falling debris from missiles hit by air defences set off fires in eastern parts of Kyiv, causing minor damage but no casualties in the capital, officials said.

NATO reaches back to Cold War past with first major defence plans in decades

NATO will step back to the future at its Vilnius summit in July, with leaders set to approve thousands of pages of secret military plans that will detail for the first time since the Cold War how the alliance would respond to a Russian attack.

The move signifies a fundamental shift - NATO had seen no need to draw up large-scale defence plans for decades, as it fought smaller wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and felt certain post-Soviet Russia no longer posed an existential threat.

Central Asia forges ties with China as Xi touts 'enduring' friendship

Central Asian heads of state converged in China's historic city of Xian on Thursday for one-on-ones with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to seal pledges of "enduring" friendship, paving the way for a summit expected to result in a regional pact with Beijing. The bilaterals set the stage for a group huddle on Friday, the first in-person gathering of the six leaders, where Xi will deliver an "important" speech, according to China's foreign ministry. An "important" political document will also be signed.

Kremlin says its needs to see more progress after Black Sea grain deal renewal

The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed that Russia had renewed the Black Sea grain deal for two months after achieving some results in talks which had given it "certain hopes", but said more progress had to be made to advance its own interests. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech on Wednesday and it was later confirmed by Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations.

Analysis-Qatar takes diplomatic back seat as Saudi flexes political muscle

The Arab League's welcoming back of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad into its ranks highlights how far behind Qatar has fallen in its bid to be a diplomatic voice that carries weight in the Middle East. Earlier this month Qatar reluctantly withdrew its opposition to Saudi Arabia's initiative to readmit Syria. It made clear it opposed normalizing its own ties with Damascus but said it would not stand in the way of an Arab consensus.

Exceptional weather becomes the new norm in exposed Italy

Storms, avalanches, floods and drought have slammed Italy over the past year, killing dozens of people, as once exceptional disasters become a regular part of life, leaving the government scrambling to find answers. "Climate change is here and we are living the consequences. It isn't some remote prospect, it is the new normal," said Paola Pino d'Astore, an expert at the Italian Society of Environmental Geology (SIGEA).

Armenian PM agrees to hold Moscow peace talks with Azeri leader and Putin - Ifax

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday he had agreed to hold peace talks in Moscow on May 25 with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating, the Interfax news agency reported. "We received a proposal from the Russian side to hold a trilateral meeting mediated by the Russian president on May 25. We accepted this proposal," Pashinyan was cited as telling a government meeting.

Sudan's conflict inflicts heavy toll on children

After surviving weeks of fighting in Khartoum, Sanaa Mahmoud has finally got her family to safety in Cairo but says her daughter still wakes up at night screaming because of the gunfire and airstrikes that rocked her neighbourhood. "They saw everything, the gunfire was falling on us at home ... they saw horrible scenes," said Mahmoud, speaking at a shelter in Cairo where she has found sanctuary for her two daughters.

Erdogan rival pledges to repatriate all refugees before Turkey runoff

Tayyip Erdogan's challenger in Turkey's presidential race has sharpened his tone on migrants on Thursday, vowing to send all migrants back to their countries once elected in a May 28 runoff vote. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, won 45% support in Sunday's vote while Erdogan got 49.5%, falling just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff vote.

Devastating Italian floods leave behind wrecked farms and ruined homes

Floods that killed nine people in Italy's northern Emilia-Romagna region caused billions of euros' worth of damage and hit agriculture particularly hard, the regional governor said on Thursday. Torrential rains this week devastated the eastern side of the region, known as Romagna, with up to 300 landslides, 23 overflowing rivers, some 400 roads damaged or destroyed, and 42 flooded municipalities.