Reuters World News Summary

University President Nemat Minouche Shafik said in a statement that days of negotiations between student organizers and academic leaders had failed to persuade demonstrators to dismantle the dozens of tents they set up to express opposition to Israel's war in Gaza. Exclusive-UN experts say North Korea missile landed in Ukraine's Kharkiv The debris from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2 was from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, United Nations sanctions monitors told a Security Council committee in a report seen by Reuters on Monday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

As new Haiti leadership takes power, gangs demand a seat at the table

Haiti's new transition council is set to choose the country's next president on Tuesday, but leaders of the gangs who have exerted increasing control are clamoring for political influence and amnesties and threatening violence if their demands are not met. Last week, after former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned, the council was formally installed, seen as a key step in re-establishing security after years of gang violence that has recently skyrocketed.

Duchess Sophie visits Ukraine in first trip by British royal since start of war

Sophie, Britain's Duchess of Edinburgh, has visited Ukraine, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife in the first trip to the country by a British royal since the conflict with Russia began, Buckingham Palace said on Monday. Sophie, 59, the wife of King Charles' youngest brother Prince Edward, made the surprise visit on behalf of Britain's Foreign Office to show solidarity with those impacted by the war and as part of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, the palace said in a statement.

US implicates 5 Israeli units in rights violations before Gaza war, no restrictions on assistance

The United States found five units of Israel's security forces responsible for gross violations of human rights, the first time Washington has reached such a conclusion about Israeli forces, the State Department said on Monday, though it has not barred any of the units from receiving U.S. military assistance. Israel has conducted "remediation" in the cases of four of the units in compliance with U.S. law prohibiting military assistance to security force units that commit such abuses and have not been brought to justice, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

Three law enforcement officers killed in North Carolina, police say

Three law enforcement officers were killed and another four were shot and wounded in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a suspect was found dead, police said on Monday. President Biden was briefed on the incident and has spoken with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, the White House said.

Columbia begins suspending protesters after encampment talks break down

Columbia University on Monday began suspending pro-Palestinian activists who refused to disband an encampment of tents on its New York campus after the Ivy League school declared a stalemate in talks seeking to end the polarizing protest. University President Nemat Minouche Shafik said in a statement that days of negotiations between student organizers and academic leaders had failed to persuade demonstrators to dismantle the dozens of tents they set up to express opposition to Israel's war in Gaza.

Exclusive-UN experts say North Korea missile landed in Ukraine's Kharkiv

The debris from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2 was from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, United Nations sanctions monitors told a Security Council committee in a report seen by Reuters on Monday. In the 32-page report, the U.N. sanctions monitors concluded that "debris recovered from a missile that landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on 2 January 2024 derives from a DPRK Hwasong-11 series missile" and is in violation of the arms embargo on North Korea.

Exclusive-Gaza hospital staff questioned by ICC war crimes prosecutors, sources say

Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court have interviewed staff from Gaza's two biggest hospitals, two sources told Reuters, the first confirmation that ICC investigators were speaking to medics about possible crimes in the Gaza Strip. The sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, told Reuters ICC investigators had taken testimony from staff who had worked in the main hospital in Gaza City in the north of the enclave, Al Shifa, and the main hospital in Khan Younis in the south, Nasser.

Brazil's government to launch commission to unlock South American integration projects

Brazil's government will soon create an interministerial commission chaired by the Planning Ministry to unlock projects for integration in South America, a top official said on Monday.

According to Renata Amaral, secretary of International Affairs and Development, a decree signed by leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will establish the commission, which will organize internal activity in the federal government to effectively kick-start the projects.

Peru seeks to avoid arbitration over Chinese-built mega port

The Peruvian government is looking to avoid an international arbitration process which could be filed by Chinese port operator Cosco Shipping over a legal dispute regarding exclusivity rights to a massive facility being built by the firm, an official said on Monday. Cosco sent a letter to Peru's economy ministry in mid-April to start a six-month negotiation process in order to reach an amicable resolution without having to resort to international arbitration, local media first reported on Monday.

US, Britain urge Hamas to accept Israeli truce proposal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Hamas to swiftly accept an Israeli proposal for a truce in the Gaza war and the release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group. Hamas negotiators were expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal which Israel presented at the weekend.

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