World News Roundup: Zelenskiy visits flood-stricken southern Ukraine to assess scale of disaster; EU proposes new ethics body following cash-for-influence scandal and more

"I would say to those countries, you must step up," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a meeting of the U.S.-led coalition in Riyadh. Four children wounded in knife attack in French town, two in critical condition A Syrian national wounded four young children and an adult in a knife attack in a park in the southeastern French town of Annecy on Thursday, police said, and some of the victims were in critical condition.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Zelenskiy visits flood-stricken southern Ukraine to assess scale of disaster

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the flood-stricken southern region of Kherson on Thursday to assess the scale of devastation after the destruction of a huge dam whose waters submerged homes, fields and roads. Drone video showed areas where often only the roofs of houses were visible above the flooding. The region's governor said some 600 square kilometres, or 230 square miles, were under water.

EU proposes new ethics body following cash-for-influence scandal

The European Commission proposed on Thursday a new ethics body to set standards of conduct across EU institutions whose image has been tarnished by a cash-for-influence scandal that affected the European Parliament at the end of last year. The creation of an ethics body became more urgent after Belgium charged MEPs and others linked to parliament with receiving cash from World Cup host Qatar to influence decisions. The Gulf state has denied wrongdoing.

US, Saudi top diplomats urge repatriation of detained IS recruits

The United States and Saudi Arabia urged countries to take back citizens captured in the fight against Islamic State, with the kingdom's top diplomat saying it was "absolutely unacceptable" that wealthy countries skirted that responsibility. "I would say to those countries, you must step up," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a meeting of the U.S.-led coalition in Riyadh.

Four children wounded in knife attack in French town, two in critical condition

A Syrian national wounded four young children and an adult in a knife attack in a park in the southeastern French town of Annecy on Thursday, police said, and some of the victims were in critical condition. The attacker was a Syrian national with legal refugee status in France, a police official told Reuters. He was not known to security agencies and his motives were unclear, an investigative source said.

Israeli army raids Palestinian city of Ramallah, 35 wounded in clashes

Clashes erupted after Israeli forces raided the city of Ramallah in the West Bank early on Thursday in what the military said was an operation to demolish the house of a Palestinian accused of a Jerusalem double-bombing last year. The Palestinian health ministry said at least 35 people were wounded, including at least 20 by live bullets. Two people suffered serious abdominal wounds while a third was hit by a rubber bullet which penetrated his skull.

Wildfires burn across Canada with little relief in sight

Forest fires continued to burn across Canada on Thursday as the country endured its worst-ever start to wildfire season, forcing thousands of people from their homes and sending a smoky haze billowing across U.S. cities. About 3.8 million hectares (9.4 million acres) have already burned, roughly 15 times the 10-year average, according to federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair. Warm, dry conditions were expected to persist in the months ahead.

Analysis-Spain hatches plan to win Macron over to EU-Mercosur trade pact

Spain will appeal to President Emmanuel Macron's ambition to make the European Union a "third pole" in world affairs in its bid to secure vital French backing for a stalled EU trade deal with South America, according to three senior government and diplomatic sources. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez believes he has a window of opportunity to revive the Mercosur free trade agreement (FTA) - which has been frozen for four years - during Spain's forthcoming presidency of the EU because of his close relationships with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, government and diplomatic sources said.

Tensions in US-Saudi ties cloud Blinken visit to Riyadh

A visit by the U.S. Secretary of State to Saudi Arabia drew little Saudi media coverage on Thursday at a time of soured relations despite a U.S. push to defuse rows that have touched on oil prices, human rights and Riyadh's opening to Iran. Antony Blinken was the second top U.S. official to visit Washington's closest strategic ally in the Middle East in less than a month, following a May 7 trip by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Children evacuated from orphanage where dozens died in Sudan's capital

About 300 children have been evacuated from an orphanage in Sudan's capital Khartoum where dozens of orphans were found last month to have died since mid-April due to nearby fighting between rival military factions. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which facilitated the evacuation late on Wednesday, said the children aged between 1 and 15 had been taken to a safer location in Wad Madani, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) southeast of Khartoum.

India rebukes Canada over parade float showing assassination of Indira Gandhi

India's foreign minister on Thursday hit out at Canada for allowing a float in a parade depicting the 1984 assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguards, perceived to be glorification of violence by Sikh separatists. "I think there is a larger underlying issue about the space which is given to separatists, to extremists, to people who advocate violence," S. Jaishankar told reporters in New Delhi while commenting about the tableau in a parade.