World News Briefs: Crises and Summits Across the Globe

A summary of global news events includes a deadly landslide in Ecuador, tactical pauses in Gaza fighting announced by Israel, a police shooting in Hamburg, and diplomatic talks between Australia and China. Other highlights cover Russian hostage rescues, California wildfire evacuations, and a Ukraine peace summit.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Landslide in Ecuador kills at least six, 30 others missing

A landslide in Ecuador killed at least six people and left 30 others missing, according to preliminary information from Ecuadorian authorities on Sunday. The "large-magnitude" landslide occurred in the center of the country in the city of Banos de Agua Santa, the Ecuadorean Secretariat for Risk Management said in a report.

Netanyahu denounces tactical pauses in Gaza fighting to get in aid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized plans announced by the military on Sunday to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza to facilitate aid delivery into the Palestinian enclave. The military had announced the daily pauses from 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT in the area from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.

Hamburg police shoot hammer-wielding man ahead of Euro 2024 match

German police shot at a man who threatened officers with a sledgehammer and an incendiary device on the sidelines of a Euro 2024 soccer fan parade in central Hamburg on Sunday, police said. The attacker was injured in the leg and was receiving medical care but his condition is not life-threatening, a police spokesperson said.

Australia's Albanese, China's Li to discuss trade, jailed writer

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will meet on Monday in the first such visit to the country by a Chinese premier in seven years, with trade ties, regional security and a jailed Australian writer on the host's agenda. The visit by Li, China's top-ranked official after President Xi Jinping, marks a stabilisation in relations between the U.S. security ally and the world's second-biggest economy, after a frosty period of Beijing blocking $20 billion in Australian exports and friction over defence encounters.

Analysis-Chinese outbound travel recovery lags due to costs, visa snags

A recovery in Chinese overseas travel from the COVID-19 pandemic is fading as rising costs and difficulties in securing visas cement a preference for local and short-haul destinations.

The delay in a revival to pre-COVID levels by China's outbound travellers, the world's top spenders on international tourism and airlines, is hitting travel-related companies, hotels and retailers globally.

Russian forces kill Islamic State-linked hostage takers at detention centre

Russian special forces freed two prison guards and shot dead six inmates linked to the Islamic State militant group who had taken them hostage at a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov on Sunday, Russian media said. State media said that some of the men had been convicted of terrorism offences and were accused of affiliation with the Islamic State militant group, which claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall in March.

Explainer-Four Thai court cases that could unleash political crisis

Thailand faces a critical week of court cases that could trigger a political crisis in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, with the fate of the prime minister and the main opposition hanging in the balance. Four cases before the courts on Tuesday involve the country's most powerful politicians: Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, former prime leader Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular opposition Move Forward party and upper-house lawmakers.

California wildfire burns 12,000 acres, forces evacuations

A wildfire burning northwest of Los Angeles on Sunday has forced the evacuation of over 1,000 people from a popular outdoor recreation area and burned over 12,000 acres, authorities said. Some 400 firefighters armed with 70 firetrucks and two bulldozers are battling the Post fire, which is just 2% contained, according to Cal Fire. It is burning south of Gorman, California, about 60 miles (96.5 km) northwest of Los Angeles.

Israel warns of escalation from cross-border fire from Hezbollah

Intensified cross-border fire from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement into Israel could trigger serious escalation, the Israeli military said on Sunday. "Hezbollah's increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation, one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region," Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video statement in English.

Ukraine summit sees hard road to peace as way forward uncertain

Western powers and their allies at a summit in Switzerland denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Sunday, but they failed to persuade major non-aligned states to join their final statement, and no country came forward to host a sequel. Over 90 countries attended the two-day talks at a Swiss Alpine resort at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, billed as a "peace summit" even though Moscow was not invited.

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