Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Yulia Navalnaya, Russia's steely new opposition politician out to avenge husband's death

Before the shock death of her husband Alexei in a grim Arctic prison last week, Yulia Navalnaya had always played down the idea she would one day take over as leader of Russia's opposition. But on Monday, she vowed to continue his fight. In a video released three days after his death and less than a month before Russia's next presidential election, the 47-year-old mother-of-two alternated between rage and grief as she signalled she would try to help lead a shell-shocked opposition.

Brazil will not retract Lula's Gaza comments in diplomatic row with Israel -sources

Brazil does not intend to retract President Luiz Inacio da Silva's comment comparing Israel's war on Gaza to Hitler's treatment of Jews that sparked a diplomatic rift between the countries, sources with knowledge of internal discussions said on Monday. Brazil's foreign ministry has already summoned the Israeli ambassador for talks and recalled its own ambassador to Israel after Israeli officials gave him a formal reprimand following Lula's comment.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy decries 'mockery' of Polish border protests

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday decried as a "mockery" protests by Polish farmers that have disrupted passenger and freight traffic in and out of Ukraine and called for "rational decisions" to restore normal cross-border traffic. Polish protesters have vowed to step up their blockades of the border on Tuesday. Deputy Ukrainian Prime Minister Olha Stefanyshina told the Evropeiska Pravda media outlet that talks would be held on Tuesday with European Union officials in Brussels to resolve issues linked to them.

Israeli military says it has recovered footage of hostage mother and children

The Israeli military released footage on Monday which it said showed Israeli woman Shiri Bibas and her two small children being moved by Palestinian militants in Gaza shortly after the family was kidnapped in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The security camera footage showed what appeared to be a young woman carrying a child on her shoulder as she was wrapped in a long, light coloured covering in the yard of a building and transferred into a car.

Israel assembly falls short in vote to expel lawmaker over genocide case

Lawmakers from Israel's religious-nationalist coalition failed on Monday to gain enough votes in parliament to expel a far-left colleague over his support for an International Court of Justice (ICJ) case accusing the country of genocide in Gaza. A total of 85 of the 120 members of the Knesset backed the motion to oust Ofer Cassif in a plenum session, five votes short of the 90-seat supermajority required.

US proposes UN Security Council oppose Rafah assault, back temporary Gaza ceasefire

The United States has proposed an alternative draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday. Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in any U.N. action on the Israel-Hamas war, but the U.S. draft text echoes language that President Joe Biden said he used last week in conversations with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Exclusive-IAEA chief says Iran's nuclear enrichment activity remains high

Iran continues to enrich uranium well beyond the needs for commercial nuclear use despite U.N. pressure to stop it, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday, adding he wanted to visit Tehran next month for the first time in a year to end the "drifting apart". Speaking to Reuters after he briefed EU foreign ministers on the subject, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said that while the pace of uranium enrichment had slowed slightly since the end of last year, Iran was still enriching at an elevated rate of around 7 kg of uranium per month to 60% purity.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un receives car as gift from Putin - KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received a car from Russia's President Vladimir Putin as a gift "for his personal use," official media reported on Tuesday, in what could be a violation of U.N. ban that Moscow had joined to adopt against Pyongyang. The two countries have forged closer ties since Kim and Putin met in September and pledged to promote exchanges in all areas as their international isolation deepened over Russia's war in Ukraine and the North's nuclear weapons development.

After retreat, Ukraine digs in to repel new Russian attacks in east

Ukraine's military said on Monday its troops had taken up new defensive positions in the east after retreating from the captured town of Avdiivka and were repelling Russian attempts to develop the offensive thrust. Russia took full control of devastated Avdiivka after Kyiv's troops withdrew over the weekend, handing the Kremlin its biggest battlefield advance since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May.

At World Court, Palestinians seek end to Israeli occupation

Palestinian representatives on Monday asked judges at the U.N.'s highest court to declare Israel's occupation of their territory illegal, saying their advisory opinion could contribute to a two-state solution and a lasting peace. The requests came at the opening of a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The U.N. General Assembly sought an advisory, or non-binding, opinion on the occupation in 2022. More than 50 states will present arguments through Feb. 26.

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