Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

US Senate forges ahead on 'enormously high stakes' Ukraine, Israel aid

The U.S. Senate on Monday will attempt to steer a $95.34 billion package containing aid for Ukraine and Israel to passage this week following months of delays, even as it lacked any guarantee that House of Representatives Republicans will support it. The measure cleared an important procedural hurdle a day earlier in a 67-27 vote, with the support of 18 of the chamber's 49 Republicans. Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday was aiming to push it through two more procedural hurdles in order to put it on a path to passing on Wednesday.

Subway shooting in New York kills one, injures five

New York City police said on Monday six people had been shot at a subway station in the Bronx, with one person dead and another five wounded. A spokeswoman for the New York Police Department said by phone that no arrests had been made in the shooting and that it was not clear what condition the five injured people were in. Local media, citing unnamed police sources, reported the five sustained non-life threatening injuries.

EU's Borrell suggests US cut military aid to Israel

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday made a thinly veiled call on the U.S. to cut arms supplies to Israel due to high civilian casualties in its war in Gaza. Borrell recalled that U.S. President Joe Biden said last week that Israel's response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack had been "over the top" and U.S. and other Western officials had repeatedly said too many civilians were being killed in Gaza.

European powers warn of spike in Russian propaganda before EU elections

France, Poland and Germany accused Russia on Monday of putting together an elaborate network of websites to spread pro-Russian propaganda to undermine their governments, warning of a mass spread of such content ahead of EU elections in June.

Western nations have repeatedly accused Russian operatives of using social media and the internet to spread false or misleading information to undermine them, promote Russia or attempt to sway public opinion in their countries against backing Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion.

Canadian-Russian woman pleads guilty in US to sending military components to Russia

A Canadian-Russian woman on Monday pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to money laundering conspiracy for her role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to send drone and missile components to Russia for military use against Ukraine, the U.S. Justice Department said. WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Israel frees two hostages, Palestinian TV says 74 killed in assault

Israel on Monday freed two Israeli-Argentine hostages held by Hamas in Rafah in a ferocious rescue operation that killed 74 Palestinians in the southern Gaza city where about one million civilians have sought refuge from months of bombardments. The mission by the Israeli military, the Shin Bet security service and a special police unit freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Hare, 70, the military said. They were among 250 people seized during the Oct. 7 raid on Israel by Hamas militants that triggered Israel's war on Gaza.

US says Rafah strike should not impact hostage talks ahead of expected spy chiefs meeting

Israeli airstrikes in Rafah should not affect negotiations toward a deal between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas on the release of hostages, a U.S. official said on Monday, ahead of expected further talks between spy chiefs in Egypt. Senior officials from the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar are expected to resume negotiations on Tuesday in Cairo to work on a three-phase deal framework that will see the release of hostages and achieve an extended pause, sources familiar with the matter said.

Exclusive-France proposes Hezbollah withdrawal, border talks for Israel-Lebanon truce

France has delivered a written proposal to Beirut aimed at ending hostilities with Israel and settling the disputed Lebanon-Israel frontier, according to a document seen by Reuters that calls for fighters including Hezbollah's elite unit to withdraw 10 km (6 miles) from the border. The plan aims to end fighting between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel at the border. The hostilities have run in parallel to the Gaza war and are fueling concern of a ruinous, all-out confrontation.

Explainer-What did Trump say about NATO funding and what is Article 5?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump raised a storm of criticism from the White House and top Western officials for suggesting he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defence and would even encourage Russia to attack them. Here are the answers to some key questions about NATO, the comments by Trump - who is running for another term in the White House in November and leading President Joe Biden in some polls - and their implications.

Dutch court orders halt to export of F-35 jet parts to Israel

A Dutch court on Monday ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza. The appeals court said the state had seven days to comply to the order, which echoed alarm across Europe and elsewhere over the humanitarian impact of the war. Israel denies committing abuses and says it is battling Hamas militants bent on its destruction.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)