Reuters World News Summary

"I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations," Blinken said at a news conference capping a gathering of G7 foreign ministers on the southern Italian island of Capri. Tehran signals no retaliation against Israel after drones attack Iran Explosions echoed over an Iranian city on Friday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israel and Iran both have muted response to Isfahan attack

Israeli media cited foreign reports of an Israeli strike on Iran on Friday in the absence of official public comment, while Iranian television reports played down the attack - many not even mentioning the "Zionist entity", Iran's term for Israel. The strike in the central city of Isfahan appears to have caused no significant damage and the muted way the story was told in both nations pointed to a determination, at least for now, not to further escalate their conflict.

Indians vote in huge election dominated by jobs, Hindu pride and Modi

A substantial number of Indians voted on Friday in the first phase of the world's largest election, authorities said, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a historic third term on the back of issues such as growth, welfare and Hindu nationalism. The vote pits Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two dozen opposition parties that promise greater affirmative action and more handouts while stressing what they call the need to save democratic institutions.

Police arrest man in Paris Iran consulate incident - source

A man who had threatened to blow himself up at Iran's consulate in Paris was arrested by police, a police source said.

French police earlier cordoned off the Iranian consulate, Reuters reporters saw.

Blinken says U.S. not involved in "any offensive operations" when asked about Iran

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly declined to confirm a reported Israeli attack on Iran on Friday, saying Washington has not been involved in any offensive operations and it was committed to de-escalating tensions in the region. "I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations," Blinken said at a news conference capping a gathering of G7 foreign ministers on the southern Italian island of Capri.

Tehran signals no retaliation against Israel after drones attack Iran

Explosions echoed over an Iranian city on Friday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war. The limited scale of the attack and Iran's muted response appeared to signal a successful effort by diplomats who have been working to avert all-out war since an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel last Saturday.

Ukraine downs Russian strategic bomber after airstrike kills eight, Kyiv says

Ukraine shot down a Russian strategic bomber 300 km (185 miles) from its border on Friday after the warplane took part in an airstrike that killed at least eight people, including two children, in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv said. Missiles rained down on the city of Dnipro and the surrounding region in the early hours, damaging residential buildings, the main train station and wounding at least 28 civilians, regional officials said.

Trump's Stormy Daniels payoff trial hinges on his intent

At Donald Trump's criminal trial, there is no dispute about a central underlying fact: the month before the 2016 presidential election, his personal lawyer and fixer paid a porn star for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Legal experts say the outcome of the first-ever trial of a former U.S. president hinges on Trump's intent.

Nigerian airstrike killed 33 villagers during Eid, witnesses say

An airstrike on a village in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state killed at least 33 people last week, four residents and a traditional leader said, after a military operation targeting armed kidnapping gangs and their hideouts. The incident, on April 10, is the latest in a pattern of deadly aerial assaults by the military that have killed civilians and were the subject of a special Reuters report last year.

Lawyers aim to wrap up jury selection in Trump criminal trial

Lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial are expected on Friday to wrap up the painstaking process of selecting a jury that will for the first time in U.S. history determine whether a former president is guilty of breaking the law. With the 12-member jury already chosen, prosecutors and defense lawyers need to select six alternates for the trial, which is expected to run through May. Opening statements could start on Monday.

Trump uses hush money trial to squeeze small donors, court big spenders

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is using his hush money trial to squeeze his loyal army of small donors and personally lobby major backers as he scrambles to reduce a major fundraising disadvantage with Democratic President Joe Biden. His campaign has been firing off daily, dramatically worded fundraising appeals to small donors - who rallied to support him when he was first charged in the case last year - since the trial in New York began with jury selection on Monday.

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