Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Haiti's neighbors prepare for 'drastic escalation' in violence after jailbreak

Haiti's neighbors on Monday began shoring up their defenses and recalling embassy staff as a gang conflict in the Caribbean nation escalated and thousands fled fresh fighting. On Sunday, Haiti's de facto government issued a 72-hour state of emergency and imposed nightly curfews after armed men busted thousands from prison and a gang leader called for the ousting of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Trump wins Colorado ballot disqualification case at US Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a major victory on Monday, barring states from disqualifying candidates for federal office under a constitutional provision involving insurrection and reversing Colorado's exclusion of him from its ballot. The justices unanimously overturned a Dec. 19 decision by Colorado's top court to kick the former president off the state's Tuesday Republican primary ballot after finding that the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. The Colorado court had found that Trump took part in an insurrection for inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

UN team says rape, gang rape likely occurred during Hamas attack on Israel

A team of United Nations experts reported on Monday that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred at several locations during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants. The team - led by U.N. special envoy for sexual violence in conflict Pramila Patten - visited Israel between Jan. 29 and Feb. 14 on a mission intended to gather, analyze and verify information on sexual violence linked to the Oct. 7 attacks.

Poised for accession, Sweden joins NATO drills in reshaped north

Swedish armed forces joined NATO for exercises on Monday, contributing troops, helicopters and fighter jets as the alliance carries out its largest set of military drills since the end of the Cold War. Sweden is poised to join NATO, possibly within days, after gaining the final outstanding ratification last week.

North Korea slams South Korea-US military drills, warns of consequences

North Korea's defence ministry urged South Korea and the United States to stop military drills, saying they are rehearsals of war and warning of consequences, KCNA reported on Tuesday. South Korean and U.S. militaries kicked off their annual spring exercises on Monday with twice the number of troops joining compared to last year, seeking to improve their responses to North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

Germany accuses Russia of seeking to divide Europe with leaked call

Germany accused Russia on Monday of leaking an intercepted recording of German military discussions about how to support Ukraine against the Kremlin's invasion in an attempt to divide Europe. Russian media last week published an audio recording of a meeting of senior German military officials held by Webex discussing weapons for Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea.

Ukraine's military: Russian forces stopped near Avdiivka, but reinforcing elsewhere

Ukraine's military said on Monday its forces had contained a Russian advance outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka captured last month, but Moscow's troops were regrouping in an area further south. The capture of Avdiivka last month provided Russia with a security cushion for the regional centre of Donetsk 20 km (12 miles) to the east and prompted Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to pledge that Moscow's forces would make further advances.

French lawmakers make abortion a constitutional right

France on Monday enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first welcomed by women's rights groups as historic and harshly criticised by anti-abortion groups. MPs and senators overwhelmingly backed the move, by 780 votes against 72, in a special joint vote of the two houses of parliament, under the gilded ceilings of Versailles Palace, just outside Paris.

UK plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda suffers first parliamentary defeats

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered his first defeats over his legislation to send asylum seekers to Rwanda after the upper house of parliament demanded greater protections to be introduced before deportation flights can take off. Under the Rwanda plan, which has yet to be carried out, asylum seekers who arrive on England's southern coast in small, inflatable boats would be sent to live in Rwanda, but so far no one has been deported because of ongoing legal challenges.

Hamas, mediators press on with Gaza truce talks in Israelis' absence

Hamas and Egyptian mediators said on Monday they were pressing on with talks in Cairo on securing a ceasefire in Gaza, despite Israel's decision not to send a delegation, as Washington pressed again for a truce, the release of hostages and plan to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe. The ceasefire talks, which began on Sunday, are billed as a final hurdle on the way to securing the first extended ceasefire of the five-month-old war, in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on Sunday.

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