Reuters World News Summary

This time Israeli forces would face some of the most challenging fighting conditions imaginable, he said. Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy building at Columbia University - CNN Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University were occupying a building on the New York City campus on Tuesday as officials limited access to students who live there and essential employees.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Russia shoots down six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles

Russia said on Tuesday that its air defence systems had shot down six U.S.-produced Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) launched by Ukraine over the last 24 hours. Washington secretly shipped the long-range missiles to Kyiv as part of a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that U.S. President Joe Biden approved on March 12, a U.S. official said last week.

Trump NYC hush money trial to resume with banker's testimony

Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial is set to resume in New York on Tuesday with testimony from a banker familiar with accounts involved in the former U.S. president's alleged scheme to influence the 2016 election by covering up a sex scandal. Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, is charged with falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.

Russian missile hits educational institution, kills five in Ukraine's Odesa

A Russian missile attack on an educational institution in a popular seafront park in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa on Monday killed at least five people and injured 32, local officials said. Regional governor Oleh Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said that in addition to those killed in the attack, one man died after suffering a stroke attributed to the strike.

Gaza ministry says 34,535 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes since Oct. 7

More than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed and 77,704 wounded in the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 last year, the Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday. Israeli military strikes across Gaza in the past 24 hours killed 47 people and wounded 61, it said.

Israel will enter Rafah with or without Gaza hostage deal, Netanyahu says

Israel will carry out an operation against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of whether or not a ceasefire and hostage release deal is reached, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. "The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.

Residents of northern Israel brace for possible all-out war with Hezbollah

Eli Harel was an Israeli soldier in his early thirties when he was sent into Lebanon in 2006 to battle fighters from the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in a bloody, largely inconclusive month-long war. Now 50, Harel is ready to rejoin the army to fight the same group if shelling along Israel's northern border turns into a full-blown war with Iran's most powerful regional proxy. This time Israeli forces would face some of the most challenging fighting conditions imaginable, he said.

Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy building at Columbia University - CNN

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University were occupying a building on the New York City campus on Tuesday as officials limited access to students who live there and essential employees. The protesters who were occupying Hamilton Hall displayed banners from a window reading "Intifada," the Arabic word for an uprising, CNN reported, citing a video.

Smiling King Charles visits cancer centre on his return to public duties

A smiling and healthy-looking King Charles returned to public duties on Tuesday for the first time since he was diagnosed with cancer in February, telling patients at a treatment centre for the disease in London that he was "alright". Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that doctors were sufficiently pleased with the 75-year-old king's response to treatment for the unspecified form of cancer that he would be able to resume some public-facing engagements.

Philippines accuses China of damaging its vessels in disputed South China Sea shoal

The Philippines on Tuesday accused China's coast guard of harassment and of damaging two of its boats in a disputed area of the South China Sea, rejecting Beijing's position that it had expelled those vessels from the hotly contested shoal. The Philippines' task force on South China Sea issues said a coast guard ship and a fisheries vessel were damaged by water cannons used by Chinese coast guard ships, as the vessels headed to Scarborough shoal to assist Filipino fishermen in the area.

India 'shocked' as Musk's surprise China visit leaves them spurned

Elon Musk's surprise visit to China this week won concessions for Tesla but left India feeling spurned after he cancelled a scheduled trip there for earlier this month, with Indian commentators calling the move a snub. India's pained reaction highlights the increasing rivalry between India and China, Asia two largest countries by population and among the region's most dynamic economies. Business and diplomatic relations between them have been strained since a 2020 border clash left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

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