Reuters World News Summary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had ok'd a plan to attack the city on the southern edge of the shattered Palestinian enclave where more than half of its 2.3 million residents are sheltering after five months of war. Independent vote monitor says Russian elections are 'most secret' ever The head of an independent vote-monitoring group that Russia has labelled a "foreign agent" says the presidential election that began on Friday and is widely expected to re-elect Vladimir Putin is the least transparent the country has seen.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russian missiles kill 20 in Odesa, Zelenskiy vows retaliation

A Russian ballistic missile attack struck a residential area in Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 70, in Moscow's deadliest attack in weeks, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia would receive a "fair response" from Ukrainian forces for what he said was a "vile" assault on a city that has been attacked by Russian drones or missiles almost every day this month.

Ambrey says fuel tanker in Red Sea attacked, two explosions reported

A Marshall Islands-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker reported two explosions near the ship as it travelled off the coast of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah, the third merchant vessel attack of the past 48 hours, British security firm Ambrey said on Friday. The crew from the ship involved in the latest Red Sea incident was U.S.-owned until recently, Ambrey said.

Biden says Schumer's concerns on Israel shared by many Americans

President Joe Biden said on Friday that U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer echoed the concerns of many Americans when he called for new elections in Israel and harshly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace. "He made a good speech," Biden said in the White House's Oval Office, when asked by reporters about remarks by Schumer, the Senate majority leader, on the chamber's floor on Thursday.

Israel approves plan to attack Rafah but keeps truce hopes alive

Israel on Friday approved a potential assault on the Gaza city of Rafah while also keeping ceasefire hopes alive with plans to send another delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible hostage deal with Islamist militant group Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had ok'd a plan to attack the city on the southern edge of the shattered Palestinian enclave where more than half of its 2.3 million residents are sheltering after five months of war.

Independent vote monitor says Russian elections are 'most secret' ever

The head of an independent vote-monitoring group that Russia has labelled a "foreign agent" says the presidential election that began on Friday and is widely expected to re-elect Vladimir Putin is the least transparent the country has seen. Stanislav Andreichuk, co-chairman of Golos (Voice), said the use of electronic voting for the first time in a presidential election, and the fact that voting is spread over three days, both serve to make the process more opaque.

Former Brazil military chiefs implicate Bolsonaro in coup conspiracy

The former commanders of Brazil's Army and Air Force told police investigators that President Jair Bolsonaro summoned them twice to meetings to discuss a possible coup d'état after his election defeat in 2022, according to their testimonies released on Friday by the Supreme Court. Their accounts place Bolsonaro at the center of a plot to declare martial law and stop leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva coming to power after he won the election that year.

Putin vows to punish Ukraine for attacks as Russians vote

Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Friday of trying to disrupt a Russian presidential election that is virtually certain to hand him six more years in the Kremlin, and said Moscow would punish Kyiv for its latest attacks. The first of three days of voting was marked by disruptions including dye being poured into ballot boxes, a Molotov cocktail thrown at a polling station in Putin's home town, and reported cyber attacks.

Iran Air could be banned from Europe if Tehran sends missiles to Russia, US warns

G7 nations are prepared to respond with severe new penalties that could include a ban on Iran Air flights to Europe if Iran proceeds with the transfer of close-range ballistic missiles to Russia, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The official commented as the United States joined its six G7 allies in issuing a statement warning Iran against sending the missiles to Russia or else face the consequences.

Ukrainian authorities launch mass evacuation in northern region

Ukrainian authorities have begun mass evacuations of communities in the country's northern Sumy region close to the Russian border after extended periods of intense shelling of the area, local officials said on Friday. The military administration of Sumy region, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said more than 180 residents of areas near the Velikopysarska community, next to the border, had been evacuated over the past three days.

Thailand's flourishing cannabis culture to end as government seeks ban

Thodsapol Hongtong is enjoying a smoke with his friends at the "Green Party", a venue where recreational cannabis enthusiasts meet in the Thai capital Bangkok to chat and have a good time. But it's a pastime that may be coming to an end. The 31-year-old influencer who runs his own cannabis shop regularly touts recreational marijuana as good for the country's economy on his online platform "Channel Weed Thailand".

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