Reuters World News Summary

In the north, where Gaza City and adjacent refugee camps are surrounded by Israeli ground forces, air and artillery strikes pummelled the area around the major al-Shifa Hospital. Peru foreign minister resigns following US visit controversy Peru's foreign minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi resigned on Monday after less than a year, amid questions over how she handled President Dina Boluarte's visit last week to the United States.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Poll makes better reading for Biden than China's Xi before expected summit

Ahead of an expected meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping next week, a U.S. think tank says data it has collected from two dozen countries shows the American leader is winning the battle for public opinion. The Pew Research Center says it surveyed 30,861 adults in 24 countries between Feb. 20 and May 22 about their attitudes to the world's two largest economies and their leadership.

G7's political relevance at stake over Israel-Gaza response

The Group of Seven (G7) bloc of wealthy democracies risks eroding its relevance as a force to tackle major geopolitical crises over an apparent struggle between its member nations to agree on a firm, united approach to Israel's war in Gaza. Foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union and the United States meet in Tokyo this week to discuss the conflict, which several global powers have warned could spiral and engulf the Middle East.

US to send high-level delegation to Australia on AUKUS mission

The Biden administration is sending a high level delegation to Australia for a series of meetings this week to review the progress of the trilateral AUKUS defense technology partnership, a U.S. official said on Monday. AUKUS provides for the sale of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines and sharing of nuclear-propulsion technology with Australia, as well as joint development of high-tech weaponry. The three-way pact between Australia, the United States and Britain is the biggest defense project in Australian history and a response to China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific.

Slain Lebanese schoolgirl sisters are latest victims of Mideast war

Sisters Rimas, Daline and Lianne Ayyoub were preparing to travel to Beirut for temporary schooling there because of escalating clashes between Israel and Hezbollah militants in their native southern Lebanon. When they set off on Sunday, a missile Lebanon says Israel fired hit their car, killing all three and their grandmother, and leaving their mother wounded and confused.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy: Irresponsible to talk of holding elections in wartime

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday it was irresponsible to engage in talk of holding an election in Ukraine in wartime and called for unity to avoid pointless political discussions. Zelenskiy said it was critical to concentrate on the military challenges facing the country as it tries to push out Russian forces occupying nearly one-fifth of its territory more than 20 months after launching a full-scale invasion.

King Charles to set out UK PM Sunak's plans on crime, climate before election

King Charles will set out the government's plans on crime, climate, housing and other legislation on Tuesday in what could be British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's first and last so-called King's Speech before an election next year. Sunak will use the event, when the monarch delivers a speech listing the government's priorities for a new parliamentary session, to press on with what his team hopes will be vote-winning policies he outlined earlier this year.

Intense Israeli bombardment rocks displaced Gaza residents

Palestinians in Gaza emerged on Monday after what residents said was one of the heaviest nights of Israeli bombardment since the war began a month ago, with living conditions deteriorating badly in the tiny, crammed enclave. In the north, where Gaza City and adjacent refugee camps are surrounded by Israeli ground forces, air and artillery strikes pummelled the area around the major al-Shifa Hospital.

Peru foreign minister resigns following US visit controversy

Peru's foreign minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi resigned on Monday after less than a year, amid questions over how she handled President Dina Boluarte's visit last week to the United States. Gervasi made no reference to Boluarte's U.S. trip in her resignation letter, which was seen by Reuters and other media. However, local news outlets reported that she was under pressure after failing to arrange a formal meeting between Boluarte and President Joe Biden.

Gaza death toll tops 10,000; UN calls it a children's graveyard

Gaza is becoming a "graveyard for children", U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, amplifying demands for a ceasefire in the enclave, where Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli strikes had exceeded 10,000. Both Israel and the Hamas militants who control Gaza have rebuffed mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. Israel says hostages taken by Hamas during its rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7 should be released first; Hamas says it will not free them or stop fighting while Gaza is under assault.

Exclusive-Russia's Putin to stay in power past 2024, sources say

Vladimir Putin has decided to run in the March presidential election, a move that will keep him in power until least 2030, as the Kremlin chief feels he must steer Russia through the most perilous period in decades, six sources told Reuters. After defusing an armed mutiny by the leader of the Wagner mercenary group in June, Putin has moved to shore up support among his core base in the security forces, the armed forces and with regional voters outside Moscow, while Wagner has been brought firmly to heel.