Reuters World News Summary

Heat wave alerts were in place for parts of Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory, the Bureau of Meteorology said on its website. Warship rushes in to investigate suspected pirate attack off Somalia A Spanish navy ship is sailing at full speed towards a Maltese-flagged commercial vessel that may have been hijacked by pirates off Somalia, the European Union's Somali counter piracy force said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Attacks from Houthi-controlled Yemen hit two ships

Attacks from Houthi-controlled Yemen struck two Liberian-flagged ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Friday, the U.S. military said, underlining the threat to vessels in shipping lanes being targeted by the Iran-aligned group. Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk said it would pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice. German container line Hapag Lloyd said it was considering a similar move.

Australia swelters through heat wave amid 'extreme' fire danger

Large parts of Australia on Saturday sweltered under heat wave conditions that prompted the nation's weather forecaster to issue bush fire warnings in several states. Heat wave alerts were in place for parts of Western Australia, New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory, the Bureau of Meteorology said on its website.

Warship rushes in to investigate suspected pirate attack off Somalia

A Spanish navy ship is sailing at full speed towards a Maltese-flagged commercial vessel that may have been hijacked by pirates off Somalia, the European Union's Somali counter piracy force said on Friday. If confirmed, it would be the first successful hijacking involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Actor Matthew Perry died from 'acute effects of ketamine'

Actor Matthew Perry died from the "acute effects of ketamine," a sedative sometimes used to treat depression, with drowning and heart disease found to be contributing factors, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office reported on Friday.

The coroner's autopsy report listed "the effects of buprenorphine," a drug used to treat opioid use disorder, as a contributing factor in Perry's death, which was ruled an accident.

Cardinal, nine other defendants, await verdicts at Vatican trial

A two-and-a-half year corruption trial that exposed infighting and intrigue in the highest echelons of the Vatican closes on Saturday with the key defendant, an Italian cardinal, praying that the court will believe his innocent plea. Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 75, a one-time Vatican power broker, is charged with embezzlement, abuse of office and trying to induce a witness to give false testimony.

Giuliani ordered to pay $148 million to Georgia election workers in defamation trial

Rudy Giuliani must pay more than $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers he defamed through false accusations that they helped rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump, a jury decided on Friday. The jury in federal court in Washington found that Giuliani owes the workers, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, roughly $73 million to compensate them for the reputational and emotional harm they suffered and $75 million to punish the former Trump lawyer and one-time New York mayor for his conduct.

France to review actor Depardieu's Legion d'Honneur medal following allegations

French actor Gerard Depardieu's Legion d'Honneur medal is under review following a string of allegations about sexual aggression and a TV documentary in which he was heard making lewd comments about women. French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said on France 5 television she had asked the "grande chancellerie" committee in charge of the Legion d'Honneur - France's highest decoration - to start a disciplinary procedure to review whether the medal should be suspended or withdrawn.

US envoy hints at disagreement with Israel over timing to scale down war

The United States hinted on Friday at disagreement with Israel over how quickly to scale down the war in Gaza, with President Joe Biden's national security adviser saying such timing was now the subject of "intensive discussion" between the allies. With intense ground fighting having expanded this month across the length of the Gaza Strip and aid organisations warning of a humanitarian catastrophe, Biden said at the start of the week that Israel risked losing international support because of "indiscriminate" air strikes killing Palestinian civilians.

Explosions resound in Kyiv, air defence units engage Russian drones

A series of explosions resounded throughout the Ukrainian capital early on Saturday as air defence units engaged Russian drones, Reuters witnesses said. Explosions were reported on both banks of the Dnipro River that runs through the city.

Israeli armed forces killed 3 hostages by mistake -spokesperson

The Israeli military mistakenly killed three hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas during an incident which is "under review", a military spokesperson said on Friday. The military said the hostages were killed during combat with militants in Gaza and expressed its condolences to the families while saying there would be "full transparency" in the investigation into the incident.

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