Reuters World News Summary

Russia's hours-long overnight barrage killed four people and wounded more than 80, according to Ukrainian officials, and officials said dozens of residential buildings and several schools had been damaged. Trump talks up his ballroom plan dozens of times but plays down Americans' economic pain Standing in front of the ‌White House ballroom construction site, U.S. President Donald Trump appealed for patience from Americans struggling with soaring gas prices as he sought to justify the cost of a project critics call a vanity effort.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Republican defiance over 'anti-weaponization' fund sets up confrontation with Trump

Republicans in the U.S. Congress have revolted over President Donald Trump's $1.776 billion fund for people he says were victims of government "weaponization," setting the stage for a ​searing battle less than six months before midterm elections. On Thursday, the Senate called timeout on a $72 billion spending bill on immigration enforcement, which has become a battleground over ​the "anti-weaponization" fund, after many Republican senators demanded that it either be killed or subjected to tough guardrails.

Russia hits Ukraine ‌with Oreshnik ​missile in one of war's biggest attacks on Kyiv

Russia pounded Kyiv and surrounding areas with hundreds of drones and missiles on Sunday in one of the heaviest bombardments of the city since the start of the four-year war, firing an Oreshnik hypersonic missile near the capital. Russia's hours-long overnight barrage killed four people and wounded more than 80, according to Ukrainian officials, and officials said dozens of residential buildings and several schools had been damaged.

Trump talks up his ballroom plan dozens of times but plays down Americans' economic pain

Standing in front of the ‌White House ballroom construction site, U.S. President Donald Trump appealed for patience from Americans struggling with soaring gas prices as he sought to justify the cost of a project critics call a vanity effort. "This is peanuts," he said on Tuesday in an apparent reference to the economic damage inflicted on the U.S. by the Iran war. "I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while. It won't be much longer."

Cyprus votes for new parliament with corruption and living costs in focus

Cypriots went to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election expected to deliver gains for anti-corruption campaigners and the far right, while weakening centrist parties that back President Nikos Christodoulides. In a vote being closely watched for signs of public sentiment ahead of a 2028 presidential election, more than ‌half a million registered voters will elect 56 lawmakers from a record field of 753 candidates.

Trump says Iran deal is 'largely negotiated', would reopen Strait of Hormuz

Washington and Iran have "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump said, as expectations rose that a breakthrough might be imminent ‌in the three-month-old war. Trump said the emerging agreement being brokered by Pakistan would reopen the strait, the vital shipping passage whose closure has sparked a global energy crisis since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. He did not say what else would be included in an agreement.

Israeli fire kills parents and their infant in Gaza, medics say

An Israeli airstrike on an apartment in a refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday left three people dead, including a six-month-old child, health officials said. Medics named the three who died in the Nuseirat refugee camp as Mohammad Abu Mallouh, the infant's father, Alaa Zaqlan, the mother, and their child, Osama.

Suspect dies after trading gunfire with officers near White House, Secret Service says

A gunman who fired at a White House checkpoint was shot by officers and died after being taken to the hospital on Saturday evening, the Secret Service said. The man approached the checkpoint at ⁠17th Street and Pennsylvania ​Avenue near the White House, pulled a gun out of his bag and started shooting at officers, ⁠according to a Secret Service statement sent to Reuters. Officers returned fire and shot the suspect, the agency said.

Bahrain court jails nine for life for collaborating with Iran's Revolutionary Guards

A Bahraini court sentenced nine defendants to life in prison and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out what it described as "hostile and terrorist acts" against Bahrain, the state news agency reported on Sunday. The defendants were involved ⁠in gathering information on sensitive sites and facilitating related financial transfers, the statement said.

Chinese ship leaves after tense standoff near Taiwan-controlled islands

A Chinese coast guard ship left waters near Taiwan's strategically located Pratas Islands at the top of the South China Sea on Sunday following a tense standoff and verbal sparring between the coast guards, Taiwan's Coast Guard said. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government ​in Taipei rejects.

At least 24 killed in Pakistan train blast claimed by separatist militants

A bomb blast hit a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday, officials said, in the latest major attack claimed by separatist militants. The explosion killed at least 24 people and injured around ⁠70, according to three provincial government and security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Three dead and 17 missing after flooding in China's Chongqing

The death toll has risen to three with 17 missing following flooding in the Chongqing municipality of southwestern China, China's state-run Xinhua reported. That was as of 2:30 pm (0630 GMT) on Sunday, after Chongqing's Yongchuan district was hit with sudden extreme rainfall from Saturday night through ⁠the early hours ​of Sunday, Xinhua said.

Exclusive-Ukraine's Zelenskiy says proposal of associate EU membership 'unfair'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a letter to EU leaders that a German proposal to grant Ukraine "associate" membership of the European Union was "unfair" because it would leave Kyiv without a voice inside the bloc. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested earlier this week allowing Ukraine to participate in EU meetings and institutions without a vote as an interim step toward full membership of the bloc, which he said could help facilitate a deal to end the four-year-old war triggered by Russia's invasion.

Russia says it hit Ukraine with hypersonic and ballistic missiles, state news agencies report

Russian forces hit targets in Ukraine using four types of missiles - Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon - in overnight attacks on Sunday, ⁠in retaliation for Kyiv's strikes on civilian targets in Russia, state news agencies reported. The attacks, all successful, were carried out on Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases and other enterprises of Ukraine's military-industrial complex, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying.

Turkish riot police enter opposition headquarters to evict ousted leadership

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and ⁠forced their way into the main opposition party's headquarters to evict its ousted leadership on Sunday, a ⁠Reuters witness said, further inflaming a political crisis. Clouds of tear gas billowed within the Republican People's Party (CHP) building while those inside shouted and threw objects at the entrance as police broke through a makeshift barricade.

US conducts military drill over Venezuelan capital Caracas

The U.S. military conducted a drill over Caracas on Saturday, its first military exercise in Venezuela since U.S. troops attacked the capital and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3. Venezuelan authorities say that attack killed at least 100 people.

At least one dead in Philippine building collapse, ‌21 people missing

At least one person was confirmed dead after a ‌building under construction collapsed in the Philippines on Sunday, authorities said, as rescuers scoured the rubble for 21 people listed as missing. Officials said an investigation had been launched into what caused the collapse ​of the multi-storey building in the city of Angeles, north of the capital, Manila.