World News Roundup: British interior minister Braverman says Rwanda is safe for migrants; Israeli protests over judicial overhaul continue despite Netanyahu's pause and more

An Israeli attack near Damascus on Friday killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iranian state media reported on Sunday. Trump's ex-fixer Michael Cohen poised to be key witness in criminal case A former lawyer for Donald Trump who once said he would do anything to protect the former U.S. president is now poised to serve as a key witness in the criminal trial of his longtime boss.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

British interior minister Braverman says Rwanda is safe for migrants

Britain's interior minister Suella Braverman said she was convinced Rwanda was a safe country to resettle migrants who had arrived in Britain illegally but she declined to set any deadline for the first deportations to the country. The British government is hoping to send thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away to the East African country as part of a 120 million pound ($148 million) deal to deter asylum seekers crossing the English Channel from France in small boats.

Israeli protests over judicial overhaul continue despite Netanyahu's pause

Protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul showed no sign of abating on Saturday, despite its suspension by the embattled premier this week, as tens of thousands took to the streets to demand it be scrapped entirely. Beset by the domestic upheaval and expressions of concern and disapproval in Washington, Netanyahu on Monday paused the overhaul to allow negotiations on a compromise between his religious-nationalist coalition and opposition parties.

Rahul Gandhi to appeal jail sentence

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will appeal a two-year jail sentence in a defamation case brought against him by lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local media reported on Sunday. Gandhi, the 52-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty and leader of the Congress party, was found guilty of defamation by a court in the western state of Gujarat over comments he made in a speech in 2019.

Ukraine furious over Russian UN Security Council presidency

Russia, whose leader is accused of war crimes, assumed charge of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday causing fury in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy calling it an absurd and destructive move. The last time Russia held the rotating presidency of the body responsible for maintaining peace and combating acts of international aggression was in February 2022 when Moscow troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia to invite Syria's Assad to Arab leaders summit

Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans said, a move that would formally end Syria's regional isolation. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus in coming weeks to hand Assad a formal invitation to attend the summit scheduled for May 19, two of the sources said.

Pope Francis leads Palm Sunday service, bounces back from illness

Pope Francis led a Palm Sunday service the day after he was discharged from hospital following a bout of bronchitis, and urged the world to take better care of the poor, the lonely and the infirm. Thousands of people waved palm and olive branches as Francis was driven into St. Peter's Square sitting in the back of a white, open-topped vehicle before the start of the Mass, which lasted two hours.

Iran says it warned off U.S. Navy aircraft close to Gulf of Oman

The Iranian navy said it identified and warned off a U.S. reconnaissance plane near the Gulf of Oman on Sunday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. While the opening line of the Tasnim report said the U.S. Navy EP-3E aircraft had crossed into Iranian airspace, it later said the aircraft had not entered Iranian skies and had left after the warning.

Forest fire in central Seoul forces evacuation of 120 homes

A forest fire raged in central Seoul on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of at least 120 homes in the densely populated capital, authorities said. The fire, which started on a mountain in the middle of Seoul at around 11:53 a.m. (0253 GMT), razed forests the size of some 30 soccer fields before it was nearly extinguished as of 5 p.m. (0800 GMT), according to officials.

Syria says Israel hits Homs outposts, sources say air bases bombed

Israeli forces carried out air strikes on outposts in Syria's Homs province in a raid early on Sunday, Syria's defence ministry said, while Western intelligence sources said a series of air bases in central Syria where Iranian personnel are based were hit in the bombings. The Israeli military declined to comment on the reported strikes in Syria, the third since Thursday. An Israeli attack near Damascus on Friday killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.

Trump's ex-fixer Michael Cohen poised to be key witness in criminal case

A former lawyer for Donald Trump who once said he would do anything to protect the former U.S. president is now poised to serve as a key witness in the criminal trial of his longtime boss. Michael Cohen, who became a top executive at Trump's real estate company and then his personal lawyer, testified twice before the Manhattan grand jury that voted on Thursday to indict Trump following an investigation into a hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.