World News Roundup: Russian court extends pre-trial detention of U.S. journalist Kurmasheva; Tractor-driving Portuguese farmers block roads to Spain as protests grow and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Exclusive-Iran's Guards pull officers from Syria after Israeli strikes - sources

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have scaled back deployment of their senior officers in Syria due to a spate of deadly Israeli strikes and will rely more on allied Shi'ite militia to preserve their sway there, five sources familiar with the matter said. The Guards have suffered one of their most bruising spells in Syria since arriving a decade ago to aid President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war. Since December, Israeli strikes have killed more than half a dozen of their members, among them one of the Guards' top intelligence generals.

Donald Trump's lawsuit over 'Steele dossier' thrown out by UK court

Donald Trump's lawsuit against a British private investigations firm over a dossier which alleged ties between Trump's campaign and Russia was thrown out by London's High Court on Thursday. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, had brought a data protection lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence about claims in a dossier written by its co-founder, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

EU must step up pressure on Houthis, says Yemen foreign minister

Yemen's foreign minister urged the European Union on Thursday to increase pressure on the Iran-aligned Houthis who are attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, a vital global trade artery. Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched waves of drones and missiles at vessels heading to and from Egypt's Suez Canal since November.

EU agrees $54 billion in new aid for Ukraine as Hungary falls in line

European Union leaders unanimously agreed on Thursday to extend 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in new aid to Ukraine, the chairman of the summit said, overcoming weeks of resistance from Hungary and winning praise from Kyiv. Before the summit started, EU leaders piled pressure on Hungary to lift its block, telling Prime Minister Viktor Orban to pick sides in what several saw as an existential challenge posed by Russia's war in Ukraine, the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

Analysis-Europe's angry farmers fuel backlash against EU ahead of elections

In the last 12 months, the cost of running Jean-Marie Dirat's lamb farm in southwest France has jumped by 35,000 euros ($38,000), driven up by increasingly expensive fertilisers, fuel, electricity and pesticides. Money is so tight that this year he won't pay himself. To his surprise, he even calculated he would be eligible for the minimum welfare benefit, given to society's poorest.

Nayib Bukele: the tough-on-crime former ad man set to secure new El Salvador term

In June 2019, a week after taking office as El Salvador's youngest president in modern history, Nayib Bukele wrote on his Twitter account: "I am officially the coolest president in the world." Bukele's self-congratulatory tweet came after he had used the same social network - now known as X - to fire around 400 officials, some accused of nepotism or with links to his leftist predecessor.

Russian court extends pre-trial detention of U.S. journalist Kurmasheva

A Russian court on Thursday extended the pre-trial detention of Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist who is accused of violating a law on "foreign agents". A Reuters reporter in court in the city of Kazan said Kurmasheva's custody was extended until April 5.

Tractor-driving Portuguese farmers block roads to Spain as protests grow

Portuguese farmers used tractors to block at least three roads linking Portugal to Spain on Thursday, joining Europe-wide protests over a range of grievances, from cheaper imports to insufficient state aid and bureaucracy. The government on Wednesday announced emergency aid worth 500 million euros for farmers to try to avoid the kind of mass protests causing disruption in France and Brussels, but a small group of farmers, feeling under-represented in public discussion on the issue, contacted each other on social media and decided to take action.

Hamas unlikely to reject ceasefire but will demand Israeli withdrawal -source

Hamas is unlikely to reject a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received from mediators this week, but will not sign it without assurances that Israel has committed to ending the war, a Palestinian official close to the talks said on Thursday. Qatari and Egyptian mediators presented Hamas this week with the first concrete proposal for an extended halt to fighting in Gaza, agreed with Israel and the United States at talks in Paris last week. Hamas has said it is studying the text and preparing a response.

Russia says it has evidence US Patriot missiles downed its military transport plane

Russian investigators said on Thursday they had evidence showing that Ukraine's military shot down a Russian Il-76 military transport plane last week with U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles. The Russian Air Force Il-76 fell from the skies on Jan. 24. Russia said all 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian prisoners of war, were killed, and blamed Kyiv for downing the plane.