Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Explainer-Could UK PM Starmer be forced out after local election losses?

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to carry on as leader after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local elections that have deepened doubts over his ability to govern.

Some critics inside the party ​have called for him to go. Here's what could happen next:

Taiwan parliament approves extra defence spending but less than government wanted

Taiwan's opposition-controlled parliament approved extra defence spending of $25 billion on Friday, or just about two-thirds of the ​amount sought by the government to bolster the armed forces in the face of a rapidly modernising Chinese military. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te had wanted ‌a T$1.25 trillion ($39.81 billion) ​supplementary defence package approved, including money for U.S. arms but also for domestically made equipment such as drones to increase deterrence against China, which views the island as its own territory.

Russia and Ukraine fight on despite ceasefires as Moscow readies for WW2 parade

Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Friday of violating ceasefires that each has separately declared, as Moscow prepares to hold its annual World War Two victory parade under tight security. Four years since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the two sides are still pummelling each other with missiles, drones and artillery, with no end to the war in sight.

Meloni meets Rubio as Iran war strains Italy-US ties

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met U.S. Secretary of State Marco ‌Rubio on Friday at a moment of unusual strain between her government and President Donald Trump's administration, driven largely by the war with Iran. Rubio is in Italy for a two-day trip aimed at easing ties with Pope Leo after unprecedented attacks on the pontiff by Trump, while also addressing Washington's frustration over Italy's refusal to support the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

UK to summon Chinese ambassador after spying convictions

Britain will summon the Chinese ambassador following the conviction of two men for spying on behalf of Hong Kong and ultimately China, Security Minister Dan Jarvis said on Thursday.

“The activities carried out by these men, on behalf of China, are an infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated," Jarvis said in a statement.

Ukraine weighs sending security experts to Baltic states amid drone incidents

Ukraine is considering sending experts to help strengthen air security over the Baltic states, the country's foreign minister said on Friday, after two supposedly Ukrainian drones crashed in Latvia, entering from Russia. NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which border ‌Russia, have reported a number of such incidents in recent months as Ukraine stepped up long-range attacks against its enemy.

Militant attack on Nigeria army base kills at least two soldiers

Fighters suspected of being members of Islamic State West Africa Province attacked a Nigerian army base in the northeastern town of Magumeri, killing at least two soldiers and wounding the commanding officer, security sources and the military said. The assault in Borno state in the early hours of Thursday was ‌the latest deadly attack on troops battling an insurgency that has raged for more than a decade in northeast Nigeria.

Trump says ceasefire still holds after fighting between the US and Iran flares

U.S. and Iranian forces clashed in the Gulf and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack, but President Donald Trump said a ceasefire was still holding despite the flare-up, which dented hopes for a swift diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The escalation came as Washington awaited Tehran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the war, which began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran.

Vatican's careful words on Pope-Rubio meeting imply deep Trump tensions

A Vatican statement after Pope Leo's meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which said the two had pledged to improve bilateral relations, was a recognition of unprecedented tensions, insiders and analysts said. Rubio's meeting on Thursday with Leo, the first U.S. pope, garnered wide public attention as President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked the pontiff over the Iran war.

Several hostages taken at German bank branch, police say

German police said on Friday several people, including one cash transport driver, had been taken hostage at a savings bank branch in the western town of Sinzig. "It ⁠is currently believed that there are ​several perpetrators and hostages inside the bank," police said in a statement, adding that the situation was currently "stable".

Stung by West Africa rejections, ⁠France courts rest of continent at Kenya summit

Shorn of influence in its former colonies in West Africa, France will seek to deepen ties elsewhere on the continent next week at an Africa summit in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, its first in an English-speaking country. With a year left in his presidency, French President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to showcase a "renewed partnership" with Africa, an aide at the Elysee Palace told reporters.

Botswana's former president Festus Mogae dies at 86

Botswana's former president Festus Mogae, who led the diamond-rich nation for a decade and won praise for good governance and the fight against ⁠HIV/AIDS, has died at the age of 86, the government said, declaring three days of national mourning. Mogae served as Botswana's third president from 1998 to 2008, handing power to his vice president, Ian Khama in a smooth transition that highlighted the southern African nation's reputation for political stability.

Somalia faces severe malnutrition crisis as WFP warns of aid halt

Somalia faces a severe malnutrition crisis and urgently needs more aid funding to avert a catastrophe, the United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday, warning it may be forced to halt humanitarian support from July ​without additional financing. A combination of multiple failed rain seasons, which have wiped out crops and livestock, and ongoing conflict and insecurity is pushing people in Somalia into dangerous levels of hunger at a time of radical cuts in foreign aid and aid shortages sparked by the war on Iran, the WFP said.

South African president says he respects top court's judgment on impeachment process

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he respected the constitutional court's ⁠judgment on Friday that revived an impeachment process against him, adding in a statement that "no person is above the law".

UK's Princess Kate to visit pioneering Italian schools funded by WW2 scrap metal

On her trip to northern Italy next week, Britain’s Princess of Wales will see how in the years after World War Two communities transformed abandoned military equipment, including a tank, into a globally influential model of early-years education. The visit will take Kate to Reggio Emilia, where local residents — many of them women — helped finance some of Italy’s first nursery schools after the war by selling the scrap metal from equipment left behind by retreating ⁠German ​forces.

Pope Leo, after Rubio meeting, asks God to inspire leaders to calm tensions

Pope Leo asked that God would inspire world leaders to calm global tensions and reduce hatred in an address on Friday to mark his first anniversary as head of the Catholic Church, a day after he met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican. Leo, who has drawn the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after criticizing the Iran war, asked worshippers to pray that global governments would turn away from violence.

New hantavirus case suspected on remote island as contact tracing continues

A new suspected case of hantavirus has been identified in a British man who was a passenger on the virus-hit luxury cruise ship MV Hondius and is now on the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, health authorities said on Friday. The UK Health Security Agency did not disclose further details of the new suspected case on the British overseas territory where the cruise ship made a stop on ⁠April 15.

Iran seizes oil tanker Ocean Koi in Gulf of Oman, state media says

Iran has seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran's oil exports, Iranian state media said on Friday, quoting an army statement. It said the Barbados-flagged tanker was carrying Iranian oil and "was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports .... by exploiting regional conditions".

China confirms attack on oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz earlier ⁠this week

China's foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that an oil products tanker carrying Chinese crew was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, and ⁠expressed deep concern about vessels affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. There are Chinese nationals aboard the vessel, but no reported crew casualties so far, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular news conference.

Russian drones swarm smaller Ukrainian power stations, data shows

Russia has increasingly focused its aerial attacks on small Ukrainian power substations, with increased drone capacity allowing it to disrupt Ukraine's grid over the past winter more than ever, data from a London-based research group shows. The data, shared exclusively with Reuters by the Centre for Information Resilience, shows how Russia's armed forces have used a rapid expansion in domestic drone production to diversify the facilities they target and step up the rate of fire.

UK's Starmer ‌vows to fight on after Labour punished in local polls

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‌vowed on Friday to stay in office to "deliver change" after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local elections that deepened doubts over his ability to govern. Just under two years after winning a landslide national election, Starmer saw voters punish his Labour ​government, dealing it a blow in some of its traditional strongholds in former industrial regions in central and northern England.